Sunday 14 October 2012

From Ancient Olympia to Modern Olympiad 7

Meteora

Something important about me is that I am not scared of heights; I am absolutely blooming terrified of them. For much of my life the idea of anything higher than a beach in Holland has made me gibber with fear and cry.  However, I have a kid and it is my job to try not to pass my fears on to him so I have worked hard at being 'skill at mountains'. Part of my aversion therapy was travelling around southern Italy in a public bus with the Amalfi coastline plunging away below me and the bus driver doing 50mph whilst chatting on his mobile.  That was an actual kill or cure.  So Meteora was always going to be a test for me as the site is a group of Orthodox monasteries and convents built on the top of mountains to be away from the control of the Ottoman Empire.

The monasteries are the tiny blobs at the top of that mountain

And this is the view from the top

Orthodox monasteries are beautiful

The rock formations are simply incredible

The caves you see high up were inhabited by anchorite monks who  climbed up and down




I am sat on a wall, these are my feet. I am skill at mountains.

This is the cable car James Bond fought Jaws on.


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