Ice Cream was very important on the trip. Every break it seemed like someone was having an ice cream of some sort. I tried to capture at least one variety of each kind. I found nine - what did I miss?
See them here
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Day 14 Revisit - Corinth and Traditional Dinner
Day Fourteen Revisit - Saturday June 19th - Corinth and Traditional Dinner
Corinith Canal |
We stopped at the Canal for a rest break, then proceeded on to the Ancient Corinth. There was a nice museum at the location of the ancient Agora (marketplace) of Corinth. There was the Bema seat where the Jews brought Paul before Gallio in Acts 18:12-17.
The Bema Seat |
One last item at Corinth: We walked out of the museum and agora area, and downhill to a small valley. There we saw a block of marble on the ground with a Latin phrase. The first word was 'ERASTUS' and the translation is 'Erastus, commissioner of public works, laid this pavement at his own expense.' Why is this important? This is probably the same Erastus that is mentioned in Rom 16:23. Archaeology has shown once again that the Bible is talking about real people in real places.
Cenchreae Beach |
Greek Dancing |
The next morning was our return to Dallas. It was a very early morning and a very long day. We had our large luggage out of our rooms at 3:45 and we were on the bus at 4:30, so that we can make it to the airport in time. We flew for approximately 3 hours to Madrid, have a layover, and then another 10 hours to DFW, target time for arrival is 4:45, so with the 8 hour time change, that is a 20+ hour day, and that is just to DFW. We all made it safely back, Praise the Lord!
Day 13 Revisit - Athens
Day Thirteen Revisit - Friday June 18th - Athens
Parthenon |
The Acropolis is an amazing place. There are multiple structures:
Porch of the Caryatids - the Proylea - the gates themselves
- the Parthenon
- the Erechteaum (dedicated to Athena, Poseidon, and Erechtheus) with the Porch of the Caryatids (female figures as supporting columns)
- and several others...
After we spent some time on the Acropolis, we came down and visited the Areopagus, also known as Mars Hill. This is the location associated with Paul's speech in Acts 17:16-34, although we are not certain that is actually where it took place.
View of Acropolis from Agora |
View of Acropolis at night |
Day 12 Revisit - Crete and Santorini
Day Twelve Revisit - Thursday June 17th - Crete and Santorini
Knossos Palace |
Interesting Bible tidbit: Crete was known in the first century for three primary things:
- the legend of the god Zeus changing form into a bull in order to seduce Europa
- the minotaur
- King Midas (of the Golden Touch)
Bull Acrobats |
We did not have a long time at Knossos Palace, as we also spent a short time in the modern city of Heraklion. We quickly visited the Basilica of St. Mark and the Church of St. Titus, patron saint of the Island of Crete.
Santorini from ship |
Cave House on Santorini |
After we got back to the boat, we had a short time with Pastor Wayne talking about Titus and how he had been a "guinea pig for grace" (Gal 2:1-9).
After that we had to pack and have our large bags out of the room by midnight, with an early call to leave the ship in the morning.
Dale's Pics for Day 12 - Crete: here
Dale's Pics for Day 12 - Santorini: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 102: Boat 327
Travels Day 12: Crete to Santorini to Pireaus (Athens)
Travels Day 12: Crete to Santorini to Pireaus (Athens)
View FBC Travel 2010 Mediterranean Cruise in a larger map
Day 11 Revisit - Rhodes
Day Eleven Revisit Wednesday June 16th - Rhodes
A catch-up, relaxing day. The cruise ship traveled overnight while we slept to the Island of Rhodes, which was very important as a shipping center in the Mediterranean Sea. Some people went on tours, some went with Pastor Wayne to the Museum, some wandered around the town on their own, and some stayed on the ship and relaxed.
I went with Pastor Wayne to the museum, where we found that it was much improved over seven years ago when Wayne was last there, but there were restrictions and he was not allowed to 'guide us' since he is not licensed here. So we all split up and went separate directions. I walked through the museum, then walked around a little bit of the town, picked up some items, had some ice cream, and came back to the ship to catch up on these notes. I then went to have lunch at a cafe that has free internet access.
Tonight we have to be back on board by 5:30 and the ship travels to Crete overnight.
Prev: Day 10 Part 2 <=> Next: Day 12
Dale's Pics for Day 11 - Rhodes: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 10: Boat 208
Travels Day 11: Rhodes to Crete
Travels Day 11: Rhodes to Crete
View FBC Travel 2010 Mediterranean Cruise in a larger map
Day 10 Revisit Part 2 - Cruise and Patmos
Day Ten Revisit Part 2 - Tuesday June 15th - Cruise and Patmos
After Ephesus, we boarded the bus and drove to the port of Kusadasi and got there before 10:00. We said goodbye to our Turkey guide Hakan, driver Hasan, and assistant George. We went through customs and boarded the cruise ship. We had a nice surprise in that Expedition Travel had provided a guide, Yanni, on the boat. He helped a lot, especially at Patmos dealing with the taxis.
At Patmos, the Grotto and the monastery built to honor John are at the top of a hill. There are tour buses, but we took taxis with four people each. Yanni negotiated a price of 25 Euros up and back. At the top, we sat in the shade on some stands while Pastor Wayne taught. We were able to get another group picture here.
