Greece
We wandered through the exhibits of statuary, vases, bronzes and frescoes, from as early as 3,000 years before Christ.
On the second day we crossed the Corinth Canal, built in 1898 to connect the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea, and then visited the ruins of ancient Corinth.
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It was fascinating to walk the same streets the Apostle Paul walked, while he lived for eighteen months working as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla.
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Heading back to Athens, we stopped at Kallimarmaro Stadium. Built in the 4th century BC for the Panathenaic Games, the Stadium was restored for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
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Acropolis means "the high of the city". We climbed to the top to see the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Erechtheion Temple, Mars Hill, and other sights.
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On the fourth day we left Athens for Delphi, driving through the mountains, passing pistachio and olive groves, and cotton fields. In ancient times, people would come to Delphi to consult the oracle where divine prophesies were delivered through the priestess at the Temple of Apollo. After a visit to the museum, we climbed to see the remains of the Temple and other ruins.
We stayed at the lovely Divani Meteora Hotel in Kalambaka. On New Year's Eve, Greeks traditionally eat a Christmas cake in which a coin has been hidden. Our group was served this cake, but neither of us were the lucky ones to find the coin!
On our fifth day we visited one of the hanging monasteries of Meteora. Of the 21 monasteries which once stood upon the rocks of Meteora, only six still function today. Some are uninhabited; some are in ruins. Our first stop, though, was at an icon workshop, where we saw a demonstration of techniques used in Byzantine times to paint and apply the gold leaf to icons.
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We visited the Monastery of St. Stephen, likely inhabited well before 1200, and now a nunnery. The chapel walls are
covered with beautifully painted frescoes.
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The huge granite rocks tower above the plain, and in the old days, the monks would use a rope net or rope ladder to ascend or descend, or to bring up provisions.
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In Thessaloniki (Ancient Thessalonica) we visited the Church of St. Demetrios, an important Byzantine church, and then the excavations of the Roman Agora, or marketplace. This would have been the central meeting place in the city where Paul would have come. We stayed that night in Thessaloniki at the Capsis Hotel.
Our last full day in Greece was mostly spent exploring the ancient ruins of Philippi. The excavations are extensive and we saw where the Forum, Agora, Temple, baths and even the communal toilets were. We also saw the jail where it is likely Paul and Silas spent the night, since it dates from that time. There was snow here, though not deep, and it was truly beautiful.
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Then we left to travel to Kavala, an important port city on the Aegean, and checked into the Oceanis Hotel. In ancient times the city was called Neopolis, and was where Paul first set foot in Greece. We had a wonderful Greek lunch, delicious moussaka with baklava for dessert. We strolled the streets and shops of Kavala, savoring our last night in Greece.
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