After a hearty breakfast in our hotel we met Voula our very personable and knowledgeable local guide. Soon we were setting off in our comfortable bus for the Peloppenese and our first stop at the historic Corinth canal. This stretch of man made shipping canal is not very old and is a marvel of human engineering. It impressed the tour engineer and our consultant on all things engineering, Don White. The canal is 6 km long, just over 20 metres wide and deep enough for small ships to be towed from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea.
Then on to Corinth and a visit to the Agora, Temple of Apollo, the Roman Odeon and the Bema where St Paul confronted his accusers - those who thought him to be a trouble-maker. Corinth stood at the crossroads of commerce and that combined with the local cult prostitution racket made this city a place of significance and sin. Paul bravely battled on for 18 months in the city and eventually left via the Port Cenchrae for Ephesus where he wrote letters to the Corinthians.
Lunch was taken in a lovely family run taverna, it was relaxed and sumptuous.
Then on we went back to Athens with most of the pilgrims having a snooze in the bus on the way.
Voula then took us on a tour of the city and to the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and the Erectheion. From Mars Hill, also known as the Areopagus the view is fantastic. We could see the distant hills where the marble was mined to build the adjacent mammoth structures. We could see the old town which included the synagogue, the town square and on the other side of the hill the Forum it is incredible. This part of today involved a fair bit of climbing on slippery marble stairs and everyone managed very well.
Our final segment of the day tour was to look at a bit more of the city including the changing of the guard outside of the old president's palace, now the parliament. This is straight out of the John Cleese book of silly walks; you have to see it to believe it.
Back at the hotel we met with Ross and Caryl McCready who had unfortunately missed the first day because their plane in Sydney had been cancelled! We had prayers, a brief discussion and benefit to complete our first full day.
Then on to Corinth and a visit to the Agora, Temple of Apollo, the Roman Odeon and the Bema where St Paul confronted his accusers - those who thought him to be a trouble-maker. Corinth stood at the crossroads of commerce and that combined with the local cult prostitution racket made this city a place of significance and sin. Paul bravely battled on for 18 months in the city and eventually left via the Port Cenchrae for Ephesus where he wrote letters to the Corinthians.
 |
| The group by the Corinth Canal |
Then on we went back to Athens with most of the pilgrims having a snooze in the bus on the way.
Voula then took us on a tour of the city and to the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and the Erectheion. From Mars Hill, also known as the Areopagus the view is fantastic. We could see the distant hills where the marble was mined to build the adjacent mammoth structures. We could see the old town which included the synagogue, the town square and on the other side of the hill the Forum it is incredible. This part of today involved a fair bit of climbing on slippery marble stairs and everyone managed very well.
Our final segment of the day tour was to look at a bit more of the city including the changing of the guard outside of the old president's palace, now the parliament. This is straight out of the John Cleese book of silly walks; you have to see it to believe it.
Back at the hotel we met with Ross and Caryl McCready who had unfortunately missed the first day because their plane in Sydney had been cancelled! We had prayers, a brief discussion and benefit to complete our first full day.
No comments:
Post a Comment