"''Suspended in the air''." a Meteora Travel Page by JLBG

The Meteora monasteries stand on majestic grey rocks rising in the Thessalian plain, in the centre of Greece, where Pinios river flows out of deep canyons of the Pindus range.

Ermits have lived in the caves in the plain since the beginning of Christianity. When there began the Turkish invasions, they began to climb to suspended, inaccessible caves ("eagle's nests") in the mountain, first to pray and later they made their dwellings. By the 11th century, the first monasteries were built on top of the rocks that overhang Kalambaka. They developed until the 15th and 16th, which was the golden age of monasteries in Meteora. There were as many as 24 monasteries. The Meteora underwent heavy damages from the Nazi armies during WW2 as they were used as strongholds by the Greek partisans.

Only six monasteries are still in activity :
Ayia Trias (or Haghia Trias or Agias Triadas)
Agios Stefanos (for nuns)
Haghia Rossani or Roussanou (for nuns)
Varlaam
Agios Nikolaos Anapavsas
The Great Meteoron or Transfiguration Monastery

The small town of Kalambaka is the main starting point to the Meteora. Starting from Kalambaka, the road that allows to visit the Meteors makes a 21 km loop,

The name ''Meteora'' comes from the ancient Greek ''Meteoron'' that means ''suspended in the air''. The Meteora, were inscribed in 1988 on the Unesco World Heritage list and are a must see.