Day Five: Philippi and Kavala

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.

Day Three and Four: Corinth, Delphi, Kalambaka

Let’s start with yesterday. Yesterday morning we drove to Corinth which is about an hour or two away from Athens. It was a quaint town with high mountains, long seas, and gorgeous views. It was rather unbelievable, seeing what beautiful landscapes the Lord God has made for his very special creatures: us. That’s when I first felt the pangs of envy. Oh how I wanted to see those landscapes and those buildings in their glory days. Not to live in that time, mind you, as I fully enjoy my twenty first century upbringing with computers, internet, running water, and medicine. But oh how fun it would be to see those sights instead of the reconstructed attempts of our historical circles!

Anyway. That’s beyond the point.

The Corinthian ruins were spectacular. As I said before, all the relics found in the site were taken out and so they gave us free roam all throughout the Theater of Corinth. It really was just a bunch of old stones some carved and others with writing, but my five year old imagination went wild! I felt like an explorer or perhaps a queen as I passed through the brush and around the city with glee. How amazing it was! I also got a new found joy in my old passion of being an archaeologist, but I think it’s a little too late for that. Plus I’m not very fond of the whole school thing, and I’m pretty certain being an archaeologist takes a lot of school and a lot of science classes (the latter I’m not very fond of either).

Besides being able to be an “explorer” that morning, I really enjoyed two things. First, at the Corinthian site, an inscription was found in nearly perfect condition. The translation essentially says that “Erastus in his aedileship laid the pavement at his own expense.” This Erastus is also found in multiple passages of the New Testament. It is believed that these two names are the exact same person. How cool it was to see an inscription made by a believer in the first century, who had been in direct contact with the Paul!

Another favorite was, against like in Athens, how Paul talked to the Corinthian Church in a relatational fashion. He even tells his recipients (perhaps in another letter) that he speaks plain to them, giving them milk, because they are but infants! This was shown in how Paul refers to the Christian Church as a body with many members. It is obvious, within the letters and going through the museum, that the Corinthians had a very keen self awareness of the body and all of its parts. In fact there are some temples in which the citizens would make castings of certain body parts and present them as offerings in order to be healed of some ailment which, for the Corinthians, was normally related to sexual diseases as their patron goddess was Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was served by 1,000 prostitutes. While it is evident that Paul was far stricter and dealt harshly with his Corinthian brothers, he still made sure to talk with them about the gospel in a relatable way.

I love these applications.

Well, anyway, the site was beautiful. We also visited one of Apollo’s temples, saw Aphrodite’s temple a top the Corinthian Acropolis (“high place”), and visited another excavation site for the city of Corinth (which we didn’t get to roam around as we pleased, unfortunately). But in order to get to bed super early tonight because I think I’m getting sick and to conserve space for my professor, I’m going to move onto Delphi.

After visiting the site, going out for lunch (my friend and I split a pizza!), and shopping around the town, we were off to Delphi. It was nearly a four hour trip which was mostly spent taking pictures of the outlying country and listening to music. We didn’t think of playing cards on the bus until today. By the time we got to Delphi it was after dark, so we ate some dinner and headed out into the city with the girls (Rachel, Paige, and Tiffany) in order to take some pictures and look at the tiny town. It was incredibly cute. I’m certain I will like every town in comparison to Athens; oh how I do not like the city. It’s official. Anyway! Onto today’s adventures (:

Today we had a wake up call at 6 am, in which my roommate, Tiffany, and I slept through and woke up at 6:30am. Breakfast at 7 then on the bus at 7:45am in order to reach the Delphi excavation site at 8. For those of you who are unaware, Delphi is the major religious center of the Grecian world as it held the major temple of Apollo and his Oracle. The Oracle of Delphi would travel into a cave under the temple and garble indecipherable words in response to inhaling too many fumes from the earth (scientists have apparently discovered that it was ethyl) and the priests would interpret the words as prophecies. There are many legends of ancient kings coming to the oracle in order to receive tokens of good words in order to head off into battle while others “misinterpret” the priests’ interpretations and end up dead. In any case Delphi was absolutely enthralling. The ruins were in great condition, compared to the first site of Corinth, and there were tunnels! These tunnels, at one point in time, led and connected under the city. Unfortunately, because of the earthquakes in the 3^rd century after Christ, much of the Delphi tunnels were buried. We only found two tunnels, both of which we thoroughly climbed through and had a blast. It was the greatest thing ever, pretty much. I adored that city; although, to be honest, I can’t quite discern if Delphi or Corinth was my favorite. While Delphi was pretty cool, the story behind Corinth and its relation to the church (especially in reference to the inscription and Paul’s relation) probably keeps it at the top of my list so far.

