Meteora

Meteora in Greek means "suspended in the air".  The hermit  monks started to live in the caves within the rocks in the 11th century. During the Turkish occupation in the 14th century, they climbed higher and higher until they were living on the peaks. Access to the monasteries were difficult. Ropes and ladders were used to climb up the rocks and large nets were used to haul up people and goods. 

Twenty four monasteries were built on the pinnacles of the rocks here but only six remain today. We visited two of them, Stefanos and Varlaam Monasteries.