Mountain towns in Greece

The mountain towns in Greece have a beauty to them that highlights different details from the islands. The architecture varies and takes on influential styles from the settlers of various regions. We focused on chapels, monasteries and monuments while traveling through the mountains.

In 2009, we showed our sons the significance of several mountain towns across Greece.

Our route was fantastic! My husband is wonderful when it comes to navigating these routes.

Delphi- to tour the Oracle of Delphi
Arahova- the quaint town of wools, embroidery, flokati rugs
Meteora–the monasteries atop rock pillars
Metsovo-stone paved streets in a ski village, a one-time Vlach settlement
Ioanina-capital city of Epirus
Igoumenitsa-coastal city
Delphi

From my journal: “The roads were very steep and the view is breathtaking and unlike any other we’ve seen. Walking up to the monastery at Meteora makes you experience this view and be part of it. Walking through this most peaceful, holy monastery with no tour guide makes it a meditative process. Seeing my sons light candles in this dark chapel is a full circle experience for us as parents, knowing this is why you bring your kids to Greece as Orthodox Christians and Greek children. Leaving the monastery, a guide gives you a loukoumi, probably symbolizing the sweetness of this experience.” “After some time at Meteora, we drove on to Metsovo with its high roads and hairpin turns. My husband asked me to read something from the Greece guidebook so I would be distracted from the danger. We came upon some tunnels through the mountains that were 3 miles long! Metsovo was quaint and had a German and Austrian feeling to it. The village was full of specialty cheeses, costumes, wines, honey, wool and unique cuisine. The village architects have done an incredible job keeping the integrity here. Men were making a cobblestone road there and we found a haunting, old, moss-covered church set back in a fenced park on a panoramic hilltop. We ordered kokoretsi from a restaurant where all the locals were–and that is always a good sign! On to Ioannina, we found a fortress Aslan Pasha with Arabic writing on the tombstone, cannonballs, dungeons, ruins, etc. It was an overcast day. We walked by the first lake we’ve seen on this trip and watched boats from a cliff by the fortress. My husband has fond memories of this city from his childhood trip to Greece so it was nice to see hear his memories.”