Four distinct Byzantine sanctuaries are captured among the sheer cliffs of Meteora, Greece. Anchored in the lower-left foreground is the multi-tiered Monastery of Rousanou, while the smaller Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapausas rests in the middle distance further down the left-hand valley. Dominating the high center horizon line is the oldest and largest complex in the region, the Monastery of the Great Meteoron, standing proudly on its massive rock pillar alongside the grand Monastery of Varlaam, which sprawls across the prominent cliff ridge on the right. Founded primarily between the 14th and 16th centuries, these monasteries provided hermitic monks safety and spiritual isolation from political upheaval.