On Saturday afternoon, the day after the babies' big birthday bash, we all took a drive in the direction away from the city, up Mt. Hortiatis, the second largest mountain in Greece (1201 meters) after Mt. Olympus, and toward the village of Hortiatis.
Our first stop was at Panorama's Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, where the babies venerated inside the church and played around in the grass. In the photo above, you can see them playing around outside one of the monastery's main buildings.
Kh. Sophia sits in the background and watches Paul and Phoebe play in the grass.
Kh. Sophia and Phoebe are stopping to smell the flowers.
We then headed up toward Hortiatis, and it was a good opportunity to finally stop and see the remains of the ancient Roman aqueduct that used to carry water from Mt. Hortiatis at least 10 miles down to the city of Thessaloniki.
When we got back in the car, Paul tried on my kalimafi.
We then headed into the village of Hortiatis itself, and found the parish church, dedicated to St. George. This church appeared to date to about the 1700s, but next to it was a small church that appeared much older, definitely Byzantine.
This little Byzantine church actually melds into a quiet little private property in the back.
For a few more photos, click here.
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