Great Meteoron monastery, Orthodox monastery in Meteora, Greece

The Great Meteoron monastery, also called the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, stands on the Platys Lithos crag at 613 m above sea level, above the Pineios valley near Kalambaka. Its stone tower, built of light grey and beige masonry, has a pitched tiled roof and an open wooden balcony on dark timber beams near the top. Four small windows sit below the balcony, with slit openings farther down and one window near the base; a paved walkway curves around the foot of the tower.

Athanasius the Meteorite founded the monastery in 1356 with the backing of Simeon Uroš, the local lord based in Trikala, who that year proclaimed himself Emperor of Serbs and Greeks. In 1387/88 his disciple John Uroš, who had taken vows as Ioasaph, built a new church on the site of Athanasius's earlier chapel of the Panagia. A new catholicon dedicated to the Transfiguration followed in 1544/5 under the abbot Symeon, and the monastery later passed under Ottoman rule until Thessaly joined the Kingdom of Greece in 1881.

The monastery is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Saviour, and its name Great Meteoron refers to the "heavenly columns" of rock it stands on. Near the entrance, the tower of the vrizonion housed the mechanism for the net used to haul people and goods up the cliff, and the monastery cellar (vagenareio) now serves as a museum of everyday objects. The refectory, hospital and old people's home lie east of the entrance, with the katholikon to the right.

Access requires climbing carved stone steps built directly into the rock face, so wearing sturdy shoes and maintaining good footing is essential. Plan extra time for the ascent and be prepared for steep passages, especially if you are not accustomed to mountain walking.

Monks once pulled visitors up the rock face using ropes and nets, a method that kept the community isolated for centuries. This practice ended only when stone steps were carved into the rock, fundamentally changing how outsiders could reach the sacred space.