Kalampaka (also called Kalambaka or Kalabaka) is a town of 12,000 population which is situated at right at the foot of the Meteora rocks. This is where most visitors stay to visit the Meteora rocks. But it is much more than a town with impressive Meteora pinnacles at the background. Kalampaka has rich and long history. A Greek inscription on the wall of one of the town’s oldest churches (St. John the Baptist) testifies the existence of an ancient Greek settlement under the name Aiginion.
This is the view of Kalampaka town from the hotel. After checking-in, we decided to walk around and explore the town.
This signage said Byzantine Church of The Assumption of the Virgin (9th to 11th century) is only 800m away. So we decided to look for it.
The imposing Meteora Rock hills dominates the town of Kalampaka.
This church looks quite new. So nope, I didn’t think this is the Byzantine Church of The Assumption of the Virgin we were looking for. But we still walked in to have a look.
The church is located just a short walk away from the hotel.
After that, we continued our search.
Couldn’t help admiring the beauty of the Meteora rocks.
During the German occupation of Greece, Kalampaka was burnt down by the German army in 1943 and then rebuilt after the war ended. This is why most of the buildings in town looks new.
People actually hiked up the rocks.
Finally, we found Byzantine Church of The Assumption of the Virgin (9th to 11th century). And it’s definitely not merely 800m away from our hotel.
The town map listing the available accommodation options.
The Byzantine Church is located on higher ground, giving me nice view of the town. The church which I have went earlier can be seen from here.
The church’s imposing bell town in the northern side of the entrance to the church.
It is a must-see church in town. Relics of an ancient Greek temple dedicated to God Apollo have been embedded in the wall.
This church is somewhat hidden and modest, but it is actually 10 centuries older than the oldest monastery of Meteora. It is a monument that managed to preserve the continuity of the local history of the past 25 centuries at least.
No photo or video was allowed in the church.
It was quite dark inside. We managed to get some photos just to show how the interior of the church looks like.
After visiting the church, I head on to the town centre of Kalampaka.
There are lots of hotels, restaurants, shops and cafes in town because of the importance of tourism.
Hotel Divani is the hotel that we stayed overnight.
Enjoying our buffet dinner.
The Natural History Museum of Meteora at Kalampaka.
View of Kalampaka town at night.
And I had fun dressing up my son like a monk in the hotel room, haha. Looking forward to our visit to the Meteora monasteries in the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment