Paul and Chris 3 Months Touring Europe (2009)

12 July - Home

2009-07-12T10:06:00.004+01:00

We have now arrived safely home and the journey was very smooth and uneventful. We enjoyed the stop in Assisi, I am not sure what St Francis would have made of all the fuss and the art work in his honour.

Having said that Assisi was a very spiritual place to be and the sacred nature was respected by all the visitors, something that was not apparent in some of the churches in Rome.

The picture of St Francis standing naked as he renounced worldly goodsGiotto - Legend of St Francis - [05] - Renunciation of Wordly Goods.jpg put the significance of our own situation into perspective and it was a healing place to visit. The Work of Giotto and his team sat between the iconic art of the Byzantine and the renaissance art of Rome. Overall it was a good place to end our journey.

From Assisi we headed straight home. Fortunately I had put my written work onto the internet , however access was not easy or cheap at internet cafes and

so rather than writing up my sabbatical around the edge of Lake Garda (the original plan) I will be doing it on the PC at home in the coming week before starting back in the Benefice next Sunday.

Thanks again to all who followed and all who commented, the whole trip has been a great experience and we have been extremely fortunate to be able to undertake the journey.

For those who like figures we travelled 7642 miles and stayed on 25 different camp sites and passed through 12 different countries.

Thanks and God Bless

Paul & Chris

4th July - Disaster strikes

2009-07-04T17:41:00.003+01:00

Today is a day of great wailing and gnashing of teeth. A quick trip to the supermarket this morning on the way out of Rome towards Assisi turned out to be more expensive than planned.
On return to the van we found that two doors had been forced open, the locks destroyed, and we had been relieved of the Laptop, I pod, camera, sat nav, a pair of smelly trainers and equally disreputable sandals, (they were in a smart tool bag)
The real disaster is not the loss of equipment which is not good news but we have lost over half the photos we have taken including what were to be the final posting pictures of St Pauls final resting place (As traditon has it)
Needless to say the police showed little interest other than to complete a form saying teh occurence had been reported.
Fortunately the blog remains a record and we had sent soem pictures home earlier when Suzy returned to UK (Please dont say you have lost the memory stick Suzy) We also have Chris diary which has a very detailed accoint of our events. Hooray for the pen and paper!
I think this will be the last blogg as we begin the journey home after Assisi so thanks for all who followed and all who commented, I hope you enjoyed it we certainly have.

2009-06-30T14:27:00.002+01:00

29^th June Rome 2

First a quick picture of Pozzouli harbour a missed post from a few days ago.

Rather by luck than judgement we found ourselves at St Peter’s in time to witness the Pope Celebrating Mass and installing new cardinals. After the service he appeared on the balcony and addressed and blessed all present in many languages including English. It was an unexpected and quite memorable moment. Although following in Paul’s footsteps it has not been a pilgrimage as such. However, being at St Peter’s on the Feast day of St Peter and St Paul seems to bring a fitting end to the journey.

Visiting the various sites in Rome has been interesting. The sharp contrast between the basilicas of the Orthodox Church and the baroque and renaissance churches in Rome is one of the most striking differences. The style of the orthodox churches in both shape and decoration has remained basically unchanged since the 4^th century. Most of Rome’s churches of course are nearly a 1000 years younger than many of the Orthodox churches we visited earlier!

