Greece - Day 4 Free day in Athens

In the morning we went to an English church service in Athens at International Christian Fellowship. It was a very diverse congregation. They served snacks and drinks afterwards and I think some of the people were there just for that. We met one person who was from Persia. He had broken English so was hard to understand but I think he said he was a refuge.

After church we did some exploring. Throughout the city there are spots that are fenced off as they contain ancient ruins. We took a ride on a hop on & hop off train ride. We stopped at the National  Garden and Parliament buildings. Along the way, the driver pointed out other sites. At the parliament we saw parts of the changing of the guard ceremony.

Next we got on the train again and got off at the Panathenaic Stadium. It was the site of the first modern Olympics held in 1896 and was also used for the 2004 games. This is an amazing structure made entirely of marble and contains over a 1,000,000 cubic feet of marble weighing 85,100 Metric Tons.

In the evening we went for a teaching and worship time at Shalom Centre House of Prayer with Pastor George Markakis. His teaching was based on Acts 17 when Paul was in Athens.

Haradian's Library

Guards at the Parliament

Inside the Panathenaic Stadium

Seated on the Royal Thrones.

And then we placed 1st and 2nd

View of the Acropolis from Panathenaic Stadium

The Hop On Hop Off train

Dessert from the Bread Factory.

Greece - Day 3 Corinth Oct 29, 2016

Today after breakfast we headed to Corinth. Our comfort / coffee stop was near the Corinth Canal. Their is a strip of land between Athens and Corinth that is quite narrow and in order to shorten routes for ships a canal was dug through this narrow strip of land in 1893. The problem today is that ships are too big to go through it and only smaller vessels can actually go through it.

Our next stop was at Cenchrea. This is an ancient port from which Paul sailed to Syria after his 18 month stay in Corinth. See Acts 18:18. There was a church established at Cenchrea. In Romans 16:1 he commends Pheobe to the church in Rome and calls her a servant or deacon of the church in Cenchrea. According to Hans Weichbrodt the letter to the Romans was probably written during Paul's stay in Corinth and possibly delivered by Phoebe and may even have been dispatched from the very spot on which we were standing.

Next we made our way to the ruins of the ancient city of Corinth. Here we saw some impressive ruins of an ancient Roman city. The Greek city had been destroyed and rebuilt by the Romans. It was a tough city as retired Roman soldiers were given property here and they were tough as they had to survive 25 years in the Roman army. There was also a temple to the goddess Aphroditus here. The city was a very wicked city, yet in that place God started a great work and revival during Paul's ministry there. We saw physical evidence that verified the truth of the New Testament. See the pictures below for examples of these.

We also held a very meaningful communion service.

The Corinth Canal

Ancient port from which Paul sailed to Syria. The Mediterranean Sea here is 1 meter higher here than it would have been in Paul's time. Snorkeling is not allowed here due to the remains of the ancient port under the water. 

Two fragments uncovered at Corinth that point to a Jewish synagogue existing there.

Ruins of ancient Corinth

This was part of the market place where Paul may very well have sold his tents. As mentioned in Acts 18:3 Paul was a tent maker and he worked at his trade while in Corinth.

The inscription says "Bema" which means judgement seat. This is where the proconsul would sit when judicial cases were brought before him. This is where Paul would have been brought when the Jews seized Paul in Acts 18:12-16.

An inscription on a rock in the roadway. This is the Greek name for Erastus, a city official who became a Christian and is mentioned in Romans 16:23

Greece - Day 2 in Athens Oct 28, 2016

Today is the first full day of the Break Forth Paul 2016 tour. Our first stop was the Acropolis Museum containing artifacts from the Acropolis. Many of these were reproductions as the originals were in other museums around the world. When they built the museum, they discovered ancient ruins at the site. In order to preserve these, they modified the foundation pillars so that the ruins could be excavated and eventually opened to the public. Some of the walkways leading to the museum and some of the floor in the museum is made of glass so you can look down at the ancient ruins underneath. After the museum we walked up to the Acropolis and explored the ancient temples and ruins as well as getting fantastic panoramic views of the city of Athens.

