When my wife and I were finalizing the images for our Nikon 1 eBook, The Little Camera That Could, we reviewed our photographs from Greece including ones from the monasteries of Meteora. Seeing these images again brought back some great memories as this was one of our favourite locations in Greece. I thought readers may enjoy seeing some of these photographs.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
Our visit to the Meteora area was part of a two-week trip to Greece, the first half of which was on a guided bus tour.
Both the scenery and the architecture are quite spectacular in this part of Greece.
Its no wonder that one of these monasteries, The Holy Trinity Monastery (image above), was used in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, which starred Roger Moore.
Some of the monasteries are open to the public. You will need to check the schedules of various monasteries in advance or go on a guided tour. Once inside, some of the monasteries have incredible views.
You will also be treated to some interesting architecture and details.
My eye always seems to be attracted to mechanical things like what appears to be some kind of gear-crank below.
Walking up and down the steep staircases can be both scenic and physically demanding at times.
My wife and I both enjoyed strolling through the grounds of the monasteries and taking in the craftsmanship, courtyards, and gardens.
If we were ever fortunate enough to visit Greece again, we would definitely spend more time in the Meteora area.
It is one of the most unique and beautiful places we have ever had the pleasure to visit.
All of the images in this article were captured hand-held using a Nikon 1 V2 with either the 1 Nikon 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 non-PD kit zoom or 6.7-13mm f/3.5-5.6 wide angle zoom.
All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process of DxO OpticsPro 11/ PhotoLab, CS6 and the Nik Collection.
If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to consider Images of Greece, our 200 page eBook. It features over 235 images captured at some of the most popular locations in Greece.
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Spectacular! Would like to go there too. Do they have problems with loose stones, stability of the rock and such? I live in a village under a rock face and when it rains there are often stones falling. After such “falls” geologists and climbers have to look for loose parts and clean them.
On your photographs everything seems to be in perfect order. Clean, almost new, not “antique”. What was your impression?
Hi Robert,
I’m glad you enjoyed the images – thanks for the supportive comment!
My wife and I visited Meteora in October 2014 so I can’t comment about the current conditions. We were on a guided bus tour and visited a select number of the monasteries at Meteora. I wanted to provide you with that information upfront so my reply would be in the proper context.
We found the monasteries we visited to be in very good condition and well maintained. Neither my wife or I recall any loose stones, bricks etc. These are major tourist destinations in Greece so I imagine that the government does its best to keep the facilities in good order. These are old buildings and no doubt many of them needed some major restorations to bring them up to current conditions. This is one location in Greece that would be on our ‘must see again’ list if we were ever fortunate enough to get back to Greece. We would plan for 3 days in the area.
The monasteries at Meteora is one of the featured locations in our soon to be published Images of Greece eBook.
tom
Dear Tom,
This series of pictures from Meteora is making me very eager to go there, more so than any images from this place that I have seen before. This is another way in which your images are powerful! I am sure, we will go there in the course of this year. We will think of you and your wife when we are in Meteora.
Thank you and best wishes,
Rudolf
Hi Rudolf,
I’m glad you enjoyed the images! My wife and I would have gladly spent a number of days in the Meteora area rather than just part of a day, as it is so beautiful and inspiring. Unfortunately we were on a group bus tour and we had to follow the predetermined schedule. Your trip to Meteora will surely be wonderful!
Tom
I would need a team of Sherpas to carry me up and down those staircases. Great pictures.
Thanks William – I’m glad you enjoyed the images! Some of the folks on our tour missed a some of the areas of the various sites because of accessibility issues.
Tom
I was there in1989 sleeping rough in vicinity off cliffs. As to accessibility, well they were built that way for protection. I am quite sure but the piece of machinery looks like a winch. In many inaccessible monasteries they used the to hoist men and goods up. And have you been to Athos republic?. Spectacular, but unfortunately for spouses, men only.
Hi Stanislaw,
I agree that it is likely a winch. I remember a scene in For Your Eyes Only where Roger Moore and his team were winched up to the top of the rock pillar in a large basket. We did not have a chance to visit the Athos republic.
Tom