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Meteora ("suspended in the air") names a group of immense sandstone pillars and cliffs in central Thessaly, Greece, near the town of Kalabaka (Kalambaka). Hermits occupied caves in the rocks from at least the 11th century; organized monastic communities developed in the 14th century as Athonite monks fled political instability. The Great Meteoron Monastery (Megalo Meteoro), founded by Athanasios of Meteora around 1340, set the model for later foundations.
At the peak of the monastic community in the 16th century, 24 monasteries clung to the pinnacles; six remain active today — Great Meteoron, Varlaam, Rousanou, St. Nicholas Anapausas, St. Stephen, and Holy Trinity — linked by steps, bridges, and (since the 20th century) roads. Fresco cycles inside the katholikon churches preserve post-Byzantine painting of high quality.
UNESCO inscribed Meteora in 1988. The site combines geological wonder with living Orthodox monasticism and appears frequently in travel media as one of Greece's most iconic landscapes outside Athens.
