We left this morning for the Acropolis. On the way we passed some ruins. These are centuries old and B.C. It’s so hard to imagine that these ruins were built that long ago and parts remain standing, albeit, not in great condition. Most were destroyed by earthquakes and never rebuilt.

There were many temples including one to Apollo and one to Athena. The Parthenon was quite impressive. It’s footprint is still there and they are working on restoration. Many of the outside columns remain and there is some scrolling artwork on the lintels. It is a very impressive building and I am also impressed by the people who are trying hard to restore something built thousands of years ago. There were some other buildings dedicated to gods. They are doing restoration work and I think they are basically trying to keep buildings from deteriorating further.

There were so many people there today, but everyone was kind and there wasn’t any shoving and pushing. From the parking lot, there was a lot of walking on ramps, steps, cobblestones, uneven terrain, etc. Travelers in those days didn’t have the steps, etc., that we did. . . They just had to walk on the rough terrain. I can’t imagine how long it would have taken them to climb up to the structures. They had a marketplace and a forum to hold public events. Structures were built up high to be protected from invaders. It was really amazing. Once we came down from that hill, we next went to Mars Hill where Paul preached. It is a large rock outcropping that just pushes up from the ground. It was quite high, but it wasn’t as hard to get up to the summit as the Parthenon was.

From there, our guide took us across the street to a church he wanted to show us. Part of it was burned by the Germans in WWII, but it was rebuilt and was very similar to the other church we saw yesterday. The altar is behind curtains and no one is allowed in there or even to look into the sacred area. And a bonus that we got to see was the prison where Socrates was held and eventually killed. It was in the area across the street from the church and looked to be a protected area where there might be some ongoing work and excavation. Father Zach was especially interested in this because he studied Socrates and when he saw how close the prison was, he wanted to go. It was a special treat for him. It was actually not on the tour and our guide said it was only the second time he had taken a group there, but he said we are not the typical group and he knew that we would be interested. He appreciated our attentiveness, and was happy to show us something extra.

We then drove to Corinth which was about an hour away, I think. Along the way we cross the Corinth Canal where we stopped and walked across a foot bridge. It is a canal that bound the Ionian Sea with the Aegean Sea. It was impressive and they allow bungie jumping! When we arrived in Corinth, we stopped right next to a restaurant and had lunch. Corinth is another ancient city where Paul lived for about 18 months while spreading the Gospel. This is also in ruins but they do know what the structures were for. Again there was a forum and a church. It was easy to see all this as the layout of the town is known. They also had a small museum.

Tomorrow we are boarding our cruise ship in the morning and heading to Mykonos. I’m hoping they will have some food I like. I have not been eating much because I don’t like Greek food. It’s too rich and has too many ingredients and then they slap some kind of sauce all over it. Most everything they fix has an overwhelming vinegar tartness to it. I just don’t like it.

Till next time. . .

Dale