foot of these cliffs. In the 14th century, the titular emperor of Serbs and Greeks, John Uroš, became a monk and moved to Meteora; he endowed, rebuilt and established monasteries here. During the political upheavals in the region during this century, monks retreated to the safe haven offered by the cliffs. Dometius was said to be the first monk at the site of Holy Trinity, arriving according to local legend, in 1438. Holy Trinity according to many sources was built in 1475–76, though some sources say the construction dates of the monastery and its adjoining chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, are unknown. Holy Trinity's decoration was added in 1741. By end of the fifteenth century, there were 24 such monasteries, such as Holy Trinity, St. Barbara Rousanou, and St. Nicholas Anapafsas. Damascene, Jonah, and Parthenios, were benefactors and those who took part in restorations; their names grace the monastery walls. Only six of the original monasteries are still occupied, including Holy Trinity. These six – Holy Trinity, St. Stephen, Rousanou, St. Nicholas Anapafsas, Varlaam, and the Great Meteoron – make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled Meteora. The UNESCO inscribing was done under criteria in 1988. I, II, IV, V and VII. Architecture and fittings The church plan is in the form of a cruciform type and has a dome which is supported on two columns. The monastery's main cathedral was constructed in the 15th century and decorated with frescoes in 1741 by two monks. A pseudo-trefoil window is part of the apse. There are white columns and arches, as well as rose-coloured tiles. A small skeuophylakion adjoining the church was built in 1684. Its broad esonarthex barrel vault was built in 1689 and embellished in 1692. The small chapel of St. John the Baptist, carved into the rock, contains frescoes from the seventeenth century. It was richly decorated and had precious manuscripts; however, these treasures were looted during World War II, when it was occupied by the Germans. The building's sixteenth-century frescoes are reported to be post-Byzantine paintings. A fresco of St Sisois and the skeleton of Alexander the Great adorns the walls. Monastic life At one time, fifty monks lived at Holy Trinity, but by the early twentieth century, there were only five. Visitors are allowed. Patrick Leigh Fermor is reported to have visited the monasteries here several decades ago, as a guest of the