Tuesday 27 September 2011

Meteora


Photo: Trinity Monastery, Meteora

Day 39: Meteora

What an amazing place. 16th Century monasteries sitting atop rocky outcrops hundred of metres above the village below. The chapels in the monasteries were quite stunning with their Byzantine art, but the location was the attraction. We visited two of the 6 surviving monasteries, St Stephen’s and St Barbara’s. Early in the 20th century there were 24 monasteries, but most were abandoned during the 2nd world war.
After leaving the Meteora area it was time to head back to Athens. On the way back we heard there was to be a general strike tomorrow – no buses, tube or taxis. It won’t affect us; we’re planning a quiet day and a walk to the acropolis. Outside the hotel, near Syntagma Square, there are lots of police, including riot squads and it’s quite noisy on the street. Again, we don’t feel any danger, but if anything happens we’ll be right here to see it. As I type (10:40pm) noises from the street gets loud for a few minutes, then becomes quiet for a few. It could be an interesting night.

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