Visit to Athens

On Tuesday, we headed off to Athens on the train. It’s about a 5 hour ride, so we got to our hotel around 6 PM on Tuesday. That night, we walked around and found a nice little place where locals eat. They had delicious lamb chops!

On Wednesday, we headed out to do some sightseeing. Of course, the first stop had to be the Acropolis – that’s the one must-see in Athens. On the way, we walked through meat and fish market. It was quite a feast of sights and smells. (See the first photo.)

Then we stopped at Mars Hill (or, the Areopagus), where St Paul debated with the philosophers. (See Acts 17:16-34.)

The second photo shows my dad on top of Mars Hill, with the Acropolis behind him.

Finally, we made the climb up to the Acropolis. Unfortunately, the late morning is not the best time to visit these big sites. The cruise ships seem to invade about that time, and they come in droves. We sort of waited out the initial wave, however, and we were then able to move again. See all the photos from Athens here to see pictures from inside the Acropolis.

Afterwards, we made our way to another nice place for lunch, which was tucked in a shade-covered alley (see the third photo).

After lunch, we took the subway to the National Archaeological Museum, which was amazing (see bottom photo). We spent two hours there, and then headed back to the hotel to regroup.

That night, we took the subway over to Syntagma, and walked by the old palace (now the parliament building), the National Gardens, an old Roman baths complex, and the Arch of Hadrian, which once marked the edge of the city and was built around 132 AD.

Finally, we made it to yet another great restaurant for more Greek food.

Afterwards, we slowly made our way back to the hotel to prepare for our 3:30 AM trip to the airport. All went smoothly and my parents started the long journey back to the US.

As for me, I met up with our friend Costa around 10:30. He and his family hosted us when we first arrived in Greece just over a year ago. We strolled around Athens a bit, and he showed me a couple lovely small churches. We walked into one dedicated to a wonderworking icon of the Mother of God, where they were in the middle of a Paraklesis. Then we stopped at another small church where St Nicholas Planas (1851-1932) had served. We venerated his relics at the front of the church.

Finally, I took the train back to Thessaloniki around 1 PM. Of course, there was an adventure – they told me all the seats were sold and then finally a kindly cashier sold me a ticket at the last minute and I ran on.

Anyway, now it’s back to the old routine…at least for about a week. Next Friday, we are driving to Belgrade, Serbia for a week to meet with our bishop, Bishop Maxim.

My Parents in Thessaloniki

On Saturday we took it easy. My dad and I polished and waxed the car, and it’s looking pretty spiffy now! ( ;

(What better way for my dad to spend his vacation than waxing our car? See top photo.)

On Sunday, we went to the ‘upper city’ of Thessaloniki and walked around for a couple hours in the afternoon. First, we stopped at Eptapyrgio, which was an old Byzantine fortress on the outskirts of the walled city. The Ottomans and, later, the modern Greek state, used it as a prison until 1988.

The second photo is of my mom standing just inside the entrance. The whole place was pretty grim. I think that’s about as close as I want to get to a Turkish prison.

Afterwards, we walked down to Moni Vlatadon, a monastery perched on the hill overlooking the city and, according to tradition, built on the location of the synagogue where St Paul preached for three successive Sabbaths. The third photo is of a portico inside the monastery.

That evening, Pelagia and my mom made pizza and we had people over for a little party. Another American couple, John and Marina Harper (and baby Emilia) moved into another apartment in our building on Sunday and we wanted to celebrate (it was also my birthday).

On Monday, we went back downtown so that my parents could see a little bit more of Thessaloniki They saw the two 5^th-century churches, Panagia Ahiropiitou and St Demetrios, among other things. We then had a very nice meal on the end of Thessaloniki’s port (see bottom photo) before heading back to Panorama. before leaving.

Kavala

After Philippi, we drove about 10 miles south to Kavala (ancient Neapolis, the old port city of Philippi) to find something for lunch.

We parked near the Imaret hotel, an old 18-domed Ottoman building that has been transformed into a 300 Euro/night hotel in the old part of the city and found a nice, traditional Greek taverna for lunch.

Afterwards, we walked around the old part of the city and up to the castle on the acropolis.

The first taken as we approached the city (we stopped at an overview point). Kavala is in the background.

