Reaching Olympic Heights

If you're in Greece for the Summer Games and are inspired to perform some physical feats of your own, you could get into shape by taking a hike. A trek up to the Byzantine monasteries of Meteora will earn you no medals, but the scenery alone is ample reward. Located on the plain of Thessaly about 350 km from Athens, this cluster of monolithic rocks became a religious center for the Greek Orthodox Church inthe 14th century, when monks seeking to get closer to God built a monastery on the summit of the Great Meteoron.

For hundreds...