Anonymous

“ On the summit of these rocky pinnacles—accessible only by aid of rope and basket let down from the top, or in some cases by a series of almost perpendicular ladders climbing the cliff to the mouth of a tunnel—stand the monasteries of Meteora (τὰ Μετέωρα) . At one time they were twenty-four in number; but Holland (1812) and Hughes (1814) found them reduced to ten; at Curzon's visit (1834) there were only seven; and in 1853 not more than four of these were inhabited by more than two or three monks. Meteora par excellence is the largest and perhaps the most ancient. ”

“ The present building was erected, according to Leake's reading of the local inscription, in 1388 (Björnståhl, the Swedish traveller, had given 1371) , and the church is one of the largest and handsomest in Greece. ”