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WorldTravel > 1000places  > Travel > International Destinations > 2006 - Greece
We explore the land of Plato, Socrates, and Zorba.
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1000places > METEORA, GREECE - The Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapapsas was built in the latter part of the 15th century.
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - Once there were 24 of these mountaintop monasteries. Today only six remain active, sparcely occupied by monks and nuns. We visited the Monastery of Saint Stephan, one of the oldest dating back to 1350, which overlooks the modern-day town of Kalambaka.
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - Our guide Cassandra gave us a tour of the monastery's chapel (no photos were allowed beyond this point).
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - "Meteora" means "suspended in air." Until the 1920s, the only access monks had to these monasteries was a net hitched over a hook and hoisted by rope and a handcranked windlass. The ropes were replaced only when, according to the monks, "the Lord let them break."
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - Today there are easier ways to access the Meteora monasteries. This one, the Monastery of Saint Barbara Rousanou (probably named after the first hermit to live on the rock) could be reached by a wooded trail and a stone stairway.
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - Prevalent throughout the monasteries we visited were icons, painted images that depict the visual Gospel. Outside the town of Kalambaka, we stopped by an "icon factory" where skilled craftsmen (and women) still practice the 1500-year old art of iconography.
1000places > METEORA, GREECE - The "icon factory" outside of Kalambaka is the place where Greek Orthodox priests from throughout the region come to shop.
1000places > THERMOPYLAE, GREECE - Under steadily darkening skies, we left Kalambaka on our way back to Athens. Along the way we traveled through the Pass of Thermopylae ("Hot Gates") where in 480 B.C. a band of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians (the warriors, not the actors) held off a huge Persian army for three days, giving Athens time to prepare for the battle that would drive the Persians out of Greece and preserve democracy in the western world. Today the pass is marked by a statue of Leonidas, the Spartan king who refused to retreat.
1000places > AN EVENING IN ATHENS - There is perhaps no better time to enter Athens for the first time than at night. From throughout most of the city, the magnificent Acropolis is visible, made even more spectacular when illuminated at night.
METEORA, GREECE - The Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapapsas was built in the latter part of the 15th century.
> METEORA, GREECE - The Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapapsas was built in the latter part of the 15th century.
METEORA, GREECE - The Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapapsas was built in the latter part of the 15th century.
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Keywords: greece meteora monasteries thessaly
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