Why You Need To Go To Meteora, Greece
"MALAKA!"
There is never a shortage of potential places to go, things to see, and stuff to do. So, when it comes to picking a place for your next vacation, how can you even begin to fathom where to go?
Meteora, Greece
Well, for me....I'm kind of a history buff, and anything that has to do with ancient history, epic battles, or forlorn stories from the old, I'm always a sucker.....places like Petra, Jordan or Cairo, Egypt - I can't WAIT to get to. Even if there are thousands of better places to go, party and have a good time, I'm just a big sucker for history stuff.
SO, when it came time to plan the VoyEdge RX Greece trip, I had a real tough time on where to choose to go. Do we stick to beaches the whole time? Do we only hit the islands? How can we make Crete a part of this trip? Is there a way to add Heraklion, Rhodes of Shipwreck beach in here?
Zakinthos, Greece - AKA 'Shipwreck Beach'
The options for including different cities into ONE Greece tour are seemingly limitless....it's really a labyrinth of potential routes, and over the weeks of research we were putting in, nothing seemed good enough....until we found a place called, Meteora....
Meteora literally means, 'Middle of the sky,' in Ancient Greek, and when you see pictures of this place, it absolutely makes sense. Constructed in the Byzantine times, Greek monks had the inspiration to construct monasteries on top of a rock formation high in the mountains of Greece just to be closer to God. And while rising high on the Thessalian Plain, these monasteries sit over 1,000 feet tall above the ground, with several of them reaching nearly 2,000 feet!
As far as the construction goes, it all began around the 11th century and took over 100 years to finish all 24 monasteries in the area. Too bad only SIX of them remain standing: Great Metéoron, Varlaám , Roussanou, St. Nikolas , Holy Trinity , and St. Stephen. The other 18 fell apart or were destroyed over the past millenium.
One of six remaining monasteries in Meteora, Greece
UNESCO has dictated the Holy Meteora as a 'Monument of humanity that has to be maintained,' and is a tribute to the storied history of Greece, and although not even a thousand years old, you can already see through the photos that this is a magical place that everyone should visit.
Here are a few more fun facts about this awesome place
- Meteora is the second most important site in Greece. The Acropolis is #1
- Meteora is a World Heritage Site under two categories - nature and art. And it's one of only a few UNESCO sites that qualify for more than one category.
- There are only 20 monks and four nuns remaining in Meteora currently
- When the monasteries were first constructed, there were only two ways to get to them....by climbing or being carried up in a basket.
- Meteora was devoid of staircases until the 1920's!
- If you get lost in Meteora, you can find your direction by the altar in the churches....It always faces east to meet the rising light.
- Women were not allowed in the monasteries until the 1920's. And that was only because women helped put out a fire.
- Meteora has a 35 km long hiking trail throughout the region that includes epic views and hermit hideouts in the surrounding area. There are no signs, so you need to go with a guide, but it is apparently awesome and takes several days!
This place should be on your bucket list.
Anyway, listen.....this is really just the tip of the iceberg about how awesome Meteora is. I personally can't wait to go with our first crew this summer, but I hope this short blog gave you more information and at least convinced you to add this place to your bucket list. It certainly seems off the beaten path, hard to get to, and totally worth it. Add in a bit of epic history, and t sounds like my kind of place.
I mean, don't just take my word for it. Check this place out for real in this drone video.
Pretty rad, right? They got a CrossFit gym around, though? Probably not, but I think we can get some good handstand practice in here. Might make for an epic pic.
Check out our Greece tour via the link here (or image down below) and I'll see ya out there.
Any questions, email me: cam@voyedgerx.com
~ Cam King, co-founder at VoyEdge RX!
Wanna know more about Meteora, Greece? Read this blog post for more info.
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