At Meteora rock formation, just outside the town of Kalabaka, northern Greece

 “Living in a monastery, even as a guest rather than a monk, you have more opportunities than you might have elsewhere to see the world as it is, instead of through the shadow that you cast upon it.” ― Dean Koontz

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(just outside the town of Kalabaka, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains in the heart of northern Greece) Meteora is one of the most unique places to visit in Greece -- even in all of Europe. A rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, Meteora is second in importance only to Mount Athos. The six monasteries (of an original 24) are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like boulders that punctuate the area. These monasteries make up one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites that have been given a double status (one for art and one for nature). The stunning bluffs and hoodoos that make up the complex of Meteora are spread thousands of feet above the ground, making it one of the most remote places to live and worship in the world. The monasteries date back to the 14th century and once required an intricate system of ladders and baskets to scale the sky-high rock formations they sit atop.