Sunday, September 29

Christiana, our guide, had told us that today would be a "bus day," and she could not have been more correct. We traveled from Athens to Thessaloniki, with a brief side trip to Veria. Rev. Tim began the day by leading a brief service on the bus as we made our way out of Athens.

Along our journey, we passed several key sites in Greek history. About 26 miles from our hotel we passed the plains of Marathon, site of an early, crucial battle between the Athenians and the Persians. The distance is well established in our minds by the modern Marathon races that arose from the commemoration of that victory with the beginning of the modern Olympics. From there we continued north to the Thermopylai Pass, where a contingent of 300 Spartans under the command of King Leonides withstood the Persian army during a later invasion. Although all the Spartans died in the defense, their efforts prepared the ground for the Greek victory over the Persians in the sea Battle of Samos.

We stopped for our lunch in the Tembi Pass at the foot of the Mount Olympus range. We could not see the highest peaks of the mountain because they were shrouded in clouds (according to mythological belief, to hide the Olympian gods and goddesses).

Our final stop of the day was at the shrine of St. Paul in Veria ("Beroea" in English New Testaments). According to Acts, Paul found his most receptive audience among his earliest converts in Greece in this city. At last we arrived in Thessaloniki. After a quick lap around the central city, we checked into the Holiday Inn hotel to freshen up for dinner. Tomorrow we will see more of the sites around Thessaloniki before heading to Kavalla (ancient Neapolis) for a seaside fresh fish lunch and later a visit to Philippi.

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