No5

METEORA-THE ROCKS OF GOD

The traveler who wishes to visit Meteora, crossing the plain of Thessaly, first passes through the city of Trikala.
This picturesque town, which bears the impress of unique historical memories, was inhabited 5,000 years ago, and until the 11th century BC, was called Trikki.
The name Trikki, we meet for the first time in Homer.
In antiquity, Trikki was thought of as an admirable cultural and religious center. Here was a famed ancient temple of Asclepius, which greatly contributed to global recognition of Trikki as the city of Asclepius.
Today the city is called Trikala. In the early Christian era it flourished uniquely. In the 6th century AD Emperor Justinian renovates the city walls.
In the year 1082 Norman invaders occupy the city while in 1204, Trikala is part of the kingdom of the Franks of Thessaloniki.
Major forces periodically conquered Trikala until the year 1393 when the city, along with the whole of Thessaly, comes under the rule of the Turks.