Meteora

Monks first occupied Meteora’s caverns in the 11th century, fleeing to these sandstone pillars to escape Turkish raids, but they didn’t start building monasteries until the 1300s, when they realized hiding in a cave was one thing and fortifying atop an inaccessible rock tower was another entirely. Access was via removable ladders or hoisting ropes, which meant supplies and people arrived in nets hauled up by windlass, a system monks used for centuries until someone finally admitted it was terrifying. Twenty-four monasteries were eventually established atop these giant pillars, but only six still function today, each housing fewer than ten individuals. In 1921, Queen Marie of Romania became the first woman ever allowed to enter the Great Meteoron monastery. She rode up in a mesh sack at the end of a rope, despite an old saying that when a woman tried to climb, the rope would break. Luckily, the rope held. Phew!