{{Traducere EN}}[[Fișier:descărcareImages_(21).jpg|right|thumb|Meteore250px]]'''Meteora''' (gr. în grecește Μετέωρα—"stâncile agățate", "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above"„stâncile suspendate”) este unul din cele mai importante complexuri monastice din Grecia și din lumea ortodoxă, al doilea ca mărime din Grecia, după [[Muntele Athos]]. The monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pinnaclesMănăstirile sunt construite pe creneluri de stânci de gresie naturală, la colțul nord-vestic al câmpiei Tesaliei, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the aproape de râul Pinios river and Pindus Mountainsși de Munții Pindului, in central Greeceîn Grecia centrală. The Metéora is home now to six monasteries and is included on the Meteora este acum gazdă a șase mănăstiri și este inclusă pe Lista Patrimoniului Mondial UNESCO World Heritage List.

As the Turkish forces increased pressure on the Byzantine empire in the fourteenth century the monasteries of Mount Athos were besieged by Turkish pirates. Having heard of the rock forest in central Greece, Athanasius Koinovitis, with two other monks, Gregory and Moses, left the Primii [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)călugăr]]i veniți să locuiască la Meteora în secolul al XI-lea trăiau în peșteri ca [[Eremit|Iviron Monasterypustnici]] on Mount Athos, in 1344, in search for a new home and found the inaccessible rock pinnacles of Meteora to be an ideal refuge. Here they settled on the top of a rock called Stylos or Pillar.

LaterPrimele mănăstiri datează din secolul al XIV-lea, Athanasius began another community on the nearby Platys Lithos, or Broad Rock, where a few cells and fiind construite pentru a [[chapel]] in a cave were built. In 1356, the Serbian Emperor Symeon Uros endowed the community with funds to build the Church of the [[Transfiguration]] and expand the monastery that became known as the Great Meteoron or Monastery of the Transfiguration. The Great Meteoron was perfect for the monks; they were safe from political upheaval and had complete control of entry to the monastery. The only means of reaching it was by climbing a long ladder, which was drawn up whenever the monks felt threatenedscăpa de turci și albanezi.

About 1373, John Uros, the son of Symeon Uros, retired to the Great Meteoron as the monk IoasaphSf. In 1383Atanasie din Meteora, he succeeded Athanasius on his death. Ioasaph further expanded the monastic community and the churchexpulzat din Republica monastică Muntele Athos, but after his death in 1422, the Great Meteoron community began a period of disorder and decline. A brief revival occurred during the sixteenth century. In 1517fondat Mănăstirea Marele Meteor cu mai mulți adepți, Nectarius and Theophanes built the Monastery of Varlaámurmat de alte comunități care au ocupat stâncile (până la 24 la apogeu, which was reputed to house the finger of St John and the shoulder blade of St Andrewîn secolul al XV-lea).

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Meteora became a refuge from oppressive Ottoman officials and a hideout for members of the Greek independence movementDin secolul al XVII-lea, o serie de mănăstiri au fost abandonate treptat. During World War II the Meteora suffered from bombing as well as further disorder and looting of art treasures that occurred during the German and Italian occupationUnele au fost distruse sau deteriorate în timpul războaielor, mai ales la începutul secolului al XIX-lea, de către oștile lui Ali Pașa.

Access to the monasteries originally was extremely difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and humansÎn jurul anului 1920 au fost construite în stâncă scările actuale care permit un acces ușor. For [[pilgrim]]s to reach Varlaam monastery that dominates the valley  În timpul celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial locul a hoist was required to gain access vertically alongside a cliff that is 1fost ocupat de trupele germane. Doar șase mănăstiri sunt încă funcționale în prezent,200 feet unele fiind reocupate după o perioadă de abandon:* Agios Nikolaos (Sfântul Nicolae).* Agios Stefanos (373 metersSfântul Ștefan) high. During the 1920s improvements were made in the arrangements for access to the monasteries* Aghia Triada (Sfânta Treime)* Marele Meteor, sau Mănăstirea Schimbării la față. Steps were cut into the rock to some monasteries making the complex accessible as well as bridging from the nearby plateauAceasta este prima ca mărime și vechime, fiind ocupată în permanență de la începuturile sale.* Roussanou* Varlaam