A while back we were doing a lot of traveling. We had been to Israel twice and we wanted to follow the paths that Apostle Paul had taken. We had never been to the Mediterranean Sea, so you can imagine our glee when we found an advertisement for such a tour. We signed up immediately.
As we prepared for this adventure, we were notified that the vessel we were assigned to had been changed. We found this strange, but understandable. We later found that the vessel on a previous cruise had gone too close to the mountain, hit a rock and the captain immediately put the vessel in reverse. This tore the forward part of the hull out and the vessel sank in 300’ of water. It was near a harbor so almost everyone was able to be rescued. There was one couple unaccounted for, but later showed up wet, alive and well. Their first stop had been a bar.
Our new ship was very nice, offering great accommodations. We cruised the Mediterranean for a few days, but quickly realized that it didn’t align with our preferences for sailing in our sailboat. The mountains were steep, and there were few sandy beaches—conditions that didn’t suit our needs. After a couple of days at sea, we transitioned to exploring by land, continuing our journey by bus.
Greece is loaded with history. We started with the Acropolis of Athens. This may be the most well-known of the landmarks. The Parthenon is the temple, and the Acropolis is the hill the Parthenon is on. We learned that they used to store ammunition in the area. It is quite high and on a mountain. We toured the area, and you could see the ruins clearly. It is amazing how well they were made to be able to keep standing for so many years. We also toured the almost complete destruction of the City of Philippi. This was named in 356 BC and abandoned in the14 century. It is a historical place but all you can really recognize now are the streets. They showed us a cave with bars on it that they said was where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned.
We enjoyed Neapolis and the waterfront. It was interesting to see how they moored their boats there. We also got to see the Corinth Canal. It is a manmade canal connecting the Ionian Sea with the Aegean Sea. There is nothing about it to compare to the Panama Canal.
Our next stop was the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The apostle Paul stopped there for over two years on his journey. He preached the Good News there and legend has that he almost started a riot. The Temple of Artemis was built around 500 BC and was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Artemis was the key goddess of the pagans at the time, and craftsmen made their fortune selling jewelry of Artemis and the temple. We were in Turkey at this time, and it was easy to find a Camel ride. My wife, Marianne did and she said it was like sailing in a very small boat. We also got the opportunity to go to the carpet weaving factory. We found it interesting that a hand knotted rug can take up to a year to make and last a lifetime.
Next, we were off to Santorini with a new guide. This is probably the most well-known spot in Greece. White houses and blue roofs on the side of the hill, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It is spectacular! The guide told us that there was a time when Greece was occupied, and they were told they could not display their flag. So, they came up with this idea, paint the house white with a blue roof, the colors of their flag and they are still using it today.
Greece is definitely a place to visit and bring your camera.