After being rushed through the Delphi museum by our guide, Vula, we were back in the car for another four hours in order to arrive at Kalambaka which holds five great Orthodox Monasteries atop some pretty tall mountains. Oh they were beautiful. I can’t even describe to everyone how utterly fantastic those buildings were. While the inside of the chapel made me a little uncomfortable (as icons, gold, incense, and expensive furniture adorned every wall and inch of ceiling), it was neat to be able to enter their place of worship and find some correlations between the protestant faith and theirs. I don’t agree with a lot of their theology, but to be honest that is never going to change. It was simply interesting to hear the differences and experience how they relate to Christ and the heavenly realms. My least favorite part, however (although it could be argued as the most interesting), was the ossuary. It was a small room within the monastery we visited that held shelves upon shelves of all of the skulls of the monks who had died over the past century (or whenever the monastery was built). Originally they buried the monks, but, obviously, they ran out of room over the years. So, instead of making another gravesite, they unburied all the monks and placed their skulls on shelves.

The symbolism ties with the resurrection on judgment day. The Orthodox monks are very, very passionate about the resurrection, much more so than we are to be certain. However, they twisted the belief into thinking that they would not have their own bodily resurrection without their body still, somewhat, able to be found on earth. Therefore, their skulls must be preserved in order that when Christ returns they would have their resurrection as well. Or, at least, that’s how Vula explained it. Either way I didn’t like it, and it was gross.

After getting kicked out of the monastery at 4pm sharp, we trailed back down the mountains and we are now staying in a little hotel in the town. I’m swamped and not feeling well. So it’s definitely time for bed. Thank you all for your prayers and for the love you have shown me! I miss you all and cannot wait to see you all soon.

Love y’all. 

Day Three: Corinth

Today was a dream come true. Corinth was a million times better than Athens, by far. It is interesting to see how, in Christ's era, Corinth was the biggest cosmopolitan center within the Ancient Mediterranean world and now Corinth is nothing more than a small town while Athens is a huge metropolis. It astounds me, but I do like Corinth better. In fact, unlike the Acropolis at Athens or any of the sites, we were able to go down into the ruins and climb all over the Theater area at Corinth, a place Paul would have no doubt visited. How beautiful the sights were! Not only was the Corinthian ruins beyond belief, Corinth was settled in between the ocean and its own high mountain where the temple of Aphrodite was settled. How majestic! I couldn't believe the view. No wonder the Corinthians settled there in ancient times! Just imagine how beautiful it would have been without modern day shops, cars, roads, and ships. 


Unfortunately, however, I don't have the battery life in order to upload pictures and talk of my vacant dream of becoming an archaeologist. I'll talk more about Corinth and upload some pictures tomorrow along with Delphi, if I have internet at the next hotel. 


Apparently free wifi at hotels is an American thing. It's quite unfortunate. 


Love y'all. 

Day Two: Athens

I have learned that the Greeks don't stop for anything. Even in ancient times the Athenians would group up once ever nine days in order to discuss the business and problems of the city in order to fix them. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, or even freezing rain. Today it was raining. All day. Yet we still traveled all the way up to the Acropolis where it is SO windy and got pictures and got our ear talked off by our guide up in the freezing cold. Even the pidgins joined us in the cold and watched as we gloomily trailed around the mountain taking hurried pictures in some attempt to stay active while our toes and fingers froze. It amazed me that we weren't the only ones out in the cold taking pictures and sight-seeing. Just goes to show how lazy us Americans really are. 

Anyway. 

The Acropolis and the outlying ruins were astounding. Just to think how beautiful the place must have been in ancient times, all white and glorious in its prime. Some of the monuments looked so weird, seeing as they've been reconstructing most of them; the reconstructed ones have pieces of white marble interlaced with the faded brown. To be honest it was like ancient Legos in some strange fashion. However, my favorite part was definitely Mars Hill. Oh how exciting it was to be in the place that is described in Acts 17. It truly got me thinking on Missions work, however. 

I mean, Paul is attributed as the greatest missionary of all time, pretty much. At Mars Hill we are given such a good example of how to relate to those outside of the Church. We aren't to treat them as idiotic neanderthals, but we aren't supposed to beg them either. It is our job to proclaim truth in all its glory but in a relational and connected way; the gospel is a power meant to bring all peoples together meaning it is a gospel that can be related to all people groups. Jesus is the King of me, and he's the King of you. We are vastly different people and we understand Him in a somewhat different way and so it must be explained in a different way. I just thought it was really applicable and awesome. Especially to be in the very place that Paul stood talking to these great philosophers. 

