Friday, August 23, 2024

The Nunnery and Monasteries at Meteora

 Hi everyone. It's another end of the work week already.  As I mentioned last Friday, I want to finish up my photos from Meteora, Greece and show you some photos at the actual the monasteries/nunnery.  I'm linking today's post up to Nicole's Friday Face Off  and Gillena's Friday Lunch Break. And this should be it for trip photos, at least those for Greece at Friday Face Off and Friday Linch Break. I might have a photo or 2 in some future post if it relates to the post topic. 😏-grin.

In case you missed the post or are interested in viewing last week's post, you can find it here: Meteora Part 1.

Today I'll show you some  views after climbing up and visiting  a couple of the religious centers. First is the nunnery, and then one of the monasteries.  Photos weren't allowed inside any of the religious centers, even though we were able to visit areas within them.

Let's start with the nunnery. I showed this photo last week, but just to give you a view of the building for perspective.

    I mentioned last week how women were required to wear skirts to enter any of these religious buildings. This is an unflattering photo, but here's yours truly and one of my traveling companions at the nunnery. There you were given skirts to put on and not charged to use them. At the monasteries they charged you  a small fee (I think 1 or 2 Euros) to use a skirt. We had large scarves that we brought along,  and  we wrapped them around our jeans. I don't have any photos of us in our scarves, but I have one at the Nunnery in our lent skirts.

     This is also my face for Friday Face off. 


You can see we just wrapped them around our jeans.



These next 2 photos show the area at the outside of the nunnery.  As I mentioned, no photos were allowed inside at all.  You can see some stairs and the path that took us up to and then away from the building. There was even a little bridge you had to walk over, but when you looked down from the bridge you could see the beautiful little garden area. Visitors weren't allowed to go down into the garden.







Here's a much more flattering (maybe grin) photo of us taken from one of the outdoor patios in the nunnery.


And I thought you might get a kick out of the public bathroom at the nunnery. 

The lady in the next stall and I had a good laugh about it.


Most places had more complete toilets or at least toilets with bowls, but this one was so unique I had to take a photo of it.

This monastery was our next stop. The sign was tucked away behind some trees as we walked  in. 


Here's the view of looking from down below. I also showed this photo last week.


This monastery had a lovely outdoor patio-like area. Not for sitting though, even though in the gazebo (which is in a later photo)  you could sit for a bit.




And there were some views too. In this first one you can see all the cars in just one parking lot. Each monastery has their own parking area because the buildings are spread out. This wasn’t the main lot but at least offered extra parking. 


Eeks. I'm not a fan of heights, and so I'm glad there were wooden bars on this window.


You might remember the little basket on the pulley I showed you last week. This is where those baskets come and go out.


More of the lovely patio.



This was the largest brewing barrel I have ever seen.


And this is a cool way to recycle part of a pot. It's so pretty too.



Another patio view.


     This monastery had a small museum where photos were allowed. There was some interesting information about it's history, and then some artifacts which I though were interesting. It was hard to photograph  many of the pieces though between the lights and the glass over them. But here's a couple including an old illuminated manuscript and some lovely ancient stitching that is so well done it looks like it was made with a machine. (But of course isn't.)





I apologize for the long post, but it's time to move on so I decided to squeeze it all in one post .

That is it for me today, and my last Friday Greece post. Have a super weekend ahead. 








19 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, said...

This business of having to wear a skirt remind me of a restaurant in Toronto years ago where a tie was mandatory for men. They would provide one if necessary so you had the ridiculous situation of guys in polo shirts having a tie knotted around their neck and hanging down. How this resulted in decorum escapes me. Wrapping a skirt around your jeans achieves the same questionable result! All the best - David

Angie's Recipes said...

That's how our toilet was like when I was a kid. I actually like it better. That recycled pot planter looks really nice...Happy Friday, Erika.

Iris Flavia said...

Nice skirts :-) And happy faces. Sad no photos were allowed.
I know these "wonderful loos" from Alexandria,Egypt, cockroaches were your companion, brrrr...
Being afraid of heights am am thankful I can enjoy through your blog and don´t have to go myself ;-)
Have a great Friday, hugs

Tom said...

...beautiful spot, but my fear of heights would kick in.

sirkkis said...

It looks that there weren't too hot. Nice face, Erika 😄 Happy weekend 🥰

Gillena Cox said...

Great pics.
i remember having to take my sneakers off to enter a famous hindu temple, on one of our book club outings
Happy Friday. Thanks for linking to AFFF
much♡love

CJ Kennedy said...

Gorgeous views and the little garden is so pretty. I've been pouring over the manuscript photo. Thanks for that. Enjoy the sunshine.

Christine said...

Wonderful photos of Greece! I used one of those toilets in France, not a great experience.

*Vicki* said...

Wow, such a beautiful place with beautiful views...except for the toilet! I would have such a hard time with that one! LOL

Julie Ann Lozada said...

This post beautifully captures the awe-inspiring beauty and spiritual significance of Meteora.

http://www.itsjulieann.com

Carola Bartz said...

The skirt over pants doesn't make any sense to me. In Muslim countries that I traveled the legs had to be covered up to below your knees and of course no tank tops etc. That I could understand, but the skirt over the pants? Those toilets aren't actually that unique - they're pretty common in the Middle East and throughout Asia. I used them many times on my travels and when I lived in Taiwan. Often I found them more hygienic than the seats, especially if they're so well cleaned like the one in your photo. The monasteries and nunnery are stunning. I probably would have spent many hours there. Pity that you couldn't get into the garden, it looks lovely from above. Wonderful views, but I can understand that it is a bit uncomfortable if you're afraid of heights. I'm glad you showed us these gorgeous pictures. Have a lovely weekend, Erika. Hugs - Carola

The Happy Whisk said...

Hard for me to tell. Do they squat for those? Such a good way to poo!

Divers and Sundry said...

I'm looking at that toilet and wondering if I could navigate it. I'm not sure my aim is that good even squatting over it lol

I'm assuming they must have a more thriving monastic community than we do to be able to maintain these buildings.

DVArtist said...

Wonderful post. Beautiful views. The toilet is a bit like traditional toilets in Japan. I was always happy to find a modern bathroom there. LOL Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a nice weekend.

Jeanie said...

This place fascinates me. I wish you could have taken photos inside the nunnery. The garden is lovely with that centerpiece. You have to have either good aim or good knees (or both) for that toilet. Some of the pieces you shared within the monastery are especially beautiful. The skirt thing intrigues me but good they have them on site. From where I sit, you could share more of this spot!

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful photos of your trip to Greece ~ nunnery is intrguing for sure ~ and such history ~ hugs,

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
clm ~ A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

craftytrog said...

What an amazing place! Your photos are great Erika!

Neet said...

I think I mentioned once before that these buildings remind me of my time in China. Beautiful to see and what a wonderful trip this must have been.
I remember in Thailand we were given skirts to wear and in the end I bought one which I still have - nothing but a length of fabric but with a beautiful embroidered band.
Thanks for the lovely scenery.
Hugs, Neet xx

Aimeslee Winans said...

Fab photos, especially the ones of you and your friend, xoxo