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Date/
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PLANNED FOR THIS DAY
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Thurs
26 Oct
(Day 1)
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Departure USA for Greece from
Hattiesburg-Laurel regional airport (PIB); connection in Memphis;
overnight
flight on Northwest/KLM to Amsterdam.
AT LEFT: Waiting for Flight to Amsterdam at Memphis
RIGHT: Lori
on a canal in Amsterdam |
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Fri
27 Oct
(Day 2)
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Late morning arrival in Amsterdam; board
flight for Greece; late afternoon arrival in
Athens; take rental vans and proceed to hotel near Marathon for
overnight.
AT LEFT: The Dam Square in Amsterdam;
RIGHT: the flag of Greece
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Sat
28 Oct
(Day 3)
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Morning visit to Marathon, site of the famous
battle, followed by a van drive to northern Greece (through Thessaly to
Macedonia), stopping along
the way at the remote Mycenean site of Gla, perhaps Orchomenos,
and the site of the Battle of Thermopylae; visit the royal
tombs (including that of Philip II, Alexander’s father) at Vergina, and
the Macedonian capital of Pella (home of Alexander the
Great);
check in at hotel in Thessaloniki; enjoy a great sunset from the
mountain edge near the hotel.
AT LEFT, above: Lori and Emily on the citadel of the weed-covered
Mycenean Gla
AT
LEFT, below: Atop tower ruins on the citadel of Orchomenos (you don't
get this on the bus tour!)
AT RIGHT, above: A Royal Macedonian Tomb at Vergina (location of the
tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great)
AT
RIGHT, below: Emily and Karen on the walls of the Eptapirgio fortress
above Thessalonica |
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Sun
29 Oct
(Day 4)
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Morning drive
east to Kavalla (ancient Neapolis, where Paul first made land in
Europe); drive/climb to acropolis Castle with spectacular overlook of
city and port; on departing city, take in aqueduct and Roman road;
short
drive to Philippi (of Paul's 2nd journey) with its extensive ruins;
check out the Hellenistic lion statue at Amphipolis and a
dubious "Bema of Paul" at Appolonia; search for "Jim Grill Place" or
some other outlet for
a great dinner; perhaps make a surreptitious dusk
visit to Eptapirgio
fortress at the top of the acropolis and a night visit to
the White Tower; overnight at Thessalonica.
AT LEFT,
above: The group looking over battlements of acropolis castle at Kavalla
AT LEFT, below: Poppies (Anemones) and ruins of an early Christian
basilica at Philippi
AT RIGHT, above: The head man at Philippi
AT RIGHT, below: Huge lion statue at Amphipolis
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Mon
30 Oct
(Day 5)
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Depart to Kalambaka, possibly taking in Beroea enroute;
afternoon arrival in Meteora with time for a visit to one of the
monasteries or nunneries; evening pictures of the spectacular vistas in
Meteora; dinner and overnight in Kalambaka
AT
LEFT: Mark at the monastery of Varlaam at Meteora, with Rousannou in
background
AT RIGHT, above: The monastery of Rousannou amid some of the granite
columns that have supported monasteries for centuries at Meteora
AT RIGHT, below: Lori and Emily above Varlaam (right) and Rousannou
(left)
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Tues
31 Oct
(Day 6)
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Long scenic drive to Delphi,
famous oracle of the god Apollo; visit the
dramatic mountainside ruins there; continue towards Piraeus, stopping
at Orchomenos, sister city to Gla (if not visited on day 3), for
a climb to the citadel, followed by a visit to the Bulgarian church and
the tholos "Treasury" tomb; at Piraeus, the port of Athens,
board the ferry
to Crete; dinner onboard and overnight in deluxe private cabins
AT LEFT, above: Theater and Temple of Apollo at Delphi
AT LEFT, below: Benji reads a Greek inscription at the Tholos temple at
Delphi
AT
RIGHT, above:
City walls (and climb down!) from the citadel of Orchomenos
AT RIGHT, below: Mark explores a distant tower in the wall of
