σφηνωμένα σε τρύπες στα βράχια, αργότερα με ανεμόσκαλες
και δίχτυ. Στις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα, λαξεύτηκαν οι πρώτες
σκάλες για εύκολη και ασφαλή πρόσβαση. Σήμερα, μόνο έξι
μοναστήρια λειτουργούν και είναι επισκέψιμα ενώ τα υπόλοιπα
είναι ακατοίκητα και ερηπωμένα. Τα μοναστήρια των Μετεώρων
που είναι το δεύτερο σημαντικό μοναστικό συγκρότημα στην
Ελλάδα μετά το Άγιο Όρος, περιλαμβάνονται από το 1988 στον
κατάλογο μνημείων παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς της UNESCO.
HOVERING
MONASTERIES
Monasticism in Meteora
started in the 11th century,
when eremites found
shelter in the majestic
grey-green boulders. About
in the middle of the 14th
century (1340-1350 A.D.)
, the Holy Monastery of
the Transfiguration of
Jesus is founded by Saint
Athanasius, who gave the
large rock “Platis Lithos”
(which means “wide stone”)
the name “Meteoro” (that
means “hovering”), and
since then, all the rocks are
called “Meteora”. Within
the following centuries,
there monasticism reaches
its heyday and a lot of
monasteries are con-
structed. In the 14th and
15 centuries the area had
24 monasteries. At first,
the access to them was
made through scaffolding
placed on beams wedged in
wholes in the rocks, but lat-
er through ladders and net.
In the early 20th century,
the first stairs were sculpted
in order to create the ac-
cess easy and safe. Today,
only six monasteries still
operate and are open to
the public, with the rest of
them being uninhabited
and abandoned. Meteora
is the second most impor-
tant monastic complex in
Greece after Mount Athos
and are included since
1988 in the list of UNES-
CO World Heritage Sites.
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