The Climax of our Trip to Greece ...

... took place on our last day in Athens as we had the chance to walk around on the Acropolis, see the Parthenon close-up, and revel in the amazing architectural accomplishments from the classical period of Greek history!
The parthenon (from parthenos or "virgin" in Greek) was built between 447-438 B.C. in the Age of Pericles after the Acropolis had been reduced to ruins by the Persians just before the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C. As is readily apparent in the picture below, the Parthenon is currently being reinforced and reconstructed.

Right beside the Parthenon is the "Temple of the Maidens" which is also rather spectacular.

And, from the lofty vantage point on the Acropolis one looks down on the "Temple of Hephaestus" (the Greek god of the forge), the agora, and "Mars Hill" (the Areopagus - Acts 17:22) where Paul debated with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.


By the time we got back to Athens on Day #6, I was fighting a bad cold, so opted to stay at the hotel while Nancy visited the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum where she saw the "golden funeral mask" of Agamemnon (which in all likelihood was a mask for someone else!) and a host of spectacular treasures, including the bronze statue of Zeus dating from 460 B.C.

On our final evening, we splurged and took-in another tour "extra," a 6-course dinner in the seacoast suburb of Piraeus with impressive views of the yacht harbor! - rw

Day #5 - En route back to Athens ...

Without many miles between us and Athens, we had less time on the bus and time first of all to explore the ancient city of Epidauros, famous for the sanctuary of Ascleipius, Greek god of medicine. It was to Epidauros that people came for healing. But the city also boasts the best-preserved theater from the classical period, a theater remarkable for it's near-perfect acoustics (the sound from a coin dropped on a marble plate at dead-center can be heard in seats at the top!).


From Epidauros the bus took us to our much-anticipated visit to ancient Corinth where Paul planted a church, taught for 18 months, and was "delivered" by Gallio, the Roman proconsul, from plots and accusations from the Jews. (Picture below shows the actual site [the bema, or "courtroom"] where Gallio pronounced Paul innocent - Acts 18:14.)











The site of ancient Corinth also displayed the remains of the 6th Century B.C. Temple of Apollo where seven of the original Doric columns are still standing.



We also got to see the Corinth Canal, built in the late 19th Century by a French engineering company, allowing many vessels to save time and money as they sailed between the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Alexander the Great actually considered building the canal and the Roman Emperor Nero had grandiose plans for it, and actually "broke ground" there with a golden-plated shovel in 67 A.D., but the project defeated him. After arriving in Athens in late afternoon, we opted for a tour "extra" and enjoyed a many-course dinner in the Plaka, complete with entertainment. - rw

Day 4 Took us to Ancient Mycenae ...

From Olympia we rode the bus up into the hills to a beautiful setting (notice all the olive groves ... & the oranges as well!) and the archeological site of ancient Mycenae. According to both history and legend (Homer's Iliad), Agamemnon had his palace, and from there, according to Homer, the king launched his military operation to return Helen from Troy. The picture below shows the actual site of the king's palace, and the one below that the view to the Mediterranean.


The famous "Lion's Gate" was the grand entrance into ancient Mycenae, and from there one enters into the citadel and can explore the ruins, take-in the great views, and wander on up to the site of the king's palace.

From Mycenae the bus took us down to to the coast to the lovely city of Nafplio where earlier we'd had lunch and time to explore the narrow, picturesque streets. An attractive hotel outside of town provided our overnight lodging. - rw

Day #3 in Greece -- More ruins!

On the Tuesday after Easter we left Delphi and headed south in order to cross over into Peloponnese (the "almost-island" at the south tip of Greece that's connected to the rest of the country only by a small strip of land at Corinth). In the picture below, a tower on the new bridge is barely visible to the right while Peloponnese is the land mass in the distance.
Our primary destination for the day was Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games. It was fun exploring the ruins, walking the length of the restored athletic field and doing a little "pretending" at the starting blocks! The picture to the left is the ancient site where the Olympic torch is still lit today as it begins its long journey to the city where the games are to take place.

In addition to exploring the ancient ruins, there was a remarkable museum to wander through -- with some rather spectacular sculptures from the classical period of Greek civilization (4th-5th centuries, B.C.). The first seeks to depict a battle between the god Apollo and centaurs! - rw

Day #2 on the Bus

On our tour of Greece we joked a number of times about how we should put together a photo album just of ruinas (ruins)that we'd visited around the world! (We saw plenty of them dating from the fabulous classical period of Greek architecture.)
On the bus on Monday morning we drove south through the beautiful countryside of Thessaly, heading toward Delphi. Road signs were legible since they used both Greek and Roman alphabet. (Since I'd learned the Greek alphabet in seminary, it was fun refreshing my memory!)

The Oracle of Delphi is famous both in history and legend as the place to go to learn about your future. The "oracle" was located at the entrance of a chasm that emitted intoxicating vapors. There a priestess inhaled the fumes and supposedly was reliable in predicting one's future. Wars were fought, marriages sealed and journeys taken on the basis of what was learned. The excavated site of "the oracle" is the green patch to the right in the picture just above.


Also at Delphi was an impressive museum where a bronze charioteer was displayed, having been unearthed in the 19th century after being completely buried (& thus preserved from looting) by a giant earthquake in the 4th century B.C. After visiting the museum and archeological site we had a chance to walk around the modern town of Delphi where I captured a picture of Nancy being assisted down a long stone stairway by a young member of our tour group. (Note that the young woman just behind is also being assisted!) - rw

How to Spend Easter, 2010

In the Greek Orthodox Church the resurrection is traditionally celebrated right after Midnight with church bells, fireworks and a pilgrimage to the church for about a 30-minute ritual after which churchgoers return home for a traditional soup prior to bedtime! (Then, the big family feast with lamb roasted outdoors on a spit is held on Easter afternoon.) Unfortunately, while we had good intentions, Nancy & I slept through the Midnight pilgrimage to the church and weren't even able to attend a sunrise service due to an 8:00 a.m. departure of our tour bus.

Our Globus Tour consisted of 32 people, mostly from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Our first destination on Easter Sunday was Thermopylae where Leonidas and his band of 300 brave Spartans, assisted by 700 Thespians, tried to hold-off Xerxes and his million man invading Persian army at a narrow mountain pass in 480 B.C. As most are aware, all of the brave defenders perished.

Lunch on Easter was fascinating -- since the whole tour group walked through the kitchen and indicated to the servers what we'd like on our plates. Then, we were all encouraged to take an Easter egg, colored bright red, to supplement our meal!

The highlight of the day was arriving at Meteora, seeing the remarkable rock formations (where monks once lived in caves), and then touring two of the monasteries which had originally been built high atop the rocks in protection against the Turks. The Varlaam Monastery was really unique since monks (+ equipment and supplies) were actually hoisted up to the monastery in a basket by means of a rope pulley system. The whole scene was beautiful, obviously aided by the many flowering fruit trees. - rw

Springtime in Greece!

Very early on Good Friday (2:45 a.m. to be exact) we took advantage of ISKL's spring break and flew out of KL on Qatar Airlines en route to Athens. Upon arrival we were blessed by the gracious hospitality of Kevin and Amy Hern and their four kids (very good friends of Doug and Tracy from Indianapolis days). Pictured in front of their house are Jackson, Luke and Emmet. We spent Friday night at their place along with a good part of Saturday prior to being dropped off at our hotel in Athens where the Globus Tour officially began at 6 p.m. with a briefing. Prior to that we had a chance for a long walk downtown, seeing the Plaka, the Archeological Museum (where Nancy is pictured) and our first glimpse of the Acropolis. - rw