{"id":23074,"date":"2020-01-21T18:23:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T18:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.potentialplusuk.org\/?p=23074"},"modified":"2020-01-21T18:23:02","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T18:23:02","slug":"meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This Christmas holiday, I visited Meteora, a rock formation\u00a0in central Greece. It hosts one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of six Eastern Orthodox monasteries, built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. Located near the town of\u00a0Kalambaka\u00a0at the north western edge of the\u00a0Plain of Thessaly\u00a0near the\u00a0Pineios river and\u00a0Pindus Mountains, Meteora is included in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/whc.unesco.org\/en\/list\/455\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UNESCO World Heritage List<\/a>. The name means lofty or elevated, and is etymologically related to\u00a0<i>meteor <\/i>(Wikipedia). This is my take on the destination, one of the most amazing places I have visited to this day.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;23078&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">METEORA<\/p>\n<p>From the underworld to the gates of paradise,<br \/>\nstone steps spiral\u00a0in serpentine lanes.<\/p>\n<p>An underrated Atlantis arisen from oceanic depths,<br \/>\nwhere basking sharks bathe and plankton tread water.<\/p>\n<p>Carved in undying passion, chisel and hammer set to stone,<br \/>\nbrick red monasteries rest, almost like a medieval utopia. <strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hidden\u00a0in a fa\u00e7ade of foliage, amidst jagged cliffs,<br \/>\na fiery persimmon tree brightens an azure blue sky.<\/p>\n<p>Here chandeliers glow and incenses smell an angel&#8217;s breath,<br \/>\nas monks chant and God echoes in response to prayers. <strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Living on the edge had never felt so restful,<br \/>\nbalancing on the tip of life, a step closer to heaven.<\/p>\n<p>In Meteora, name like a shooting star, suspended\u00a0in mid-air.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_single_image image=&#8221;23077&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This Christmas holiday, I visited Meteora, a rock formation\u00a0in central Greece. It hosts one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of six Eastern Orthodox   [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001684,"featured_media":23080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[339,196,357,214],"tags":[213],"class_list":["post-23074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","category-focus","category-reviews-and-visits","category-young-people","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This Christmas holiday, I visited Meteora, a rock formation\u00a0in central Greece. It hosts one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of six Eastern Orthodox  [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Potential Plus UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-21T18:23:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"466\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Geraldine Glover\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geraldine Glover\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/\",\"name\":\"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-21T18:23:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5a752d6f665d00798a1ec249bc7e564f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":466,\"caption\":\"Meteora\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/\",\"name\":\"Potential Plus UK\",\"description\":\"Discover, Nurture, Succeed\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5a752d6f665d00798a1ec249bc7e564f\",\"name\":\"Geraldine Glover\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d839df56a7b8dc7bd15b5be674eeb6d04df321fa0c0fe07584f9f6f40dd0e3d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d839df56a7b8dc7bd15b5be674eeb6d04df321fa0c0fe07584f9f6f40dd0e3d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Geraldine Glover\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/author\/ppadmingg\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK","og_description":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This Christmas holiday, I visited Meteora, a rock formation\u00a0in central Greece. It hosts one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of six Eastern Orthodox  [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/","og_site_name":"Potential Plus UK","article_published_time":"2020-01-21T18:23:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":466,"url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Geraldine Glover","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Geraldine Glover","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/","name":"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13) - Potential Plus UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-21T18:23:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5a752d6f665d00798a1ec249bc7e564f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Meteora.jpg","width":960,"height":466,"caption":"Meteora"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/meteora-by-iona-mandal-aged-13\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meteora by Iona Mandal (Aged 13)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/","name":"Potential Plus UK","description":"Discover, Nurture, Succeed","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5a752d6f665d00798a1ec249bc7e564f","name":"Geraldine Glover","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d839df56a7b8dc7bd15b5be674eeb6d04df321fa0c0fe07584f9f6f40dd0e3d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d839df56a7b8dc7bd15b5be674eeb6d04df321fa0c0fe07584f9f6f40dd0e3d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Geraldine Glover"},"url":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/author\/ppadmingg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}