In The Footsteps of Paul & John - Greece and Turkey Pilgrimage Hosted by: Sharon Gogel October 11 – 21, 2024
TRIP IS SOLD OUT!
Day 1: Friday – 11th October ,2024 Depart Canada
Depart Toronto by Air Canada flight # 896 at 18:10 PM .Overnight enroute
Day 2: Saturday – 12th October : Arrival - Athens
Arrive Athens at 10:55 AM .You will be met & transferred by our friendly staff to your hotel in Athens. Check in. Dinner. Overnight
Day 3: Sunday – 13th October: Athens – Corinth - Athens
After breakfast. Drive to Corinth, taking the coastal road along the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea. We will make a short stop for pictures at the canal before continuing on to the site of ancient Corinth, St. Paul's beloved city and site of his most extensive ministry, establishing the church at Corinth to who Paul later wrote his two Epistles. Dominated by the Acro-Corinth rising 1,700 feet above the ruins, the marketplace is laid out exactly as it stood in the days of the great Apostle. See the Bema (the judgment seat) where Paul stood before Galilo and preached (Acts 18). “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city. " (Acts 18:9). Corinth is also where the Apostle Paul met fellow tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla and received a vision from the Lord ACTS 18:10. Lunch at a typical Greek tavern. Return to Athens to explore the glory of the city. “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship I found also an altar with this inscription ‘to an unknown God’. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you ...”: ACTS 17:22 Today discover Athens, one of the most glorious cities in the world and the cradle of western civilization as we know it today. For twenty five centuries, the panorama of this city has been dominated by the rock of the Acropolis; see the ruins of the Parthenon, the Erectheum and the Propylae. Afterwards, STAND ON Mars Hill where St. Paul spoke to the ancient Athenians about the one and only God. ACTS 17:23. From here, one has an excellent view of the ancient agora; the former center of Athenian public life – the market place. Drive through the city to see the House of Parliament at Syntagma Square, the soldiers in their picturesque uniforms guarding the Presidential Palace and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We will also see the Library, the University, the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympics of the modern era were held, the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Adrian's Arch. Return at the hotel. Dinner overnight
Day 4: Monday -14th October- Athens – Kalambaka
Early breakfast and we start our 4-day tour to Northern Greece. Early in the afternoon we reach Kalambaka. Visit toTwo Meteora Byzantine monasteries, that are perched precariously on summits of gray rock pinnacles of varied and beautiful shapes. Check in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight
Day 5: Tuesday – 15th October- Kalambaka-Thessalonica
Visit of Veria on our way to Thessalonica, where the New Testament books of I & II Thessalonians will come alive to us today as we tour in the delightful harbor city of Thessalonica. Thessalonica, divided into a lower part, modern, with a regular and orderly layout, and an upper part, surrounded by walls, with narrow streets of oriental character. Visit to the Byzantine churches of St. Demetrius and St. Sophia, enriched by valuable monasteries, which testify to the prestigious activities of Thessaloniki during the centuries of the Eastern Roman Empire. We continue with a panoramic visit of the lower part, with the symbolic and refined rotunda of St. George, the Galerius Gate and the excavation area of the Roman Forum. Check in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight
Day 6: Wednesday 16th October Thessalonica - Kavala
After breakfast Departure to Philippi. The ancient city is divided into two parts by the Via Egnazia. Paul landed in Kavala with his disciples, Timothy & Silas. Luke, the evangelist, also came hereand visited Philippi in 49 AD, from here he started his mission in Europe. You can visit the Agora, the Roman Forum, the Baths, the Palaestra and the ruins of the two basilicas, one of which is believed to have been the prison of Paul. Continuation to Kavala, landing point of Paul on the way to Philippi where Paul preached his first evangelical sermon and baptized the first Christians on European soil. We will continue to view the baptismal site where Lydia surrendered her life to Christ and visit a Crypt dating from the Roman that is thought to have served as a prison for Paul. In this city, of Turkish past, we can admire the Imaret, the most imposing building overlooking the harbor and once housed students of theology; the Byzantine citadel with its walls, towers, dungeons and Cistern. Return to Thessaloniki. Dinner. Overnight.
