Some of the 13 (!) domes of Doliana (or "Dolianon") monastery in Aspropotamos region, Trikala, Thessaly, Greece


Somewhere, in the "middle of nowhere", deep in the heart of a forest, in beautiful Aspropotamos region, Trikala, lies one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in my life. It is the church of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross) near the village of Doliana, which is wrongly known as Moni (monastery) Dolianon, while it's not a monastery it's just a church, that "belonged" to the nearby monastery of Timias Zonis (Holy Belt). It was constructed around 1770 and restored twice in 1840 and 1900. The monastery of Timia Zoni was destroyed by the Nazis the year 1943, the same year that the most brutal and barbaric army in the history of mankind burned all (!) the villages of Aspropotamos region. The church impresses with its excellent architecture, the use of stone everywhere, even on the roof and of course the 13 (!) domes. Nowadays it is a "Metochi" of (it "belongs" to) Aghios Stefanos (St. Stephen) monastery of Meteora.


Size: 3744px × 5621px
Location: Doliana Monastery, Aspropotamos county, Trikala Prefecture, Thessaly, Greece, Europe
Photo credit: © Hercules Milas / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 13, acheloos, aghios, agios, architectonic, architecture, aspropotamos, autumn, beaten, belt, church, churches, color, colorful, cross, destination, detail, details, doliana, dolianon, domes, element, elements, explore, fall, forest, greece, greek, hidden, holy, landscape, landscapes, marvel, marvels, meteora, monasteries, monastery, moni, nature, region, religion, river, secret, stavros, stefanos, stephen, steven, stone, thessaly, timia, timios, track, traditional, travel, tree, trees, trikala, unknown, winter, zoni