The sacred rocks of Meteora

The world shrinks with each passing day...

There was a time when delivering messages took months, even years of travel, by horseback over the most daunting of natural obstacles. Because of breakthroughs in communications technology, one can now travel the world through one’s desktop. The barriers between East and West have whittled away to a point where one can no longer consider the other as another "world."

As a result, one is hard pressed to find a sanctuary free from noise and worldly distractions. For the spiritually inclined, silence is a must, not only as a sanctuary against distraction, but also as a means of practicing self-examination.

Which is precisely what I needed, to have myself, or more precisely, my head examined for climbing the 143 steps needed to reach the foot of the rock leading to the St. Nicholas Anapafsas Monastery, one of six monasteries forming part of a religious complex on top of a mountain.

Unlike most of my trips, I opted to go on a package tour on my trip to Greece. I noticed that none of my tour mates were willing to climb the narrow steps to the monastery plus risk a fatal fall in the event of a slip-up.

After climbing 143 steps, I was miffed to find that I had to climb a further 85 steps hewed on the rock tower leading to the monastery. I could see why the others had no desire to venture inside the monasteries. I was still thankful. In the old days, only by using a series of ladders and nets could you reach the monasteries. In 1923, a steep pathway was chiseled out of the somber rock which now provides an "easy" route to the top. And centuries even before that, the only way up was by baskets being pulled up by a rope. I can only shudder seeing myself on a basket, a kilometer high from the ground, hoping the rope will not fray and desperately praying for it not to break. (Another reason for spirituality, perhaps?)

Meteora is situated in the northern part of Greece. It is situated near Kalambaka, at the point where the Peneus River flows out into the plain of Thessaly, and stands at a height of some 300 meters from the valley. Most assuredly, it is an ideal spot for spiritual exercise and meditation.

As you go up either by foot or vehicle, one will easily be enraptured by the beauty of nature blending with the gentle southern and northern winds. After the enchanting approach to the top, one can see a veritable forest of huge rocks crowned with monasteries, perpetually and mysteriously in harmony with the landscape.

Meteora has one of the most beautiful landscapes that I have ever seen. It is an awesome sight so inspiring you can hardly take it in. Imagine hundreds of huge lofty somber rocks forming huge towers rising from the rich soil. The wildness and inaccessibility of its terrain made the place a refuge for men fleeing from the path of invaders who, over the centuries, pushed into Thessaly. And these untenanted rocks provided a rough but safe welcome as shelters and hiding places for those hermits. Later on, monks came, forsaking the world, hoping to see God more clearly in the blue air of their summits.

A considerable number of studies on the Meteora complex have already been written. Some believe the uniquely-shaped pockmarked rock towers were shaped by wind and water over the long centuries. Others say the place was submerged under water several millennia ago. In any case, the rock towers form a very impressive and unearthly picture, especially with the monasteries capping them, worthy subjects for sketching. In addition, a number of action films were shot in here, most notably a climbing scene with Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only.

Today, a mountain highway takes over the Thessalian railway and climbs over the foothills of the Pindos range towards Ioannina. A number of first-rate hotels cater to the countless visitors who come to enjoy the grandiose spectacle of Meteora’s rock forest or visit the monasteries.

Inside the monasteries, solitude and silence are the rules. Wherever you look, there is an image of unparalleled peace and calm. The monks are always ready to receive you with great hospitality. These Greek Orthodox monks have learned to be wise in thought and to be humble of will. Within them lives another world, their souls perpetually in deep conversation with the silent voice of God.

As soon as you find yourself in the dark churches of the monasteries, you are seized by a feeling of faith and reverence: The holiness of the place, with its carved wooden and gilded screens, its marvelous Byzantine-style icons, the many images illustrating the cycle of the life of Christ. On the ceiling is a wealth of murals drawn from dogma, the history and liturgical cycle of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Honestly, there was something in the very atmosphere of the monastery. Perhaps it was in the light, which comes from the sky – lights in the domes and from the few windows, forming a mysterious link between heaven and earth. Or perhaps it was the repetitive Gregorian chant echoing in the foundations like a hymn that knocks perpetually on the gates of Heaven.

Talking with the pilgrims and the monks of Meteora, I discovered great truths. The prayers, the fasts, the vigils, the chants, the acts do not by themselves represent the aim of the monastic Orthodox Christian life. These are only necessary means performed in the name of Jesus Christ for the success of their true aim, and that is to get closer to God.

From the minute I stepped through, I could not relax. I was so full of excitement and confusion wondering which medium I would use – camera, pen, ink or paint brush. It ended up as none of the above. I felt that what I really wanted to illustrate was the secret voice of God that I could practically hear whispering in the very eaves of the monastery. After two days of absorption and concentration, I found myself working with watercolor, that most ethereal of mediums in the vain and foolish hope of capturing an equally ethereal and most Holy Presence.

As I made the long climb down (very carefully), I wondered what it would have been like if I had become a monk based in Meteora instead of an artist. I imagined myself becoming one of the artist-contemplative monks working on the various icons. I felt assured I would probably produce just as many – no – perhaps 10 times what I’ve produced in my present lifetime. Such is the atmosphere of concentration in this mystic place.

My name would probably be lost in oblivion but remembered by God...