The town of Kalambaka sits below the soaring pillars of the Meteora rock formations that house the precariously constructed monasteries that sit atop. When gazing upon the monasteries from below, one wonders how they could have been built. Necessity forced the Greek Orthodox monks to devise a way to avoid the Turkish attacks by building the churches on top and creating access via removable ladders also known as windlass. We walked up the trail observing the birds overhead, the turtles and lizards, wild herbs and flowers that bloomed throughout. A passing car offered us a ride to where we met the nuns of St. Stephen's Church. We were given long black skirts before entering the church because pants and shorts are not allowed. The town of Kalambaka can be seen in Frames #0, 0A, 1A, with Margo in 25A & 26A. The remainder of the photos are of the Meteora pillars and churches built into the mountain tops. Next stop is the beautiful island of Skopelos where more adventures awaited us!
© Diane Alexander White PHOTOGRAPHY