What the 5 most inaccessible monasteries in the world look like today, where they go to get closer to God

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Monasteries were often built in places that are inaccessible to humans, far from cities and towns. Monks who wanted to be separated from worldly life felt themselves in such places - places of peace and loneliness, as close to God as possible. Some of these places require much more than determination to reach them. Some of them seem completely inaccessible. The idea is to keep all but the most persistent of pilgrims from visiting these holy places.

Nowadays, these monasteries have ceased to be places of seclusion - they are very popular tourist attractions. For the convenience of tourists, stairs and cable cars were built, which made these historical monuments much more accessible. The monasteries still look very menacing and difficult to reach. So, anyone who wants to visit one of these attractions should be patient and have comfortable shoes.

Meteora Monasteries, Greece

Metéora translated from Greek means "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above." This is not one monastery, but six. These temples are one of the largest and most important religious complexes. They belong to the Eastern Orthodox group of Christians in Greece. This complex was built on a natural sandstone rocky hill. So masterfully turn a simple rock not only into a place of hermitism, meditation and prayer, but also create a real architectural miracle!

These monasteries were built on rocky mountain peaks known as Meteora, which rise 400 meters above the Peneas Valley. In the vicinity of the small Greek town of Kalambaka on the Thessalian Plain. During the turbulent and unstable Middle Ages, it was common practice that monasteries were built on inaccessible peaks. By the end of the 15th century, there were already 24 of them. The period of prosperity of these monasteries lasted until the 17th century. Today only four monasteries - Agios Stefanos, Agia Trias, Varlaam and Meteoron - are still active religious communities.

Access to the monasteries was initially deliberately difficult. To get there, either long, interconnected stairs or large nets were required. In this way, food was delivered to the monks, and sometimes the monks themselves or visitors. This required great strength of faith - the ropes in these nets were changed only "when the Lord allowed them to be torn." In the 1920s, steps were carved into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from a nearby plateau.

Taung Kalat monastery, Burma

This monastery is built on top of a volcanic mountain. This mountain rises above the surface by as much as 737 meters! The temple is located in central Burma (Myanmar). Not far from it there is an extinct Mount Pop volcano. Exactly 777 steps lead to the monastery. The toughest pilgrims who reach the summit will be rewarded with breathtaking views, from the northwest overlooking the distant temples of Bagan and the wooded peak of Taung Magii to the east.

Taktsang Palfug Monastery, Bhutan

Taktshang Monastery, better known as the Tiger's Nest, is located on a steep cliff about 900 meters above the Paro Valley in Bhutan. The slopes of the rocks are very steep, almost vertical. The monastery building is built into the rock.

Although it looks more than impressive, the monastery complex can be approached from several directions. There is a path in the forest, from the northwest, there is a path from the south, and there is a path from the north - usually used by pilgrims. It passes through the forest and looks quite colorful: it is overgrown with moss, and the monks decorated it with prayer flags. If one is on the territory of a monastery in cloudy weather, then an indescribable feeling of separation from the whole world is created.

Shumel Monastery

This ancient monastery was built in the cliffs of the Altmdere Valley in Turkey. It is located at an altitude of about 1200 meters. Today, there is simply no more important attraction in this area. The jewel of the local national park, the monastery was founded in 386 AD during the reign of Emperor Theodosius I (375 - 395 AD). According to local legend, two priests climbed the mountains to pray in solitude and peace. In the cave where they stopped, the priests found the face of the Virgin Mary on the surface of the rock. At the place where this miraculous icon was found, the priests decided to erect a temple. During its long history, the monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times by various emperors. It acquired its current form in the 13th century. This happened when the emperor Alexios III ruled.

The monastery was completely abandoned after the First World War. He was practically consigned to oblivion. Population migration began. Millions of people abandoned their homes, their homes and returned to their historical homeland. The monastery was empty for decades. Today, the Turkish government has partially restored this monastery, partially reconstructed and opened the historical monument to the public. And there is something to see.

Hanging monastery, China

The Hanging Monastery or Hanging Temple is located in a canyon at the foot of Heng Mountain in Shanxi Province, China. The temple is built on the side of a cliff, about 75 meters above the ground, and stands resting on a hidden rock corridor and wooden beams inserted into the mountain. All the rooms inside this temple, and there are more than 40 of them, are interconnected inside by many corridors, bridges and sidewalks. They are evenly spaced and well balanced in height. The interior of the monastery includes many statues and sculptures. They were created during different dynasties from various materials, such as: bronze, cast iron, clay, stone. The temple was originally built to protect against floods. The monastery in the mountain perfectly protected the monks from rain, wind and snow. Also, the room in the rocks served as an excellent protection from the heat. Today, the Hanging Monastery is one of the top tourist attractions in the Datong area, if you are interested in this topic, read our article on modern temple architecture - churches built by an atheist: Le Corbusier's strange religious buildings. Based on materials