Meteora, after the Mount Athos, are the largest and continuous presence since the establishment of the first ascetic’s today monastic complex in Greece. From the historical evidence suggests that the monasteries of Meteora were thirty in total, today only six are in operation and receive many pilgrims. But there are many smaller monasteries abandoned. Most of them were founded in the 14th century. The name Meteora is newer and is not mentioned by ancient writers. Their name derives from the St. Athanasios the Meteorite, founder of the Monastery Metamorphosis Sotiros (Great Meteor), who named it the “flat stone”, which ascended for the first time in 1344. According to the prevailing view, the first anchorites settled in the 12 century. In the mid-14th century Monk Nile gathered monks who lived isolated in caves of the rocks around the hermitage of Doupiani organizing this way monasticism in Meteora. During the period of Turkish rule in Thessaly (1393-1881) the meteorite monasteries functioned as places of hope. In the early 19th century troops of Ali Pasha, brought destruction and looting in several of them (Visitation Monastery, Monastery of Agios Dimitrios et al.).
The six visited monasteries of Meteora, is now restored and preserved for the most part in the mural decoration. From 1989 Meteora are included in the list of monuments of world heritage of UNESCO as a particularly important cultural and natural resource. 300 km 3:50’
Nea Kallikrateia Thessaloniki-Κaterini-Larisa-Trikala-Kalampaka
