Greece - the monasteries of Meteora

OK - this isn't in Greece. We are now in Seaford with Christy and Pelagia. Couldn't resist slipping this one in. The news from Andy in Borneo with his 24 youngsters is good - yesterday they were all presented with gifts from 2 princesses of Brunei - unfortunately the group had just finished playing outdoor games in the mud with children at a special school and hadn't had a chance to change. Maybe the gifts were soap. We had a day anchored at Volos in Greece. Ginny chose to visit a couple of nice villages but we took a 2 hour bus ride inland to Meteora to see the monasteries dating from C12. There were originally 27 of these Eastern Orthodox monasteries but only 6 remain. Many were badly damaged during WW2 and since then one has been given to an order of nuns to restore and use. The geology is dramatic as these pictures show. How ever di they get the building materials here.

See the monastery top right.

An Icon artist at work.

Monastery of the Holy Trinity

Rousanou Monastery

Varlaan Monastery - this is one we went into. The chapel has fantastic frescoes dating from C16.