Eleutherai
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Wed
1 Nov
(Day 7)
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Early morning arrival in
Herakleon, Crete; possibly endure a rather curvy ride over mountains to
the south shore to visit the site of Fair Havens (Acts 27:8); morning
visits to the Minoan palace site of Phaistos
and the Minoan and classical city of Gortyn (traditional pastorate of
Titus); back towards the north shore of Crete, see the main site of the
island: Knossos, the major palace and eponymous site of the Minoan
civilization; visit the Herakleon archaeological museum before
reboarding the overnight ferry for the trip back to Pireus and the
mainland
AT LEFT, above: The much malaigned Fair
Havens
AT LEFT, below: Hall of the double axe at Knossos
AT RIGHT, above: Our ferry in dock from
the medieval ramparts of Herakleon
AT RIGHT, below: Group under the watchful eye of site guard at Phaistos |
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Thurs
2 Nov
(Day 8)
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Early
arrival at Piraeus; disembark ferry and make an early drive
to Epidaurus, site of the best preserved of all pure Greek
theaters and important center of Asklepius; continue to
Nauplion and ascend the mountain overshadowing the city to visit the
Palamidi Fortress and its spectacular views; visit Tiryns, a Mycenaean
palace center, and Argos, before ascending to the medieval Larissa
castle above the latter; continue to Mycenae, cultural center of Bronze
Age Greece and capital of Agamemnon (legendary king of Achaeans in the
Trojan War); end with a tough but rewarding climb up the Acrocorinth,
the acropolis of the classical city and impregnable fortress of the
medieval period; overnight in Isthmia
AT LEFT, above: Theater at Epidaurus
AT LEFT, center: Mark enjoys the view from the medieval Palamidi
fortress above Nauplion
AT LEFT, below: The Larissa fortress above Argos
AT RIGHT, above: Emily and Lori in the depths of the defensive water
system built late in the life of the citadel at Mycenae
AT RIGHT, center: The "keep" of the medieval fortress on the
Acrocorinth
AT RIGHT, below: Emily, Karen, and Lori at the remains of the Aphrodite
Temple on the Acrocorinth
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Fri
3 Nov
(Day 9)
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Return to the important
classical center of Corinth, also an important focus of Paul's 2nd
missionary journey; visit Isthmia,
home of the Isthmian games, and Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth,
before heading towards Athens via
Eleusis, home to the cult of Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries;
continue to Athens for food, souvenir shopping in the Plaka district,
and overnight.
AT LEFT, above: The Lechaion Road and forum of Corinth, overshadowed by the
Acrocorinth
AT LEFT, below: Benji, Karen, Emily, and Lori examine the inscription
of the city official Erastus, mentioned by Paul in his letters, at
Corinth
AT RIGHT, above: Karen, Emily, and Lori explore the isolated cove at
Perachora
AT RIGHT, below: Benji checks out the clear water of Perachora's cove
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Sat
4 Nov
(Day 10)
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Morning visit
to the famous Acropolis with the
Parthenon and other temples, the Areopagus ("Mars Hill," Acts 17:19,
22), and the Athenian Agora (the "marketplace" of Acts 17:17); lunch
and shopping in the Monastriaki and Plaka districts; afternoon visit to
the Temple of Dionysus; night ascent up the Lycabettus hill for
vistas (and dinner?); overnight in Athens.
AT LEFT: Most of the group on the Acropolis at Athens
AT RIGHT: Karen and Emily read Greek on
the Acropolis |
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Sun
5 Nov
(Day 11)
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Transfer to
airport for return flight to the US via Amsterdam; with a
several hours layover in Amsterdam, there is time for a train ride to
the city for a look at its famous canals and a visit to the Anne
Frank House; return to
Schipol airport and board flight to Memphis for connection to
Hattiesburg.
AT LEFT: The
Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam |
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