Eight hundred years after its founding, one of the oldest monasteries in Macedonia, the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Torniki of Grevena, is about to go uphill 127 meters on rails to be installed 27 meters higher in order to escape the waters of the third artificial lake of the Aliakmon which will flood the area.
Weighing 300 tons and at a height of 9 meters, the PPC will move this monastery with a special technique used on ancient monuments in Athens and Thessaloniki.
The monastery was said to have been built by General John Tornikiou to glorify the victories of Emperor Nikephoros Phokas.
The lake will begin to fill in the summer of 2012. The rescue of Panagia Tornikiou Monastery is said to cost approximately 800,000 euros.
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