Day 7: Thursday 17th October: Thessalonica - Athens
After breakfast drive back to Athens. Check in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight
Day 8: Friday 18th October : cruise Athens – Mykonos
Transfer to port this morning to embark on your luxury cruise ship for a three day cruise to the Greek Islands and Turkey. First port of call is the exciting island of Myconos.We’ll get a chance to explore the shops and cafes by the waterfront and the maze of walkways by the whitewashed houses. Then we’ll return to the ship for dinner.
NO shore excursion are included on this day All meals.
Day 9: Saturday 19th October: Kusadasi - Patmos
Shore Excursions to Ancient Ephesus and Patmos are included in the tour package.
First port of call today is the city of Ephesus’s: Morning Visit a place and metaphorically rub your eyes because you can’t quite believe you are there.Ephesus is great destination. Every step brings us closer to the incredible civilizations of the Hellenes, Romans and Ottomans. Here once stood one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Artemis.
Ephesus ranks among the world’s most beautiful classical cities. St John and the Virgin Mary visited and here St Paul wrote one of his most celebrated epistles, the Letter to the Ephesians. Beginning at the Magnesium Gate walk gently and leisurely downhill through Ephesus’ marble streets, passing historically significant sites such as the gymnasium, Temple of Hadrian, Upper Agora and Roman Baths. Opposite Hadrian’s Temple, at the foot of the Bulbul Hill and the covered part of the archaeological site, protected from the heat and natural elements, lie the Houses of Koressus or Terrace Houses. It was here that the wealthy families of Ancient Ephesus lived. These villas are excellently preserved, especially the interior decor. The oldest houses so far unearthed date from the 1st Century BC, were built on two stories and even had hot and cold and a heating system, clay pipes under the floor. Then come to the breathtaking Celsus Library, built in 135 B.C. and lavishly decorated with facades, columns and sculptures. The library once housed 12,000 scrolls of papyrus manuscripts, making it one of the largest in the ancient world. A short walk away is the spectacular Greek Theatre, able to seat 24,000. From here St. Paul preached to the populace, imploring them to give up their worship of Artemis and embrace the Christian faith. Only foundations and fragment of the magnificent Temple of Artemis remain at Ephesus but just being at the site of one of the Seven Wonders is something special.
Afternoon: Shore excursion to Patmos:Religious visit to St John’s Monastery – Grotto of Apocalypse
A PERSONAL PILGRIMAGEThis excursion takes us to a small but fascinating island with connections to the Bible and to the Gods. Patmos in the Aegean is among the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese.It is has a long been a place of pilgrimage because Patmos is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible. It records that St John the Evangelist received a vision from Jesus here.Visitors can see the location where John is said to have had the revelation, the Cave or Grotto of the Apocalypse.Meanwhile a number of churches are named after the apostle and we are able to call at the Monastery of St John.The picturesque alleyways wind up to the Monastery which was founded by St. Christodoulos in 1088. Enter the yard, where the monks take their meals and the old bakery of exquisite beauty is our tour of the Byzantine Church of St John, adorned with a wood-carved icon screen, important frescoes from several periods of history.
Next you stop at a small museum which is home to priceless religious treasures including manuscripts, medieval textiles and vestments. Behind the chapel of St Anne lies the entrance to the Grotto of the Apocalypse.
You will see the cross engraved by St John and the triple fissure in the wall where John is said to have heard God telling of the Apocalypse. You may feel the historical and religious enormity of this special moment. In Greek mythology Patmos originally existed at the bottom of the sea but Zeus was persuaded to allow it rise from the waters. The sun dried the land and people from the region began inhabiting the island they named Leto is after the goddess Artemis. All meals
Day 10: Sunday 20th October Heraklion-Santorini -
NO shore excursion included on this day
First port of call is Heraklion. The place of Knossos, the center of the Minoan Civilization. Continue in the afternoon to the most breath taking island, Santorini, believed to be the lost continent of the Atlantic. All meals
Day 11: Monday 21st October Departure day:
Breakfast: Disembarkation after breakfast and, transfer to the airport for your return flight back home.
Depart Athens on Air Canada flight # AC 897 at 13:10 PM . Arrive Toronto at 16:45 PM
