umenitsa - Patras - Grimaldi Group

marenostrum
affirming their superiority? There is still
no clear answer to this question. End
of digression and back to Meteora: the
extraordinary spectacle of this unique
landscape (similar in many ways to the
cretaceous limestone formations found
in Plaener in Saxon Switzerland) stems
largely from the striking colour contrast
of the smooth rocks stratified over time,
lush green valleys and various shades of
orange created by the patina of sedimen-
tary deposits and cement conglomerate
with iron compounds. According to the
German geologist Philipson, this incred-
ible one-off geological phenomenon was
formed millions of years ago when the
plain of Thessaly was covered by a sea.
A series of earth movements pushed
the seabed upwards, creating a high
plateau and causing many fault lines to
appear in the thick layer of sandstone.
The material deposited over time turned
into a solid mass of compact sandstone
and conglomerate that was left when
the waters eventually receded into the
Aegean Sea. Later, during the tertiary
age, a rift formed between the Pindos
Mountains and these huge rock pillars,
creating a valley in the middle and making
the area very wild and inaccessible, and
also an ideal refuge affording excellent
protection. The original monks’ dwellings
are camouflaged, in hollows and fissures
in the rock towers and perched on top,
in an incredible feat of engineering. The
very sight of them is thrilling in itself.
Some of the architectural structures
seem to be an integral part of the rock,
hewn out of it and it comes as a real
surprise to discover frescoes and icons
adorning the interiors of the churches
and chapels. The sacristies are full of
sacred images, crucifixes, vestments,
frescoes, and Byzantine codices and
manuscripts, while other relics from here
are now housed in the National Library
in Athens. The precious embroidered
bier cloth used for the Good Friday ceremony
is kept in the Monastery of the
Transfiguration. The first mention of a
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