On our way Home

The sun sets on our epic holiday in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Montreal.

Montreal - Hockey Game

It was a big thrill to finally watch a Montreal Canadiens hockey game live in Montreal! Nice thing about having bought the tickets before we left is that you forget how much  they cost and can just enjoy  the game. The atmosphere was great and even outside the rink it was exciting to see all that history on display. The path to the metro goes by the Bell Centre and they have these huge pictures on the team on the outside.

Then the next day we went to the old Montreal Forum where they have preserved some of the history rather than just demolishing the old rink.

Warm Up

The Legends

The old Montreal Forum

 

Montreal - Nov 7 to 10

Arrival in Montreal

We arrived in Montreal Nov 7 at 6:30 pm, made our way to our hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Nov 8 - Walking tour of Old Montreal

Today we made our way from our hotel and walked to the old port of Montreal, admiring the sights along the way. We spent most of the day doing this and then in the evening we made our  way to the Bell Centre to take in a Montreal Canadiens hockey game.

Mary-Queen-of-the-World Cathedral in Montreal. The cathedral is modeled after St Peter's in Rome and was built between 1870 and 1894.

Montreal Street Scenes

Old Port of Montreal. Clock tower in background was modeled after Big Ben in London

St Lawrence River behind us.

Souvenir shopping

Cruise - Nov 7 End of cruise, flight to Montreal

Today we arrived back in Athens, got shuttled to the airport and made our way back to Canada. We left Athens at 1:10 pm and arrived in Montreal at 6:30 pm (1:30 am Nov 8 in Athens). After successfully collecting our bags we made our way to our Montreal hotel using public transit.

Cruise - Nov 6 Patmos and Syros

Today we arrived at the island of Patmos. John was exiled here by the emperor Domitian because of his testimony of Jesus. It was here the he received the book of Revelation.There is a cave on the island which is where John supposedly received his Revelation. We weren't allowed to take photos in the cave and there was a service going on in there. Next we went up  to the Monastery of St John. After that we went to a little chapel which apparently goes back to the time of St John. Here he secretly baptized new believers. We then returned to the dock and spent some time in worship on the shore. Then we sailed to the island of Syros. There was nothing planned there, so we spent some time just exploring.

The island of Patmos

Sign at the Cave where John received the Revelation

The church that contains the Cave.

The Monastery of St John

The bells of the monastry

The little chapel where John baptized believers

Two Outlook couples having lunch

The island of Syros

Cruise - Nov 5 Kusadasi, Ephesus, and Miletus

Today we arrived in Kadasi and then went to Ephesus. We explored the ruins of Ephesus, one of the world's largest open-air archaeological museums. The ruins uncovered here are spectacular even though only 13% of the city has been uncovered. We then went to the church of St John where his tomb is located and had a communion service using an ancient altar from the time of St John. We then went to an open air restaurant for lunch and a carpet weaving demonstration. Then we headed to Miletus. Paul stopped in at this port on the way  back to Jerusalem (Acts 20:15)

Odeon theatre

Can you see the Nike swoosh

Curetes Street

Terrace houses

Hadrian's temple

Public latrine but only for men

Our group in front of the Library of Celsus

The Menorah referenced above

The commercial market with Celsus Library in back

Theater

Road into Ephesus

St John's tomb in Ephesus. A church was constructed on this site.

Ancient alter in church of St John. Altar dates back to his time.

Baptismal in the church. Holy water was in the two basins on either side. The other basin on the right contained anointing oil

Silkworm cocoons at the Turkmen Carpet Weaving Centre

Two girls weaving carpets. The girl on the right has been working for 6 months on her carpet.

Theater at Miletus

Ruins at Miletus