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only 140 steps to the entrance patio!
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We took a tour of the area containing 5 active monasteries and one nunnery. People lived in or on these sandstone pinnacles as early as the 11th century AD. The monasteries were built beginning in the 14th century; they are a spinoff of the Athos monasteries that we saw by boat last Sunday. In the early days, the only access was by a l o o o n g ladder and more recently by winches hoisting ropes and baskets. We went inside the church at Varlaam monastery (inhabited by 7 monks today). In my opinion, the best reason to visit today is to see the religious art inside (very good condition for 14th-16th century works). Today the govt is widening the road to accommodate more tourist $$$$.
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postcard of ceiling "Glory of Christ" (above)
At the nice CG, we cooked outside at their gas stoves. Dinner was spaghetti and meat sauce (first ground beef I've seen in the stores for 6 weeks!) It tasted good.
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