The Anciet Greeks considered Delphi to be the “Navel of the World”. Today, Delphi is a village with a bunch of tourist-oriented businesses whose only reason for being is its closeness to the Navel - the site of the ancient complex of Delphi with its focal point, the Temple of Apollo, where for centuries the Oracle dispensed prophecies, predictions and vague forecasts - a sort of ancient fair ground fortune teller or tarot card reader. The Oracle was always an older woman who performed the function for a few years before being replaced. It is thought that the Oracle sat perched on a tripod (an important symbol for ancient Greeks) atop a natural fault in the ground below through which psychoactive fumes escaped (perhaps mostly ethylene) - so the Oracle was likely stoned and performed in a trance which just added to the mystique. The Oracle dispensed her advice in tongues so what she said had to be translated by a priest which further added to the “authenticity” of her pronouncements and presumably also to the size of the donation given by the customer. The way up to Temple of Apollo was lined by treasuries, buildings erected and maintained by the powerful city states of the time and used as symbols of their wealth and power. Only one still survives - Athens, the grandest of them all. Through the skill of archeologists and the writings of a 2nd Century Athenian geographer what Ancient Delphi must have looked like can be estimated - and awe-inspiring it must have been.

Ancient Delphi survived for more than a thousand years (although fire and earthquakes meant frequent rebuilding) but was finally closed down in the 4th Century AD. By the 7th Century a new village had been built on top of Ancient Delphi and it was another 1200 years before the ancient ruins were rediscovered. The “new village” was relocated a few hundred metres away and Ancient Delphi is now a UNESCO World Heritage site with a very impressive museum next to it containing many of the artifacts recovered.

The Monastries of Meteora

Right in the center of Greece, some 300 km northwest of Athens, lies one of the most impressive and dramatic sites in the entire country. Meteora, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a series of pinnacles of smooth rock, on top of several of which are perched monasteries . Only six are now in active use, although over the centuries there have been as many as 24. The monasteries were constructed in the 14th - 16th Centuries by monks escaping persecution by the invading Ottomans. For centuries, the only was to access the monasteries (including obviously during their construction) was by ladder or rope. In later years, some visitors, including elderly abbots were hauled up in nets - ropes, pulleys and nets are still in evidence today although only used to bring up some supplies. By the mid-20th Century, staircases we’re built leading to most of the monasteries (although one is still only accessible via a very rickety cable car). The monasteries are home to 1-10 monks, depending on size but the nunneries (of which they’re a couple) have more residents. The monasteries are beautifully maintained, thanks mostly to the wealth of the Orthodox Church in Greece as well as the hordes of tourists who pour in every day (3 Euros entry, plus exit through the gift shop!). Although the monks and nuns live a simple, regimented life (8 hours of prayer, 8 of work and 8 of rest) the monasteries these days are blessed with all mod cons including running water and electricity.

Scattered around the valley are the ruins of now abandoned monasteries and numerous caves once home to hermits, mystics and monks pre-dating the building of the first monasteries in the 14th Century. Taken all together, this must be one of the more fascinating places in Greece to visit....