The second photo was taken from the top of the castle walls down onto Kavala.

The third photo is of the castle and the last photo is of us relaxing inside the castle.

On the way back to the car, we went inside the fancy Imaret hotel and had a coffee in their café overlooking the water and the city. It was a fantastic view. Fortified by the caffeine, we then made the 2-hour trek back home.

Philippi

On Friday, we drove to ancient Philippi and Kavala, which was formerly Philippi’s port city of Neapolis (where St Paul first set foot in Europe). It’s about a two-hour drive east from here.

First, we went to Philippi and wandered around the ruins of the ancient city for a while.

The top photo is of the ancient theater. The two ant-like figures in the seats are my parents.

The second photo is of the prison where St Paul was held. According to Acts 16:9-40, Sts Paul and Silas visited Philippi and were thrown into this prison here. At midnight, as they prayed, an earthquake shook this prison, opening the cell and loosing their chains.

The city is split by a road – which is still used today as a main thoroughfare. In the third photo, Pelagia is looking from St Paul’s prison across the road to the ancient agora of the city. Also in the background you can see the remains of a 5^th century Christian basilica.

The last photo is of my parents walking around through the old agora.

For all the photos from the day, click here.

The Royal Tombs of Vergina...and Gyros

On Wednesday, we headed to Vergina, which is about an hour west of Thessaloniki, near Veria (where St Paul once was).

Vergina was a capital of ancient Macedonia and is famous now for the royal tombs buried underneath a large man-made mound. These are the tombs of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father, and Alexander IV, Alexander the Great’s son.

The treasures found in the tombs are amazing – exquisite gold wreaths and silver utensils, all looking like they were made yesterday. The museum is built around the tombs – all underground. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any photos inside.

As for the tombs, they look like small stone houses (except the stones are enormous and about a yard thick). They are sealed with great big marble doors, which have still never been opened. The excavators entered the tombs by removing one stone from the roof and climbing in.

Visitors are allowed to approach the front of the tomb within about 10 feet. You can see the columns around the huge marble door and the frescoes above the door.

Anyway, that was the excitement for Wednesday.

The top photo has the mound in the background. Most of the tombs, and the museum, are under there.

The second and third photos are taken in front of the tomb of Philip II’s mother, Alexander the Great’s grandmother, Queen Eurydice. This tomb is located just outside the other tombs.

On Thursday, it was rainy and overcast, so we took it easy. We went to Carrefour, which is sort of our Walmart, and stocked up on groceries, etc. On the way back, we went to the best (in my opinion) gyro place in Thessaloniki, Prassas. The bottom photo was taken there.

For a couple more photos, click here.

Today, Friday, the plan is to drive over to Philippi, which was home to the first Christian community in Europe (see St Paul’s letter to the Philippians) and Kavala, which was ancient Neapolis (where St Paul first landed in Europe).

My Parents Visiting

My parents are here visiting at the moment. They arrived Monday around 1 PM after a very long journey.

We walked around Panorama a little bit that day and oriented them. We also had some of Panorama’s famous trigonas (a sweet that was invented in Panorama).

The top photo is from Monday evening, taken near our apartment building. In the very distant background (blurred out by the light) is the city of Thessaloniki and the Thermaic Gulf.

On Tuesday we went downtown and explored a little bit of Thessaloniki. We saw the Kamara (built 297 by the Emperor Galerius), the ruins of Galerius’ palace, and the Rotunda, which was originally built as Galerius’ mausoleum. When Christianity became the state religion 80 years later, the Christians used it as a church. The Ottomans converted it into a mosque during their reign. Now it is once again being restored to a church.

You can see it in the background of the second photo, including the distinctive minaret, which still remains. The colorful umbrellas you see are from various coffee shops lining the sidewalk.

The third photo is from inside the Rotunda. My mom is pointing up to some of the original mosaic work, which restoration has recently uncovered.

The final photo is from the Monastery of St Theodora, located right in the heart of Thessaloniki. Pelagia is showing my mom some of the impressive new iconography.

After the sites, we had lunch in a traditional Greek taverna, tucked away in an alley. Then Pelagia and I headed to our Byzantine chant lesson while my parents explored a little bit on their own.

There are a few more pictures here.