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^{Nov 21 - Departure for Athens, Greece}

^{Nov 22 - Arrival Athens, meet and transfer to your hotel}

^{We will drive from the airport to our hotel in Athens and have several hours to walk around and get familiar with downtown and the area where we will be staying. Athens has a wonderful subway and is gearing up for the Olympics and this will be an excellent time to walk and enjoy the beauty of this ancient city. Dinner and o/n at Hotel Jason Inn, 12-14 Assomaton near the Plaka and Agora and Acropolis.}

^{The Plaka is Located downhill from the Acropolis and is one of the oldest parts of modern Athens. It is a labyrinth of stone-paved narrow streets and alleyways that transport you back in time. The Plaka's central square was founded in 1813 and is crammed full of cafés, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. It is also the best area in Athens to shop for souvenirs and traditional Greek jewelry.}

^{The Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice. The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city's history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century, in the time of Solon, the Agora became a public area. It reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century B.C. It was gradually abandoned from the Byzantine period until after 1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, when it was again developed as a residential area.}

^{The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.}

^{Nov 23 - Athens city tour & Agora, Corinth, Nauplia and o/n Athens}

^{Athens is one of the most glorious cities in the world and the cradle of the European civilization. For twenty-five centuries, the panorama of this city is dominated by the rock of the Acropolis with its temples. We will see the House of Parliament on Syntagma Square, the Evzones in their picturesque uniforms guarding the Presidential Palace and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We will also see the Library, the University, the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympics of the modern era were held, the temple of the Olympian Zeus and Adrian’s Arch. We will visit the Acropolis which was first inhabited during the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. We will see the ruins of the Parthenon, the Erectheum and the Propylae. We will finish at the ancient Agora, where the Athenian Philosophers gathered.}

^{We will travel form Athens by the coastal road along the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea and then to Corinth.}

^{Founded by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., the Roman colony of Corinth, was layed out virtually on top of the former Greek city that had been destroyed by the Roman consul Lucius Mummius in 146 B.C. The site remained largely uninhabited for 102 years. According to literary sources, the Greek male population had been killed and the women and children had been sold into slavery.   The location of Corinth had been important during the Greek period, situated near the Isthmus, the land bridge between the Peloponnese and mainland Greece, as well as having ports on the Saronic Gulf and the Corinthian Gulf.}

^{In the new foundation of 44 B.C. the Romans utilized many of the existing Greek buildings in the design of their own city although the organization and city plan of the Roman colony was different than its Greek predecessor.}

^{Paul begins preaching full time in Corinth, Acts 18.5-.12 and stays a year and a half in the city. Then some of his Jewish opponents hatch a conspiracy against him, bringing him before the Roman Proconsul, Gallio, for judgment.  Archeologists have discovered a first century inscription at Delphi, in central Greece, that contains a proclamation of the Emperor Claudius. This proclamation refers to Gallio as the Roman Proconsul of Greece in the year in which it was issued. That year corresponds to 52 AD, which is the approximate date of Paul’s Corinthian trial. Proconsuls generally served for only one year.  This is the second independent chronological confirmation of the date of Paul’s visit to Macedonia and Greece. The first was Claudius’ edict expelling the Jews from Rome in 50 AD, which sent Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth.}

^{Drive on to to Nafplion; a picturesque town nestling at the foot of a cliff crowned by the mighty ramparts of the Palamidi Fortress.   We will have a stroll along the harbor and in this beautiful town then return to Athens.  Dinner and o/n at Hotel Jason Inn and a beautiful walk around Athens after our evening meal.}

^{Nov 24 - Delphi and drive to Meteora}

^{Delphi is the big enchilada of Greek sites.  More than even Olympia, this place has everything: a long and glorious history, spectacular ancient remains, a superb museum, and a heartbreakingly beautiful location on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.   Look up and you see the cliffs and crags of Parnassus; look down and you see Greece's most beautiful plain of olive trees stretching as far as the eye can see toward the Gulf of Corinth.}

^{Delphi, the center of the ancient world - the “Omphathalos” (Navel” of the Earth - whose prestige extended far beyond the boundaries of the Hellenic World. On the slopes of Mount Parnassus, in a landscape of unparalleled beauty and majesty, lie the ruins of the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios. Visit the treasury of the Athenians, the temple of Apollo and the museum containing such masterpieces of ancient Greek sculpture as the bronze Charioteer and the famous athlete Aghias. Continue our drive north till we reach Meteores We overnight at Kalambaka, a small town located below Meteora. We will have dinner and o/n at Hotel Andoniadi.}

^{Nov 25 - Meteora, o/n Thessaloniki}

^{Visit the Meteores monasteries particularly impressive scenery: Ageless Monasteries, containing priceless historical and religious treasures stand, suspended between earth and sky, atop huge granite rocks. They seem to be God’s gift to the pious who opted for monasticism and for a life totally dedicated to the worship of God.   Drive on to Thessaloniki considered the second capital of Greece. It was founded in 315 BC by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Cassander, who strengthened his precarious hold on the Macedonian throne by marrying the last surviving member of the ancient royal family, Alexander’s step-sister, Thessaloniki. In her honor, he named the town built in the form of an amphitheater at the head of Thermaikos Gulf after her. We will have dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki at Hotel Olympia. This is a beautiful town for an evening stroll along the waterfront and ice cream or coffee at one of the local cafes.}

^{Nov 26 - Philippi, Neapolis, and other sites on Paul’s route, o/n Thessaloniki}

^{St Paul came to Thessaloniki with Silas and following his usual custom, he went to the synagogue where he used the Jewish scriptures as the source for his preaching (Act 17:2-4). Continue to the city of Kavala (ancient Neapolis) and from there a visit to Philippi, which was a Roman garrison town and the chief city in the province of Macedonia. It was here that Paul won his first European convert, a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods. Visit the Baptistry of Lydia, the market place (where Paul and Silas were brought before the rulers), and the cistern which tradition identifies as the place where St. Paul was imprisoned. We will have dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki at Hotel Olympia. After our evening meal we will visit a local coffee shop for an evening espresso or latte.}

^{Nov 27 - Thessaloniki city tour, travel the Ignatian Way, Verea and other stops o/n Athens.}

^{We begin our day with a sightseeing tour of this glorious city. It will include the White Tower, St. Sophia, the Agora where Paul was preaching, the walls where Jason’s home was located and Paul was leaving there and Byzantine churches.  Continue from northern Greece, driving by Verea (short stop at Verea at the monument dedicated to Paul). We continue to Vergina, to visit the tomb of King Philip, Alexander the Great’s father and the famous “Vergina Treasures."  Return to Athens, dinner and o/n at Hotel Jason Inn.}

^{Nov 28 - Athens all day}

^{This will be our around and about town day in Athens.   This day will be your day and you will be able to relax, shop or continue touring in the city. We will eat at a local restaurant for our farewell meal and o/n at Hotel Jason Inn.}

^{Nov 29 - Departure Transfer to the airport for your flight home.}

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^{DELTA SCHEDULE FROM NEW ORLEANS:}

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