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Meteora，中文有音译为"迈泰奥拉"，但我更喜欢翻译为"空中之城"的叫法，在希腊语中这个词就是悬浮在空中的意思。
Meteora是希腊东正教最大和最重要的建筑群之一，重要性仅次于阿索斯山，现存有六座完好的教堂矗立在天然的砂岩支柱上，行成了独特的人文景观。
这里也因独特的自然环境成为攀岩和徒步的圣地。被联合国教科文组织列为为数不多的自然和文化双重世界遗产。 从11世纪起，东正教的修士们来到这个几乎都是巨石的地区，靠木梯和绳索攀上高耸的顶峰，居住在天然岩洞里，进行苦修。
11世纪中叶，这里修建了第一座教堂，并形成以此为中心的修道院。14世纪中期，著名的阿塔纳西奥修士在一座高高的岩顶上修建了新的修道院。在随后的几个世纪中，Meteora逐渐发展成具有权威的宗教中心，鼎盛时有24座修道院分布在大小山岭上和有上千名修士，并在土耳其的侵占中抵挡了伊斯兰教的传播。
Meteora共有六座开放给游人的修道院，需要准备两天的时间才能全部游览完。不需要参加旅行团，可以在镇上或旅馆获得清晰的地图，开放时间和简介。从Kalampaka中心也有频繁的公共交通往返主要的修道院。如果是开车应该也会很方便，相连的公路都修建的不错，各个修道院也都有停车场。下面地图中红色箭头所指是可参观的修道院，白色虚线是徒步小径，绿色粗线是公路。
Meteora临近有两个城镇，分别是Kalampaka和Kastraki，可以提供各式食宿。其中Klasmpaka较大，与外部交通较方便。镇中心很热闹，集中了旅馆，餐馆和车站。如果喜欢安静和方便徒步，可以住在较边缘的地方，走去镇中心也不远。我们住的这个家庭旅馆Alsos House在镇边缘，背靠巨石，本身的风景也不错的说。
Meteora有很多徒步的小径，多数都是从遥远年代还没有汽车时就存在的。如果你和我一样喜欢徒步旅行，那一定会收获惊喜，看到从大路上看不到的风景。这是我们在通往Agia Triada Monastery的小路上回望Kalampaka看到的景色。
徒步旅行除了参观修道院，还可以走进Meteora的中心，看一看独特的自然风光。需要注意这一带的徒步道路标记并不清楚，需要事先研究好路线。另外需要相对专业的装备，有些地方并不好走，需要攀爬岩石。这是我们走到Meteora的中心，有这样一块大石耸立着。
The Metéora ( Μετέωρα, literally "middle of the sky", "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above" — etymologically related to meteorology) - is a formation of immense monolithic pillars and hills-like huge rounded boulders which dominate the local area.
It is also associated with one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox Monasteries in Greece, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The six monasteries are built on natural conglomerate pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece.
Metéora is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria I, II, IV, V and VII.
The nearest town is Kalambaka.
Caves in the vicinity of Metéora were inhabited continuously between 50,000 and 5,000 years ago. The oldest known example of a man-made structure, a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the Theopetra cave, was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier against cold winds – the Earth was experiencing an ice age at the time – and many Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts have been found within the caves.[5][6]
As early as the 11th century, monks occupied the caverns of Meteora. However, monasteries were not built until the 14th century, when the monks sought somewhere to hide in the face of an increasing number of Turkish attacks on Greece. At this time, access to the top was via removable ladders or windlass. Nowadays, getting up is a lot simpler due to steps being carved into the rock during the 1920s. Of the 24 monasteries, only 6 (five male, one female) are still functioning, with each housing less than 10 individuals.
The cave of Theopetra is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Kalambaka. Its uniqueness from an archeological perspective is that in it contains, within a single site, the records of two greatly significant cultural transitions: The replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans, and the later transition from hunter-gathering to farming after the end of the last Ice Age. The cave consists of an immense 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft) rectangular chamber at the foot of a limestone hill, which rises to the northeast above the village of Theopetra, with an entrance 17 metres (56 ft) wide by 3 metres (9.8 ft) high. It lies at the foot of the Chasia mountain range, which forms the natural boundary between Thessaly and Macedonia prefectures, while the Lithaios River, a tributary of the Pineios River, flows in front of the cave. The small Lithaios River flowing literally on the doorsteps of the cave meant that cave dwellers had always easy access to fresh, clean water without the need to cover daily long distances to find it. Excavations and research and have discovered petrified diatoms, which have contributed to understanding the Palaeo-climate and climate changes. Radiocarbon dating evidences human presence dating back 50,000 years. The cave is open to the public.