Hellas

Our flight from Israel to Greece was uneventful, thankfully … actually the only point that warrants mentioning is that we had to get up at 2am on a Saturday morning, be on the bus at 2.30am, and at Ben Gurion airport at 3am! Our two-hour flight to Athens took off at 6am (Israel and Greece are in the same time zone).

On Friday, our last full day in Israel, we travelled south from Nazareth to Tel Aviv, via the coastal route, stopping by Caesarea and Jaffa.

Caesarea has remnants of a magnificent harbour which Herod the Great built using wooden frames that would allow concrete to harden underwater. The three-acre harbour would accommodate 300 ships of its day, and was much larger than the modern harbours which exist today.

To solve the problem of lack of fresh water in Herod’s new city, he built a lengthy aqueduct to bring water from springs at the base of Mount Carmel, nearly ten miles away. In order that water would flow by the pull of gravity, the aqueduct was built on arches and the gradient was carefully measured. Even today, it’s a structure of wonder.

The Team at Caesarea

 

 

And it is here, under the arches, and by the Mediterranean Sea that the group ate a picnic lunch, and then took a group photo.

 

In Greece, our first day was spent in Athens, with guided activities in the morning, and an opportunity for self-discovery in the afternoon. Our guide, Helen, is a history and arts scholar who guides us through sites, weaving stories of modern, ancient, really ancient, antiquity and mythological times and characters.

In Athens, we visited the Parthenon and other main buildings on this Acropolis, built in the fifth century BC.

 

 

A Temple on the Acropolis

We viewed the Parthenon from a distance, up close, and also a few metres away from Mars Hill where the Apostle Paul found the inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD,” and made God known to the Athenians.

 

 

Our journey in Greece is a bit like re-tracing Paul’s initial steps, but in reverse (with the exception of Corinth, which he visited last): after Athens, we visited Corinth, and we will go to Thessaloniki and Philippi. Of course history in Greece stretches beyond the Roman Era – when Paul visited these various towns – and each town has layers upon layers of history including stories of mythology which for many years has helped to pass on history, traditions, and morals.

On Sunday, five members of the group got a taste of what it would have been like to be an Olympian, racing down the original track of ancient Olympia. In the men’s race, Ian, Isaac, Ash, and Jayden sprinted down the length of the field; while in the women’s race, Janelle, Amy and Chris ran, defying the ancient order of the games being only for men. Of course, the original Olympics were run in the nude, and (fortunately) our modern competitors did not aspire to recreate the times exactly.

On Tuesday, only a smaller number of our group were able to visit the Delphi archaeological site, after almost half of the team became suddenly unwell on Monday evening, with gastro-related issues which made its presence felt after an extremely winding road brought us to our accommodation in Arahova (a small town very near Delphi). Five people went to hospital for treatment, and two (Nathan and Jayden) were kept overnight for observation (accompanied for support by Janine and David, respectively). They are both well.

The team spent an extra night in Arahova, and we have now (all) arrived in Thessaloniki, having travelled via Meteora to visit one of the monasteries perched on cliff edges.

We will be based in Thessaloniki for the next two nights, as scheduled, before returning to Athens and beginning our journey back to Australia. Some members of the group will continue on further personal trips, and one of us has already returned to Melbourne having planned earlier only to participate in the Israel leg of the journey.

Note:  Hi Gwyneth, thanks for your message, which will be read to team on the way to Filipi/Philippi and Kavala/Neopolis this morning. Glad to hear you have arrived in Melbourne, and are safe and well. In spirit, we’re still travelling with you.