I cannot decide between Philippi or Corinth to be my favorite so far. I have happier memories from Corinth (namely because I was not sick on that day), but I absolutely loved the ruins of Philippi. First off, all of the foundations were nearly complete although the Basilica and the church were not quite as old as the ruins of Corinth. However the Roman Forum (their market) was beautifully preserved and has lasted so long in comparison to the other ruins! In fact one of the rooms we saw on the housing side had nearly a full basement with two huge pots mostly in tact! Additionally a Mosaic floor outside a Macedonian tomb at the Philippian site was beyond recounting. Oh how beautiful it was! Ah! We also got to run around the Philippi site just as much almost more than the Corinthian site which was a true explorers dream. I just wish I could stop sneezing enough to enjoy it. However the cold mountain air has been a blessing for my sinuses! That much is true.
It is also such a hard decision for me because of my love for the Philippian Epistle. The joy Paul has and the absolutely wonderful relationship he had with the Philippian church has been such a blessing to my spiritual life personally (especially in comparison to Galatians or Corinthians!) I absolutely love that book, so it's so incredibly hard to not pick that beautiful site as one of my favorites. The only hard thing about the site that places it below Corinth on any scale was the dating of the actual site. Most of the site dated to times after Christ and Paul so it was not as influential to my particular interest.
However the Greek Stadium at the Philippian site was exquisite. It amazed me how preserved that portion of the building was! We could walk up and down those stairs (although some Greek lady yelled at me. Oops. It's not my fault they didn't place ropes around the parts we weren't allowed to climb on!) with ease. In fact we decided to get a photo of Dr. Evans, our professor, giving a "lecture" to us students in the stadium; it was quite hysterical. The picture was taken with Jim's camera, so it will probably be placed on his blog.
After visiting the site at Philippi we moved on to the baptismal pool of Lydia. The building was beyond words. Oh how gorgeous! The entire interior of the building was made of pure marble. Stain glass windows adorned the room while sunlit lit the icons located in the dome of the baptismal room. The site was beautiful; I cannot even describe it to you. It only made me think of how beautiful the cities of Corinth, Athens, and Philippi would if Greece had the money to restore these monuments. Oh goodness the beauty would be without description! I loved it.
Even the river, where Paul supposedly met Lydia, was beautiful with the sun dipping beyond the mountains and gleaming off the waters. Thankfully no one fell in; it's been SO cold all day.
We then went into the city of Kavala in which we climbed some super huge long hill in order to get to a castle that was closed, unfortunately. It was a good hike, but it was utterly pointless. We did find this incredibly cute kitten which was fun to play with. Then we went back to the hotel for dinner and my roommate, Tiffany, and I had girl talk until bed.
A good day, I think. Anyway, I need to get to bed since I have to be up in about 7 hours and then sit on a bus for several more.
Love y'all.
It is also such a hard decision for me because of my love for the Philippian Epistle. The joy Paul has and the absolutely wonderful relationship he had with the Philippian church has been such a blessing to my spiritual life personally (especially in comparison to Galatians or Corinthians!) I absolutely love that book, so it's so incredibly hard to not pick that beautiful site as one of my favorites. The only hard thing about the site that places it below Corinth on any scale was the dating of the actual site. Most of the site dated to times after Christ and Paul so it was not as influential to my particular interest.
However the Greek Stadium at the Philippian site was exquisite. It amazed me how preserved that portion of the building was! We could walk up and down those stairs (although some Greek lady yelled at me. Oops. It's not my fault they didn't place ropes around the parts we weren't allowed to climb on!) with ease. In fact we decided to get a photo of Dr. Evans, our professor, giving a "lecture" to us students in the stadium; it was quite hysterical. The picture was taken with Jim's camera, so it will probably be placed on his blog.
After visiting the site at Philippi we moved on to the baptismal pool of Lydia. The building was beyond words. Oh how gorgeous! The entire interior of the building was made of pure marble. Stain glass windows adorned the room while sunlit lit the icons located in the dome of the baptismal room. The site was beautiful; I cannot even describe it to you. It only made me think of how beautiful the cities of Corinth, Athens, and Philippi would if Greece had the money to restore these monuments. Oh goodness the beauty would be without description! I loved it.
Even the river, where Paul supposedly met Lydia, was beautiful with the sun dipping beyond the mountains and gleaming off the waters. Thankfully no one fell in; it's been SO cold all day.
We then went into the city of Kavala in which we climbed some super huge long hill in order to get to a castle that was closed, unfortunately. It was a good hike, but it was utterly pointless. We did find this incredibly cute kitten which was fun to play with. Then we went back to the hotel for dinner and my roommate, Tiffany, and I had girl talk until bed.
A good day, I think. Anyway, I need to get to bed since I have to be up in about 7 hours and then sit on a bus for several more.
Love y'all.
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