Meteora is a cluster of sandstone rocks, some rising to 400 meters, northeast from the town of Kalampaka with a group of Orthodox monasteries built on top of the rocks. The Greek word Meteora means “suspended in the air” which describes these outstanding Greek Orthodox monasteries to seem as if they are floating in midair. It is believed that these rock pillars were formed about 60 million years ago, during the Tertiary Period. In the beginning, the area was covered by sea but a series of earth movements pushed the seafloor upwards. The high plateau that was created, caused many cracks which were continuously hit by extreme weather conditions such as strong winds and waves. These events impacted their shape and turned them into huge rock pillars composed of sandstone and conglomerate. In the twelve century AD, an ascetic group of hermit monks were the first people that inhabited Meteora and moved up to the ancient pinnacles and resided at the caverns of Meteora. However, monasteries were not built until the fourteenth century, when saint Athanasios established the Holly Monastery of the Transfiguration. More than 20 monasteries were built in the fourteenth century. Between the 15nth to 16nth centuries, Meteora developed and flourished by creating places of worship and Orthodox iconography. For many centuries, the monks used scaffolds to climb the rocks to bring supplies. Later, this method was replaced by the method of nets with hooks and rope ladders. Other tools needed for the access to the monasteries where wooden ladders, 40 meters in length, and baskets which were pulled up by monks. Today only six monasteries are active with a small number of monks or nuns who live in Meteora. In 1988, the Meteora monasteries were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Meteora-Antichassia area is part of the Natura 2000 network hosting some rare species of birds and flowers.

The small city with the great view of Meteora

Thermopylae, which means "hot gates", is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. The name derives from its hot sulfur springs. In Greek mythology, it was the cavernous entrance to Hades. This passage from north to south along the east coast of the Balkan Peninsula requires use of the pass and for this reason Thermopylae has been the site of several battles. Thermopylae is world-known for the battle that took place in 480 BC between an outnumbered Greek army probably of one thousand (including the famous 300 Spartans) and the invading and extremely larger army of Persians under Xerxes. Despite being greatly inferior in numbers, the Greeks held the narrow pass for three days with Spartan King Leonidas fighting a last-ditch defense with a small force of Spartans and other Greek soldiers. Eventually, the Persians took control of the pass. Leonidas fought heroically and his heroism has impacted and made a lasting impression on later generations of Greece. Within a year the Persian invasion was repelled at the battles of Salamis and Plataea. A bronze statue of Leonidas was built at Thermopylae in 1955. Under the statue, the following is written: Molon Labe ("Come and take them"), which was Leonidas' reply when Xerxes offered to spare the lives of the Spartans if they gave up their arms.