{"product_id":"ancient-greece-meteora-wall-art","title":"Meteora Kalabaka Greece Prints","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMeteora means \"suspended in the air\" in Greek. The name is etymologically related to the word meteor. It perfectly describes the seemingly impossible position of ancient monasteries perched atop sandstone pillars rising 400 meters above the Thessaly Plain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eGeologists date the formation of these rocks to 60 million years ago during the Paleogene period. The area was once covered by sea. A series of earth movements caused the seabed to withdraw and the remaining mountains were sculpted by wind, water, and time into the vertical pillars standing today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe immense monoliths are not volcanic plugs of hard igneous rock as found elsewhere. They are composed of sandstone and conglomerate formed from river sediments deposited over millions of years. No geological explanation for their exact shape and height has ever been fully proven. \u003cspan class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe first people to inhabit Meteora arrived in the ninth century. They were Christian hermits who climbed the colossal pillars with bare hands and feet seeking spiritual isolation above the world below. They lived in natural hollows and fissures in the rock towers some 550 meters above the Thessaly Plain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eActual monasteries were not built until the 14th century when Turkish raids into Greece forced the monks to seek higher and more defensible ground. The only means of reaching the summit was by climbing rope ladders that were drawn up whenever the monks felt threatened. Twenty four monasteries were eventually built atop the rocks. Six remain active today. The Meteora complex was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988 under both cultural and natural criteria. \u003cspan class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe monasteries preserve important collections of Byzantine frescoes, icons, manuscripts, and ecclesiastical artifacts. The frescoes in the Great Meteoron and Varlaam monasteries are considered masterpieces of post-Byzantine art painted by Cretan school artists of the 16th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMountain climbers test themselves against the sheer vertical walls of the rocks alongside religious pilgrims amazed by the treasures of the monasteries above them. Both arrive at Meteora seeking the same thing. A place that exists outside the ordinary boundaries of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ASKEŌ","offers":[{"title":"18x24 - [45x60 cm] \/ Option 1","offer_id":46287014854828,"sku":null,"price":89.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x24 - [45x60 cm] \/ Option 2","offer_id":46287014887596,"sku":null,"price":89.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16 - [30x40 cm] \/ Option 1","offer_id":46287014920364,"sku":null,"price":69.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16 - [30x40 cm] \/ Option 2","offer_id":46287014953132,"sku":null,"price":69.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/1522\/5516\/files\/MeteoraMock1.jpg?v=1779245065","url":"https:\/\/askeo.store\/products\/ancient-greece-meteora-wall-art","provider":"ASKEŌ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}