I loved it. By far my absolute favorite. My second favorites (yes, plural) were the Hephaestus and Athenian temples with the huge columns. The interesting part about these temples are that the columns aren't perfectly straight; they have a slight curve in them so that the light will filter inside the temple instead of bouncing around awkwardly and making the temple super dark. It is amazing to me how these ancient builders (seeing as most of these monuments come from long before the time of Christ) knew how to build their architecture not only to last but in a way that benefited the people (building it so that light filtered into the temple instead of outside). Absolutely astounding. I am completely blown away by the great mind that God has given us and that he has made us a people that will succeed and grow; we are not a stagnate race. Ah, I love how thoughtful God is! 

Another fun story from today, and this will be the last one I promise, was another temple in the Acropolis dedicated to Athena (to the right). It's name means "wingless victory," and it was built originally with winged statues. These wings were supposed to symbolize victory However these statues' (or maybe the engraved parts of the temple? I'm not really sure what had wings) wings were cut off! They did this in order that "victory would not fly away." Silly Athenians. But it was a pretty fun story (: 

I love all this mythology. 

Well, it is nearly midnight, and we leave for Corinth at 8:30 in the morning. So, I'd better be off so that, you know, I can sleep and not be super exhausted for Corinth and Delphi tomorrow. 

Love y'all. 

Day 1: Athens (part three)

I should probably stop writing about all the different parts of my day, but it's just been too exciting not to keep everyone updated! Well, needless to say, we got lost in the Athenian ghetto. Again. This time, however, we wandered around for a good solid hour around downtown before finally finding what we were looking for. In all actuality I didn't mind; I finally got my camera plugged in and charged, so I was running around Athens with four others (Dr. Evans, Jim, Tiffany, and Paige) taking lots of pictures. Sadly it was dark so some were more orange than the true color considering all the streetlights in Athens are orange. 






However, my favorite part was when a few friends decided to join us when we found this awesome monument (part of some Zeus temple, maybe? I don't really know). There were these three dogs sniffing around us as we took the pictures of this huge archway. Then, as we moved off, they decided to follow us! Soon another dog joined up only to have two of them play "chicken" with the cars as Dr. Evans described. They guided us as little guardians all the way until the metro where, upon arrival, one of them (the ring leader, I suppose) watched us descend while the others walked off. Hysterical. 


Another great part, seeing as Dr. Evans was with us this time, was the random Greek lessons as we walked past certain shops (with the pushy Greek salesmen), signs, and such. He even related an "exit" sign in the metro to the biblical account of the Exodus and Christ's Exodus into heaven which he refers to in Luke (according to Dr. Evans) at the Transfiguration. Pretty much the greatest late-night extravaganza ever. In any case it's nearly midnight, so I need to get some sleep. (:


Love y'all. 

Day 1: Athens (part 2)

We got lost in the Athenian ghetto today. After Dr. Evans fell asleep, four of us-Jim, Tiffany, Paige, and I-went off to find lunch. We rode the metro correctly (thanks Jim) but then turned down a wrong street and walked in circles for some time. We found a super pretty Anglican church and some other buildings but needless to say my camera was not charged so I could not get any pictures from today.


However, lunch was positively scrumptious and I tried some of Jim's lamb; I'm pretty sure it's my favorite by far. It was so good! I loved it. After getting food in our stomachs we got far too tired to wander around anymore; back to the hotel for afternoon naps!






Dinner was good (much better than moffat!) although I'm uncertain what meat I ate. Chicken and pork maybe? They're portions are huge here! Absolutely ridiculous.


Athens at night is pretty, at least for a city. It does not really feel much different than the united states to be honest. Well, except for the fact that I can't understand a word anyone is saying and all the street signs are in Greek. Maybe that'll change when we visit all the ruins tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to.


Tomorrow we get to see the Parthenon, Mars Hill, the Parliment building, some other places, and maybe Poseidon's temple! It'll be so great. Hopefully I'll have a better update after that adventure.


Love y'all.

Day 1: Athens (part one)

Greece is browner than I anticipated. When flying over the states everything looks green but here the dirt is brown with shrubs and trees dotting the landscape. The country is beautiful nonetheless with mountains rising from every direction. I love the outlying country; Athens is a different story.




This city reminds me of a very old, far prettier NYC to be honest. Motorcycles have the right of way and you park wherever there is room. Even if it's in the middle of the street. There are no traffic rules and I'm pretty sure I am going to die because of it. Well, this will certainly be an adventure.


We are free to explore this afternoon and after a rocky 5 hours sleep on the plane I'm definitely ready to go. I think my favorite part so far is that it's raining and sunny with the hills peeking behind the buildings. Well, Jim is rushing us to leave, so I'd better go. (:


Love y'all.