Photographer's Note
Leaving the Monastery, you can see this view: the Holy Monastery of Varlaam and the digged pass into the rock! Magnificent view! A place worth 1000 visits!
The Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration(Metamorphosis) of Christ(Great-Meteoron)
Some short infos:
The monastery, built on an imposing rock, is the oldest, the biggest and the most important among the monasteries of Meteora which are preserved today. It was founded little before the mid-14th century (around 1340) by a scholar monk of Mount Athos, Saint Athanasios Meteorites. In the beginning, he built on the rock a church to the Mother of God. He also dedicated the monastery (the Monastery of the Virgin Mary of Meteora rock-Petra-) to her. Besides, he built cells so that the monks who began to concentrate there could live. Then, he built another church honoured to the Transfiguration of Christ. This church constituted the monastery katholikon and the definitive name of the monastery attributes to this church.
An important person was also his successor and second founder of the monastery, monk Saint Iosaph (one-time king Ioannis Uresis Paleologos). During the 40 years of his monastic life, Saint Iosaph built cells, hospital, cistern, he renovated the church of the Transfiguration (it is the sanctuary which has today the form of a church) and he was among the first ones who built the monastery of Ypsilotera (of Kalligraphon) on a steep and inaccessible rock opposite the monastery of Great Meteoron.
The monastery flourished particularly in the mid-16th century. Thanks to imperial and royal donations it became the most powerful of all the monasteries of Meteora. In 1544/1545, today's magnificent nave and narthex of the imposing katholikon (the old church turned into sanctuary) were built. Later, a refectory, a kitchen, a hospital-home for the aged, a tower, small chapels and joined ladders were built. On the other hand, the monastery suffered from destructions: incursions, thieving, looting and fires.
The monastery of Great Meteoron has already more than 600 years of existence. Its monastic presence and its fame have never ceased to exist. It is a real bastion of orthodox monasticism and Christendom.
> More infos at Kalampaka.com site
jjbach, coco, carper, papagolf21, MarekP, Intruder, vsinopoulos has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
jjbach
(9326) 2005-05-12 9:53
Γειά σου Μπάμπη,
Εντυπωσιακή σύνθεση με πολύ όμορφα χρώματα και πολύ καλό βάθος πεδίου. Η θέα και η διαδρομή ως εκεί φαντάζομαι, είναι μοναδική. Μου αρέσει που έχεις συμπεριλάβει και το βράχο, δίνοντας έτσι μεγαλύτερη προοπτική στη φωτογραφία. Μπράβο σου, πολύ εντυπωσιακή δουλειά!!
Φιλικά Γιάννης
coco
(30439) 2005-05-12 10:42
Colours, light, composition and perspective... and also the place... all magnific.
Well done.
carper
(96) 2005-05-12 13:39
very nice one my friend,
very good depth in this good shot, the composiion is very nice, the colours are very nice, the light is nice, good job,
gr, Jaap
papagolf21
(152607) 2005-05-13 3:43
Mon ami Mpampis,
Je m'aperçois que j'ai raté de très belles photos durant mon absence, aussi je me rattrape avec celle publiée aujourd'hui.
Tout d'abord un grand merci pour la note très documentée (vous avez une culture encyclopédique Mpampis). Je suis toujours étonné par ces beautés qu'ont bâties nos aïeux ainsi que le travail titanesque pour arriver à construire avec des moyens rudimentaires de tels édifices.
Mille mercis pour cette image très bien réalisée.
Amitiés.
Philippe
MarekP
(4750) 2005-05-13 5:24
Very nice POV, Mpampis. I like the detail of the rock in foreground and the monastery in background. It creates a perfect perspective.
Thanks,
Marek
jhm
(211738) 2005-05-13 12:41
Hi Mpampis,
It game between sun and shadow give a lovely composition, the green hills on the background make total lovely picture.
Thanks for your interesting note too.
Have a nice Pentecost weekend.
John.
Intruder
(3099) 2005-05-13 23:19
very nice shot Mpampi, the view is great! nice rocks and impressive monasteries, nice work
PixelTerror
(0) 2005-05-14 3:52
Kalimera Mpampis,
I like here your PoV, you've used the ramp and stone very well to create a fine perspective towards the monastery and give depth to your photo, that's very good, light and sharpness are good too, but I don't like the sky color it does not look natural, on your previous photos the sky was nuch better.
Have a nice week end,
jean-Yves
ccooper
(840) 2005-07-22 18:28
Very nice perspective and a view of this area that I have not seen before. This is a place I have wanted to visit for years.
vsinopoulos
(263) 2006-02-26 11:50
Εξαιρετική λήψη, η θέα που έχεις συμπεριλάβει είναι καταπληκτική και τα χρώματα όμορφα και ζωηρά. Εξαιρετικό επίσης το βάθος πεδίου.
Βασίλης
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Mpampis Mantoukas (Xalkida)
(11744)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2005-05-03
- Categories: Castles, Nature, Architecture, Artwork
- Camera: SONY DSC-P10, Sony 2.8/8-24mm, Memory Stick 256mb
- Exposure: f/5.6, 1/250 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Travelogue: Meteora - Kalampaka
- Theme(s): Greek Churches/Greek Orthodox religion, Greece - The most famous sites, !Xalkida's Greek Monuments Portofolio, !Meteora, the Holy Rocks [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2005-05-12 9:45
Discussions
- To jjbach: Eyxaristo! (1)
by Xalkida, last updated 2005-05-12 09:55 - To PixelTerror: About the sky (1)
by Xalkida, last updated 2005-05-13 05:49