RE: “Suspended in Air” - A Tour Through Monk Occupied Monasteries in Meteora, Greece
Wow, spectacular, breath taking, and so informative. I wonder why the # of monks has gone from 350 down to 17, it can't be because of the accommodations.
Pura couldn't find any Air B & B listings for a couple day's stay at any of the monasteries.😊
It is amazing how determination, and a belief in a higher power, can inspire people to undertake such projects.
There are very few places that I've every wanted to visit that have not been here in the states. One of them are the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
With all of the unrest in the world a trip to Egypt is more then likely out of the question, but I could see us taking a trip to Greece. @farm-mom's Nephew married a lady from Greece, and after they got hitched, they took a vacation to Greece to see her family. We were invited to go, but passed up on the opportunity, what a mistake.
You mentioned haw rain adds a sense of excitement to the moment, I couldn't agree with you more. I always get a kick out of people who scurry around while trying to avoid a couple of rain drops. You would think they thought they were going to melt. I find it refreshing and I will usually take my time finding shelter.
The two pictures capturing the art work, which I guess are of monks, remind me of the stained glass you find in many places of worship. I don't believe they are glass at all, rather murals painted on stone. What ever the canvas, they appear unscathed by time.
It's a good thing you and Pura keep yourselves in good shape, otherwise all of those stairs may have hindered your adventure.
I may have had to take the gondola to see these grand structures.
Great post, you got me all pumped to the point where I want to call Zack, #farm-mom's nephew, to see when he will be going to Greece again.
Stay safe my friend, and thanks for the tour.
My man, @thebigsweed! You don’t know how happy it makes me that you didn’t miss this one. Before I forget, happy thanksgiving my brother, I know you’re going to have a
housefarm full. God bless all ya’all, everyone you know and don’t know. What a great response—I miss these. This is going to be fun.Good question about 17, I can’t believe I didn’t ask that question myself, unfortunately I don’t have an answer. I know why there’s only 6 monasteries, though, I decided not to mention it in the article to avoid mixing politics with adventure. Do you remember when I did that article on York and pointed out the ruined churches thanks to Hitler bombing them during WWII? Same with the monasteries, the dude wasn’t out to cause casualties toward the end of his reign, he strategically attacked culture—he bombed them. That’s why the 25th of each month is commemorated as a reminder to protect the monks—the last day of his reign.. I believe it was April, don’t quote me on that.
I didn’t even think of that.. an overnighter at a monastery, where was she on that one?? 🤔
Sir, we’ll be fine in Egypt! How’s this? You guys book a trip any time next year and we’ll meet you at the airport. “I dare you.” We’ll be fine, Sweed, promise! Only one place of limits, in my opinion—Somalia. Everywhere else is open.
I know a good way to fix that error back when you rejected that trip to Greece. 😉 Are you aware it’s more affordable to purchase round trip tickets exiting the US vs round trip tickets inside the US? Yup.. true story. Use “Skyscanner,” it’s the best flight search engine—period! Piss on all of the other ones. Example: round trip from LA to Nashville is ‘about’ $700 whereas round trip from LA to England is ‘about’ $400.
About the rain. I should’ve known you’d agree. 👍🏿 Man, even back in my California freeway driving work days, the rain causes havoc, right? Pile-ups, even more traffic than normal, etc. Fellas would always complain.. I was always the guy trying to talk them into appreciating it—“it’s not every day you get to use your windshield wipers.” To this day, Pura often quotes me when it rains, my favorite thing to say was “no lines at the car wash!”
The art work!! Dude, you’ll never guess. It’s not paint! It’s “earthly things” instead and I can’t remember them all. For example, egg for yellow color. Specific flowers for purples, reds. Grass for green and the list goes on. What happens is, rather than fade away or chip away like paint, the earthy materials used to create color seeps into the concrete preserving itself. Fascinating, right?? “Unscathed” was a good way to describe them, Sweed—it’s literally unremovable.
I’m so glad you liked this post and I’m stoked you didn’t miss it. 1-800-CALL-ZACK. 👍🏿
Always a pleasure to hear from you, @thebigsweed, I didn’t like your response at all, can you tell? 😉 Happy thanksgiving! I know I said it at the beginning but that was a long time ago.
Hitler's reign cost the world so much, besides the precious lives his giant ego cost mankind.
Very interesting how the colors on those murals were procured. Now that you mention how they were made, I should have thought of that, as the stain from walnuts was used in the same way.
Nothing like looking at most things as the glass being half full, that type of mind set sure does help one avoid a lot of unnecessary stress.
Skyscanner,” it’s the best flight search engine—period! Thanks for the heads up.