Meteora For Kids
As we were driving the monasteries were one after another on top of steep cliffs. Ruins of one looked impossible to access. It was of those moments you come with high hopes expecting something to be amazing and then it still manages to blow you away. (excerpt from Jenn's journal)
What is Meteora?
Meteora is the name of the rock structures in a place called Kalabaka, Greece. The rocks there create towering cliffs in tall thin pillar-like shapes. They make the whole landscape look like it is from an alien world! Back in the 800s AD (about 1200 years ago) some hermits (people who live alone) lived in the many caves on the Meteora rock structures. They lived in caves that were hard to access and learned how to climb the rock to get to their homes.
The people who lived in Meteora were very religious, and were Christians. A lot of Christian monks (people dedicated to religion) lived in Meteora. In a land very close to Greece there is a country that is now called Turkey. Back then Turkey was part of an empire called the Ottoman empire. The Ottomans wanted Greece to be part of their empire. The monks were afraid that the Ottoman empire would persecute them (treat them badly because of their beliefs.) They built monasteries high up on the cliffs of Meteora so that they would be safe when the Ottoman empire attacked. They even used the monasteries to keep others in the area safe.
Some of the cliffs that the monasteries were built on are as high as 1800 feet (as tall as the CN tower in Toronto!) At one point there were 24 monasteries but now there are only 6. The six that remain still have monks living in them! You can visit them and see how the monks live their life. You can see some ruins from the other 18 structures still clinging to cliff sides.
The next day we woke up to mist with Meteora peeking out between the shifting clouds. We drove back up to a lookout point. Completely white. It felt like standing on the edge of the world. Slowly the mist shifted and monasteries emerged. (excerpt from Jenn's journal)
Sources
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meteora
