In central Greece, on the north-western edge of the Plain of Thessaly, gigantic rocks rise to form a spectacular stone forest. They are called Meteora where ‘meteor’ means hanging in the sky and ‘ora’ means mountain. The formation of the cones and rocks has always fascinated geologists and historians all over the world. Geologists believe that the spires of stones are over sixty million years old. The corrosion by the wind and rain of the rocks of the mountain chains of Pindos accompanied with geological changes gave rise to these deltaic cones.
The beautiful rock formation of this stone forest has always grabbed the attention of thousands of visitors but the question remains. Why is the description of the rock formation absent from any ancient Greek descriptions of the area? Some historians believe that these rocks were linked to Zeus’ thunderbolt and were considered so sacred that they couldn’t be spoken of directly.
Historians predicted that the first structure that was built in Meteora was the great Meteoron monastery on the Broad Rock. Some more monasteries were built after the end of the Byzantium period. Monks took refuge here during the Turkish Occupation.
Once, there were twenty-four monasteries in Meteora monastic complex. Only six are open for the public to this day while the rest are largely in ruin. They are the Monastery of Metamorphosis, the Monastery of Varlaam, the Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas, the Monastery of Rousanou, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity and the Monastery of St. Stephen.
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There are over sixty peaks in the stone forest; the tallest among them is about a half-mile high. The beautiful eye-catching view fascinates tourists, geologists and historians all over the world. In 1988, Meteora was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
