- Soaring over the Thessalian town of Kalabaka is the monastic community of Meteora, whose name derives from the Greek for “suspended in the air.” Meteora includes six religious complexes; four are occupied by monks and two are home to nuns. Though the fissures in the rocks of Meteora were home to ascetic monks as early as the 9th century, the first monastery was built in the 14th century to protect the monks from upheaval in the declining Byzantine Empire. By Jessica C. Salley
- A peek into the ossuary of the Grand Meteoron monastery. Ossuaries are a traditional part of the Greek Orthodox Church, where the body is viewed as a "temple of the Holy Spirit." Upon the death of an Orthodox monk, he is buried for one to three years before his body is disinterred, cleaned, and returned to the monastery. By Jessica C. Salley
- Replicas of candleholders and woodworks found in the monasteries are sold at each complex’s expansive gift shop, where the asking price of a one-inch imitation icon starts at five euros. By Jessica C. Salley
- What appears to be merely a shack is, in fact, the former gateway into the monastery. Until recently, the only way guests entered the complex was by scaling 300 meters up the cliffs or by being hauled up in a net. According to popular anecdote, when asked how often the nets were replaced, a monk quipped, "As often as the Good Lord lets them break." By Jessica C. Salley
On cliffs above the town of Kalabaka in central Greece, centuries-old monasteries have started welcoming tourists in addition to believers.