In the mainland, we rented a car at Athens Airport and headed for the first sightseeing spot, « Osius Loukas Monastery » on the way to Delphi from Athens.
This is a Greek Orthodox and Orthodox monastery founded around the 10th century, which is recognized as a World Heritage Site. It is said to be one of the most beautiful monasteries in Byzantine architecture.
You can take a highway from Athens airport to Thebes, but the road from there is a public road, even though it is a national highway.
It took longer than expected, especially as we approached the monastery on a narrow, single track mountain road, but we still arrived at our first destination with smooth sailing and without getting lost.
The stairs leading from the parking lot are impressive, this looks very promising.
The stairs lead down to the square in front of the monastery.
When you go through this gate…
The view you see is spread out in front of you. Beautiful!
The temple has collapsed several times due to earthquakes and civil wars in the past, but some of the buildings, mosaics and reliefs are still standing.
There was a little museum next to the cathedral, which you can visit for 3 euros.
There is also a guide in English, so you can learn a lot.
When it’s written in Greek, it feels like an ancient ruin. It’s not ancient, though (laughs).
After seeing the museum, we went to the cathedral which is right next to it.
The beauty and sanctity of this cathedral left me speechless.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen much of the architecture and institutions of the Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches because I was mainly in Western Europe.
Perhaps that’s why a church without idols makes us feel even more holy.
The weather was cloudy from the morning, but it looked like it would gradually improve.
次はここから30分ほどのデルファイに向かいます。
