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Day 1
Depart USA
Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA and
arrive in Athens, Greece.
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Day 2
ARRIVAL IN GREECE
You will be met by our representative and transferred
to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
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Day 3
ATHENS
Enjoy the architectural splendors of the ancient city
of Athens as you follow your guide to the world renown
Acropolis, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, and the
Erectheum. View Mars Hill where the apostle Paul stood
and said, " I found an altar with this inscription, TO
THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship,
him declare I unto you" (Acts 17:23). See the Agora,
the ancient market place and center of the Athenian
public life, where the apostle Paul preached "Jesus
and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18) to the skeptical
Athenians. Also see the House of Parliament, the
Presidential Palace and the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. This afternoon is free to explore Athens on
your own or enjoy an optional journey to Sounion to
visit the famous Temple of Poseidon (additional $29).
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Day 4
OLYMPOS MOUNTAINS and THERMOPYLAE PASS
Your journey continues in the shadow of the Olympos
Mountains through the beautiful and historic Greek
countryside. Travel via the Thermopylae Pass, whose
name still stirs the Greek heart today. Here, 400
years before Christ, 300 Spartans stood against 30,000
invading Persians. The heroic Spartans are said to be
buried in a mound which is still visible. Overnight in
the Thessaloniki area.
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Day 5
AMPHIPOLIS, PHILIPPI, and NEAPOLIS
Like the apostle Paul and Silas, travel to Amphipolis,
where you will see the ruins of many Christian
basilicas. Visit Philippi, where Paul, intending to
find a place to pray by the riverside, spoke to women
who had gathered there among whom was Lydia, the
seller of purple and whose heart the Lord opened to
hear the words that he spoke (Acts 16:13-15). Lydia
was the first Christian to be baptized on European
soil. Visit the place where this event is remembered
and see a crypt dating from the Roman period, which is
thought to have served as a prison for the apostle
Paul. See the famous Acropolis, the Market Place, the
Basilica, and the Theater. Visit Neapolis (Kavalla),
one of Greece's most picturesque mainland ports. Paul
landed here with his disciples, Timothy and Silas. See
the Roman Aqueduct and Acropolis.
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Day 6
THESSALONIKA and VERIA
In Thessalonika, the city where Paul was accused of
turning the world upside down by his preaching of
Christ (Acts 17: 3-6), and the church to whom he
addressed his Thessalonian epistles, visit St.
George's Basilica, traditionally believed to be built
over the synagogue where Paul preached. View the Old
City Ramparts, and the Galerius Arch that rises over
the Via Egnatia. Visit the Archaeological Museum. See
two of the most beautiful basilicas in the city, St.
Sophia and St. Demetrios, dedicated to a distinguished
member of the Roman army and a martyred Christian
convert. When the apostle Paul arrived in Veria
(Berea), he went to the Jewish synagogue, where he
discovered the Jews had accepted the new faith along
with some honorable Greeks (Act 17: 10-12). Continue
to Kalambaka for overnight.
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Day 7
METEORA and Delphi
Visit the rock forest of Meteora in western Thessaly
and ponder the rough terrain in which the apostle Paul
walked during his missionary journey. See famous
Byzantine monasteries perch precariously on summits of
soaring, sheer-sided grey rock pinnacles of varied and
spectacular shapes. Their history goes back to the
14th century when the monks sought refuge in
cliff-side caves, then fled higher to build the
original wooden shelters, later transformed into
monasteries. Visit one of these monasteries. Travel to
scenic Delphi, the religious center of the ancient
Greek world, considered by early Greeks to be the
center of the world and marked by the conical stone,
called the omphalos or navel. Walk the Sacra Via to
the Athenian Treasury, the Theatre, and the Temple of
Apollo where the oracle performed his or her prophetic
rituals. With innumerable pagan ruins surrounding your
walk, capture a glimpse of the challenge the apostle
Paul incurred in preaching the Gospel of Christ in
Macedonia. Visit the Museum where you will view many
ancient treasures, the chief of which is the 5th
century bronzed Charioteer, complete with even
eye-lashes. Continue to Athens for overnight.
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Day 8
CORINTH and CENCHRAEAE
In Corinth, the city where Paul met Aquilla and
Priscilla, the tent makers, and where the Lord spoke
to Paul by a vision saying, "I am with thee, and no
man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much
people in this city" (Acts 18: 10). Here, Crispus, the
chief ruler of the synagogue believed in the Lord, and
many Corinthians as well hearing Paul, believed and
were baptized (Acts 18:8); thus, began the church at
Corinth to whom Paul wrote two epistles. Visit the
Archaeological Museum, the Market Place and Temples.
Walk among the ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul
stood before Gallio facing charges brought by the Jews
that were dropped. Paul stayed awhile in Corinth
before leaving for Syria from the port at Cenchraeae
(Acts 18: 12-18).
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Day 9
DAY of LEISURE in ATHENS or OPTIONAL DAY
Explore Athens on your own or enjoy an optional
one-day cruise (additional $75).
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Day 10
RETURN TO USA
Return home with a new understanding of Paul's life
and ministry.
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