Entrance to Grotto |
Ephesians 5-15-21 One of the great 'therefore' passages in the second half of Ephesians. "how you walk" means "how you live". In verse 18, "filled with the Spirit" means "controlled by" -- the more that you are controlled by the Spirit and by God, the more you can be yourself, not as your old flesh, but as a new creation in Jesus -- not dogs any more, but ducks, so quack.
Detail above entrance |
After the teaching, we saw the Grotto where John is said to have written the Book of Revelation. This was very Catholic, especially since the Catholics built a monastery on the island in the ninth century and made the Grotto a sacred site.
We got back to the town Patmos and had a couple of hours of free time before the ship sailed. The ship left Patmos and we had our first dinner on the cruise. While we slept, the ship sailed for Rhodes, arriving before we got up.
Dale's Pics for Day 10 - Patmos: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 10: Boat 220
Travels Day 10: Kusadasi to Patmos to Rhodes
View FBC Travel 2010 Mediterranean Cruise in a larger map
Approx Miles Traveled Day 10: Boat 220
FootSteps of Paul (FSoP) group on Patmos |
Travels Day 10: Kusadasi to Patmos to Rhodes
View FBC Travel 2010 Mediterranean Cruise in a larger map
Day 10 Revisit Part 1 - Ephesus
Medusa gate |
Day Ten Revisit Part 1 - Tuesday June 15th - Ephesus
Ephesus Library |
Pastor Wayne taught in the Agora after walking thru most of Ephesus. Ephesus is of course the site of the church of Ephesus, which is where Paul sent the letter to the Ephesians. Ephesus is also mentioned in Revelations 2:1-7.
Ephesus Theater |
In Ephesus, there were four statues to four gods -- wisdom, knowledge, fairness/justice, and virtue. The book of Ephesians goes through and shows Jesus superior to all of them.
Dale's Pics for Day 10 - Ephesus: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 9: Bus 29.6
Travels Day 9: Kusadasi to Ephesus to Port of Kusadasi
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Travels Day 9: Kusadasi to Ephesus to Port of Kusadasi
View Larger Map
Day 9 Revisit Part 2 - Hierapolis
Day Nine Revisit Part 2 - Monday June 14th - Hierapolis
After seeing the ruins at Laodicea, we drove a short distance and had lunch at a buffet restaurant. Then we went a short distance away to Hierapolis. This is an area close to Laodicea with Greek and Roman ruins, travertine deposits, and hot pools of water.
Back on the bus and we drove for a while to get to the Kusadasi area. Pastor Wayne taught from Colossians, which is the letter to the church at Colossae, only a short distance from Laodicea.
Col 1:3-8 Epaphras.
Col 2:8 you have to start with God's grace (unmerited favor of God)
Rom 3:23-25 Greek karis = graciousness.
Only by putting faith in Jesus, can you receive karis.
We stayed overnight at the Hotel Aurora in Kusadai. Internet access was only in the lobby.
We join the cruise tomorrow. On the cruise, the internet is very slow and expensive. 0.25 Euro per minute, or 15 Euros per hour. No wireless is available. Most people will be staying off it, so you may not get updates as frequently.
Dale's Pics for Day 9 - Hierapolis: here
Approx Miles Traveled Day 9: Bus 282
Travels Day 9: Izmir to Laodicea to Hierapolis to Kusadasi
Approx Miles Traveled Day 9: Bus 282
Travels Day 9: Izmir to Laodicea to Hierapolis to Kusadasi
Day 9 Revisit Part 1 - Laodicea
Day Nine Revisit Part 1 - Monday June 14th - Laodicea
On the bus at 7:30. Today is the hottest and longest of the trip. We drove for a couple of hours and got some sleep/rest/catch-up on notes time. Stopped at a rest stop and then back on. Pastor Wayne teaching:
Laodecia was known for the hot and cold waters in the area. When John writes in Revelation that they are lukewarm, it is with this in mind.
Antikus the third, one of Alexendar the Great's generals was given the area around (will have to get later), and he moved several hundred Jewish families into the Lyodician region. Many of them came to faith in Jesus. Later they brought in Synchronisim, blending in three parts of other religions that don't make sense in Christianity:
- Jewish legalism of Hebrews
- Sophistry - arguing not for truth but to win the argument
- Oriental mysticism
- v 9-10: Christ is all sufficient and at peace
- v 11-17: Jesus (and those in Him) are exalted over legalism- we are better than that
- v 18-19: Jesus is exalted over mysticism
- v 20-21: Jesus is exalted over sophistry / aecestism (stoics)
Synchronized religions are like fancy cars with no tires. The rubber doesn't meet the road.
Don't do things and sprinkle a little Jesus on top.
We visited the ruins at Laodicea. This is a large site, and they are actively restoring even more of the site. There are a lot of excavations, a lot of work in process. There is a large theater. One item of special note is one of the pieces of marble has a Jewish menorah with a Christian cross filling the middle candle position.
Dale's Pics for Day 9 - Laodicea: here
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