Here Rev Hans Weichbrodt from Sweden gave his first devotional of the tour. He talked on Acts 17:16-21. Here Paul is in Athens and became deeply distressed at all the idols in the city. As was his custom he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God fearing Greeks. He also reasoned in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there, preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. This led to some calling him a "babbler" but he persevered and it led to further discussions at a meeting of the Areopagus (v19) where they wanted further information about what he was saying. He then closed the devotional with prayer that God would light a fire in our hearts like he did with Paul and that we would keep pressing forward in spite of difficulties.

We then left the Acropolis and gathered in front of the Areopagus Hill (also known as Mars Hill). Here we had a time of worship. Interestingly a number of other people stopped to listen and some even joined in. There were some Greek young people there that Arlen got to join us and he had a special prayer with them at the end. After the worship Hans gave his second devotional based on the rest of Acts 17 where Paul preached his famous sermon at a meeting of the Areopagus. Here Paul tried to convince the Athenians that there is only one God, not the many gods that they worshiped. When he tried to tell them about Jesus and the resurrection, some sneered at him and others said they would hear him again later. With that Paul left the Council and left Athens shortly thereafter. There were only a few converts, Dionysius being one of the converts. He apparently became the bishop of a church there and is the patron saint of Athens.

After the devotional we climbed to the top of Areopagus Hill. It was very windy up there, but there were some great views of Athens. We then headed to lunch and back to our hotel. On the way our guide pointed out a number of sites.

Ancient ruins under the walkway to the Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis. Structure at the top is the Parthenon

The entrance to the Acropolis

The Parthenon

Erecthion, temple dedicated to Athena on the Acropolis

View of Athens from Mars Hill

On Mars Hill - Acropolis in background

Italy - Day 10, Greece Day 1

Today was a travel day as we left Italy in the morning and headed for Athens Greece and settled into our hotel.

Leaving Rome, headed for Athens

Italy - Day 9 Rome on our own

In the morning we took a walk around the neighborhood of our hotel, spent some time relaxing in our hotel and then in the afternoon we took another tour where we visited the Catacombs of Rome, Saint John in the Lateran and Santa Maria Maggiore Basilicas.

The Catacombs are underground cemeteries consisting of subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs. It is an amazing labyrinth of tunnels and rooms for burial of the dead. Saint John in the Latreran basilica is actually the first home of the popes and was the first church built after Constantine legalized Christianity. Before that they met in house churches. Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica was constructed after some Pope had a vision of the Virgin Mary telling him to build a church there. Both churches are very similar with beautifully ornate decorations, sculptures and furnishings.

After the tours we had dinner in downtown Rome and went back to our hotel, Hotel American Palace. That evening at 9:18 pm our hotel room began to shake as we felt the earthquake approximately 150 km away. It was actually the second quake and measured 6.2 on the Richter scale.

Some scenes from around our hotel in Rome

Stairway to the Catacombes. We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, so you will have to google it if you want to see what they looked like.

Some of the Christian symbols engraved in the Catacombs

Saint John Lateran Basilica

Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica

Statue of a praying pope facing what is reputed to be fragments of the manger where Mary laid the infant Jesus.

Italy - Day 8 Rome

After breakfast today, our tour group left for home or other locations while we stayed behind. In the morning we went on a Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum tour. Even though these are all ruins, you can't help but be amazed by the architecture and skill of the builders of ancient Rome.

In the evening we went to a concert in All Saints Church put on by Three Italian Tenors.

Roman Colosseum from outside

Inside the colosseum

The triumphal arch of Constantine beside the colosseum

Remnants of an ancient Roman aquaduct that served the imperial palaces on Palatine Hill 

One of the imperial palaces on Palatine Hill

Another palace on Palatine Hill

 The Roman Forum (parts of it anyway). An amazing complex which has just recently been uncovered.

Brief video clip from the Three Tenors concert

Italy - Day 7 Tuscany - San Gimignamo - Siena - Rome

Today is the last full day of our tour. We drove through the region of Tuscany which is a beautiful region with picturesque farm houses, vineyards and olive groves. We stopped at an exclusive vineyard near San Gimignano that makes only wines for sale to a private list and their wines contain no sulphites. There we sampled some of their wines along with their olive oil and balsamic vinegar with antipasto (meats, cheese and lettuce salad). Next we headed to Siena, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After Siena we headed back to Rome for our farewell dinner.

San Gimignano

People that were well off used to build their houses tall in this town. Now there are only a few left. 

Siena

Lunch in Siena