28th June - Rome

2009-06-30T14:25:00.001+01:00

(Acts 28:11-16) The Port of Pozzouli (Puteoli) now has a large harbour for leisure craft, an area for fishing boats and ferries and tucked to one side is the old Harbour. Straight away we found our first snag. Paul writes nothing of his arrival in Italy. So it is Luke’s account that is our source. Experience shows that Luke’s recollections and Paul’s account differ, sometimes quite markedly. However, as Paul’s story runs into the mists of uncertainty we have few facts and places that mark out his journey to Rome. It is with some surprise that of the three places mentioned in Acts, three places that are readily identifiable, not on of them shows their relationship with Paul. Throughout Turkey and Greece we have seen basilicas erected over sites where Paul was purportedly imprisoned. over houses in which he stayed or over places where he spoke. (the Bema in Corinth.) In Neopolis we found a church where Paul Landed as he stepped foot in Europe for the first time. However, in Italy there is nothing to be seen. No church or nice mosaic marking the spot of Paul’s landing in Pozzouli. (The church in the picture is not dedicated to St Paul.) As we journeyed on up the Appian Way towards Rome we hoped that the Forum of Appius might record Paul’s passage but nothing was to be found. Likewise we stopped at the supposed spot of the Three Taverns (or Three Shops) but as the pictures show there was nothing to be seen. Rather like the story in Act’s, Paul’s journey slips quietly into obscurity and his presence in Italy appears to have been an unexceptional event not meriting special recognition. Are we now in the land of St Peter rather than the land of St Paul?

26th June - Olympia - Pompeii

2009-06-30T14:18:00.001+01:00

After 6 weeks in Greece it was time to try a different country and so we departed from Olympus for Patra and the a short cruise of the Adriatic landing at Brindisi. Our departure coincided with a change in the weather and clouds rolled in and the rain came down. We had a luxury cabin aboard the “cruise liner” An open deck ticket allows you to sleep in the camper van and they even provide electricity for hook up. During the night there was sense of really following in the footsteps of Paul as a storm blew up (Acts 27:13-20) and being on a lower deck we were quite close to the action. Someone persuaded the crew not to abandon ship and we landed safely in Brindisi.

On the way North to Naples we stopped briefly at Matera, a town built on the side of a hill, utlising the caves in the clay hills. Having degenerated into a slum it has been cleared and is now being redeveloped as a heritage site. which means the great restoration work and government and EU subsidies to convert the old buildings into desirable hotels cafes and art/gift shops. It is well known becuase Mel Gibson used it as part of the set for old Jerusalem for the Passion of Christ.

Unlike Paul who arrived at the port of Pozzouli (just north of Naples) we arrived eventually at the camp site of the same town, the arrival points differ by several hundred metres and also by the fact that site is situated in a volcano, aprt from the warm ground and the occasional sulphorous smell it is a pleasant site, complete with bubbling mud and steam erupts from the fumaroles. We are assured it has not erupted for couple of thousand years. Interestingly the whole area is one of the most volatile in the world and it is constantly being monitored by satellite (reassuring as 3 million people live in the area). The area north of Naples in ancient times known as the Phlegrean Fields was mytholigised by Homer and Virgil as the entrance to Hades.

Apart from the smell, it doesn’t seem so bad.

For our first full day we went to explore Vesuvius and Pompeii, the former in the mist the latter in the rain, O where has our sunshine gone! In fact it was not too bad we did not see much of the crater’s interior but the guide was able to point out that the cloud going down was cloud and the cloud going up was steam. For a volcano that has seen action every 30 years since 79a AD there is some concern that its last eruption was in 1944.

Pompeii differed from all the other roman ruins seen to date becuase it was neither destroyed by warfare of earthquake, instead it was buried under piles of ash. as a consequence it is much easier to gain an impression of a first century Roman city. Not only are some of the buildings intact, they still show the decorations inside. It is very easy to walk the streets and imagine life going on around you. it is a remarkable site. It was interesting to note that while many houses had shrines to certain Gods there was not the variety of temples found in the Greek cities we had previously seen. Most of the buildings were brick built and the predominant rock was unsurprisingly granite, these factors also gave it a very different perspective. We left making a mental note to re-read Robert Harris’ book “Pompeii.” It is a good read and a well researched fictional work of the last days of the city.

20 June - Olympia

2009-06-20T08:54:00.003+01:00

For something a little different we struck south and ventured to Olympia. This site is probably the best in terms of housekeeping and setting although the trees do hide the overall scale of the site. To get there however was another remarkable and wild journey. We intended to stop at Dimitsana but the site was closed and so we pressed on. Such was the tortuous nature of the road that the 40 km took us over an hour, and this was a red road on the map! It would have been nice to stop for photos but the road demanded all our attention and we probably missed half the spectacular nature of the terrain. Olympia is interesting. The temple of Zeus collapsed in an earthquake (6th Cent) and all the pillars lie on the floor just where they toppled. Significantly it only has one ancient basilica a 5th Cent ruin. In comparison with other sites where there have usually been three or four it seems Christianity was slow in reaching into the interior of the Peloponnese.

