We left Athens, or started to, at 8:15. Athens traffic during rush hour is no different from Dallas. We stopped a couple of times, the most significant was Thermopylae. The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between the Aechmenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it was one of the most prominent battles of both the Second Persian invasion of Greece and the wider Graeco-Persian Wars.
Lunch in Kalabaka
We stopped in Kalabaka, the town at the base of Meteora, for lunch and shopping. As promised, I tried some of the local cuisine and wouldn’t you know, I like eggplant (mixed with other things). I had Moussaka, which is kind of like eggplant Parmesan.
Meteora
Still in the region of Thessaly, also known in Homeric works as Aeolia. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited Aeolia, the kingdom of Aeolus, which was the old name for Thessaly. Twenty-four monasteries were established atop the giant natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area, mainly from the second half of the 14th century under the local rule of Simeon Uris. Six of these are still active and open to visitors: the monasteries of Great Meteora (est. 1356), Varlaam, Saint Nicholas Anapausus, Rousanou, Holy Trinity and Saint Stephen, the one we visited. It became a community of nuns in 1961, whereas the former five remain managed by monks. Paul likely passed by these stone pillars as he travelled to Phillipi and Thessalonica.
Both men and women had to have their legs and shoulders covered while visiting the church. Greek Orthodox and Catholics are different religions, but the both have a penchant of ostentatious displays.
It was a long day of bus rides and sightseeing, and the beauty of this country is unlike any other place. When we got to the hotel, I took a shower and crashed. Continual coughing made my throat raw. Thankfully, at lunch time we found a pharmacy and got some meds that worked, in a limited way.
Tomorrow we go to Berea, a place Paul visited and had only good things to say. Then Phillipi, and Thessaloniki for two nights. This trip is winding down rapidly! Please post comments or questions below.