chapter 7; scaling the heights

Most of my travel highlights involve climbing to the top of hills, monuments or artefacts…I’ve always had a thing for heights, and conversely, tend to find plains boring. The most notable exception was Ephesus, which is situated on land only gently sloping, and extending down onto a broad plain. Another exception was the Colosseum in Rome; the sheer scale and antiquity of it was stunning. Many of the remaining highlights were elevated.

Climbing the Eifel tower was the first such highlight. We arrived in the evening, and by the time we got through the queue and into the lifts, it was getting dark. We arrived on the second floor, and stepped out on a platform to see all of Paris lit up below us. It was really beautiful; the Paris Illuminations are justifiably famous, especially from that height. Below us we could see a 17th century merry-go-round, also brightly lit; and across the Seine, another.
Virtually every building in central Paris is built in keeping with the traditional architectural style, and so the scene arrayed before us could have been out of another era. We could picture horse drawn carriages, and ladies in gowns travelling the historic streets; although the presence of modern traffic did not seem out of place either.

Paris is a beautiful city; especially at night. We soaked up the atmosphere, and then descended the tower on foot. I was amazed by how many steps there were; and we’d only been half-way up the tower! By the time we reached the ground my legs were jelly… Amazing to think the tower was built as an art-piece, intended only to remain a few years & then be removed…(the Parisians at the time considered it a blot on the landscape, just as many today consider the fabulous glass pyramids at the Louvre to be…) The tower stands today as a testament to art and architecture, and to the madness inherent in the creative act.. Vivre la madness!!!

Another form of madness provided my next highlight. As we travelled across Greece towards the town of Kalambaka, some of my companions discussed what form of insanity might cause religious fanatics to build monasteries on top of huge stone columns such as we were about to see in Meteora. All that remains of the over 70 original monasteries, are 7still standing, and only some of those still operating as monasteries. Why, people wondered, would anyone need to isolate themselves on top of gigantic stone pillars, in order to feel closer to god? As we drew nearer to the town of Kalambaka, we could see the rock formations towering over the buildings. The closer we got the more massive they appeared; they absolutely dominated the landscape. Our hotel (and every other building in town) had a fantastic view of these monstrous elemental artefacts.

In the morning we travelled by bus up into the foothills, where we passed caves in the side of some of the rock towers. In these caves (more like cracks and slits in the sheer rock-face) were what looked like small platforms made of twigs, that were used by monks who sought purification. They would go and live on these fragile platforms for days or weeks, until the flesh was subdued. These people took their spiritual hygiene seriously!

The closer we got to the rock-towers, the bigger we saw they were. Here and there we could see buildings on the topmost part of the formation. We eventually arrived at a height about 2/3rd of the way up, where the bus parked, the rest of the way was on foot. At one time the only access to the monasteries had been by basket, hauled up the sheer cliffs by winch. Now roads have been built bringing visitors closer to the towers, and stone bridges constructed across the chasms, so that only a modest amount of energy is required to reach the top. (More than some people wanted to exert, but I felt it should have been more difficult…) Once we arrived at the monastery it was truly a world apart. Had it not been for the huge number of tourists, it would have been really tranquil.

Each monastery sits atop its own tower, and as I mentioned, at one time there had been over 70. This gives you some idea of the scale of these amazing rock-formations. They extend for miles, and are surrounded by extensive flat plains in all directions.

The first monastery we visited was for men only, and I was asked by the Monk at the entry, (quite sternly,) to cover my chest, before I was allowed to enter. This done, we explored the public portion of what was quite a large facility. Everything had been hand decorated with elaborate religious artwork, and was very beautiful. The second visit was to the Ladies monastery, which was smaller and more dainty, with a pretty little pocket of garden in front of the caretakers cottage. The artwork style was more feminine too.

After these visits we stopped at a point near the road where we could walk out onto a rock pillar on foot. Here in the presence of only a few other people, we experienced the peace and tranquillity that had brought the early religious pilgrims. No-one questioned the sanity or logic of building monasteries there after that.