These are in my opinion the two monasteries to visit for those who have little time or prefer to take advantage of the spectacular place to get some beautiful walks. At the worse the Great Meteoro is enough to get a fairly complete idea of how the other monasteries works and their very little spiritual and more touristic/museal atmosphere. Do I sound bad? It gets worse!
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The uniqueness and beauty of the place are indisputable and it is easy to understand what may have prompted the hermits to seek refuge here since the eleventh century, using the natural caves scattered here and there, befor starting building 300 years later the monasteries ‘suspended in air’, “which is the meaning of the word meteora. Today, with the endless comings and goings of tourists, the place has become less suitable for those seeking the solitude and recollection which should offer the monastic life. The monks who live here choose to become guardians of history and accept to live in the midst of the business of religion. This is demonstrated by the fact that all the monasteries have an entrance fee (€3 for all of them except the monastery of Agia Triada which is cheaper) and commercial activities like selling souvenirs and knick-knacks take place inside their walls… The most annoying thing though is the discrimination made between the Greek-speaking visitors and others. The entrance fee is only for foreigners! Aaahhh!
Megalo (big) Meteoro
The largest of the six visitable monasteries, includes a museum of the resistance against the Italians and made it possible to visit the winery, the old kitchen and the old refectory, now transformed into an exposition of the Greek heroes, a hymn to war really! The frescoes inside the church are spectacular and as I mentioned in the introduction, if you wnat to visit only one monastery, the Great Meteoro is the best choice.
Winter: 9:00 to 16:00 Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Summer: 9:00 to 17:00 Closed on Tuesdays
Varlaam
Second in the list of preferences, the monastery Varlaam. Impressive staircase to get there and as in all the monasteries, at the entrance there are skirts with elastic at the disposal of the ladies dressed in an ‘indecent’ way.
Winter: closed Thursday and Friday 9:00 to 15:00.
Summer: 9:00 to 16:00 Closed on Fridays.
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