Having been to Mount Athos (accessible to men exclusively), there is only one other place one can visit that is so important to Eastern Orthodoxy: the place called Meteora, in Central Greece, besides the city of Kalambaka. Coming from Athens, as you approach Meteora in a flat, seemingly endless plain, the cliffs start appearing gradually like mushrooms. A bit like the formations of Kappadokya in Turkey, but fewer and much bigger.

The place would be worth visiting anyway due to its natural beauty, but what distinguishes it even more and actually makes it unique and a UNESCO heritage site is the monasteries built on top of the rocks, just six remaining today. It all started in the 14th century, when a monk from Mount Athos came here and founded the first monastery, on Broad Rock: the Megistis monastery, which until today remains the biggest and most interesting to visit, although it sometimes resembles a tourist trap. The monks were happy to have their own ways uncontrolled on top of the rocks, but also the fact that they were able to control the entry to their sites, whether this was the Greek government officers coming or the Turkish troops.

Initially, ropes and baskets were used to get produce up to the rocks. The cultivated area on top is pretty tiny and it probably is the only miracle happening until today: although the majority of the produce came from their fields below the rocks, some monasteries still manage to maintain a garden on tiny earth parcels besides the monasteries! As for the monks, after a day's work in the fields, they used to climb back to their cells using ladders that they drew up when danger was imminent. As a kid I still remember, while visiting with my parents, having seen monks being pulled up in nets, a black mass going slowly up the rock (ropes were replaced only when they broke...). Of course, in the beginning of last century stairs were carved on the rock and one can today access all monasteries after a steep climb. The fat monks use suspended cabins to be carried to the rest of the world.

The monasteries are visited by hoards of Orthodox Christian visitors (Romanians, Bulgarians, Russians...). Choosing the time one visits is crucial, due to the affluence of people but also due to the heat, which can be awesome in this part of Greece. Greeks don't have to pay an entrance, which is the least the monasteries can offer, but despite this I did not manage in my somewhat “Orthodox tour” this year (I have never visited so many monasteries in such a short time) to feel more sympathy for the keepers of the monasteries, or the monks themselves. Their attitude goes from indifferent to scruffy to being plainly jerks. Feeding on faith, they do not seem to feel the consequences of the financial crisis and sometimes think they can treat people who have come from thousands of miles like sheep. In other words, they still feel part of Byzance, not Greece, and besides the fact that they pay no taxes for the excessive property they own and for which they never paid, they can't even pay back with a smile.

The place still remains absolutely worth seeing, if nothing else as the perfect place for shooting nice pictures. The nature is pristine and the views breathtaking. And the village of Kastraki right below the cliffs is very sweet and can serve as the base for your visits, treks or whatever turns you on.

The slideshow

The films: In the church of Megisti, To Talanto