On the campsite we have had to be cautious we have a "veranda" with a view across the hillside which still bear the signs of devastating fire of two years ago. It is interesting to see that it has not recovered as quickly as the Australian bush. To retrun to the need to be cautious, directly opposite our position The local fire brigade have a fire watch post (It's the red vehicle in the middle of the picture) It's location made us very wary as we lit the BBQ (the black dome at the bottom of the picture) and I made sure we kept the smoke down to a minimum, we really did not want dinner ruined by a bunch of enthusiastic firemen dousing us with a hose.

The next few days are study days and another early start for the service in the local church, before we sail for Italy and onto Rome.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all in the benefice especially those being confirmed as you celebrate the confirmation with Bishop John.

17 June - Ancient Korinthos

2009-06-18T07:06:00.000+01:00

The interesting thing about all the sites visited is that they vary so much in terms of access, completeness and information. Alexander Troas for example was a large city, and most of the remains were unexcavated and appeared amid the planted crops and fields of local farmers. The central part of Ancient Korinthos the agora and the temple of Apollo were very clear in outline and some sizeable remains were present thus we were able to picture the scene Paul might have encountered. Unfortunately the site map was not of the highest standard and there was little information about the remains we were viewing.

Most of the sites cover a period of several hundred years and the buildings were changed added or knocked down in that time. However we did find the stone of Erastus (Rom 16:24) and also the Bema (For the Philistine readers this is not short for BMW.) The Bema highlights the problem of change because what should have been an impressive Marble plinth with statues and small rooms had become a church, it therefore was little more than a blank wall with a label attached.

Great emphasis is put on the Temple of Aphrodite adjacent to Korinthos (referred to in previous post.) We visited the site and can honestly say it is over rated. The temple is situated on the hill that is in the distance behind the pillars of Apollo’s temple. The view from the top is quite spectacular stretching about 60 kms in all directions you may be able to discern ancient Korinthos below in the picture. We rather felt that It’s location challenged it’s reputation. For the ancient Korinthians faced with a 5 km climb in 30+ degrees we felt his/her strength would have been sapped. One cannot help but wonder how much energy the desperate visitor had left, perhaps all those courtesans led a very undemanding life after all.

For Paul It would seem that the many temples (Some were named and the remainder that were unnamed were lettered A to K) were of far greater concern. Having said that from the tone of his letter it seems his two years in Korinthos were very profitable and he left behind a very active (over active?) church that continued to grow.

15th June - Korinthos

2009-06-16T07:03:00.002+01:00

Onto Korinthos that den of iniquity as far as Paul was concerned. So renowned was the city that its name became a synonym for promiscuous behaviour. Lonely Planet nicely describes the situation

“The Temple of Aphrodite where the sacred courtesans (exactly how these differed from the less holy variety isn’t clear) who so raised the ire of St Paul catered to the desires of the insatiable Corinthians.”

But that is tomorrows trip. Today we found the VW garage and had the van serviced and discovered not a wheel bearing on the way out but a buckled wheel rim. The uneven roads of Eastern Europe and some unmade roads in Greece and Turkey have taken their toll. The garage expedition meant we were in new Korinthos a town that has been destroyed or badly damaged by earthquakes in 1858, 1928 and 1981. It is some 6 km from the Ancient city but it is at the western end of the Corinth Canal, quite a spectacular feat of engineering for the 19^th century, although as the canal was started some 2000+years ago it was a bit behind schedule.

Prior to the canal being built smaller ships and goods were ferried by road across the isthmus a distance of 5km saving a sea voyage of about 131 nautical miles through some treacherous waters. The old road the Diolkos is still visible in parts at the western end. In Paul’s day the road surface was logs rather than the well worn stones as in the pictures.

With the temp at 39 we decided at this point not to go to the old port of Cenchera as we were not in need of a haircut (Acts 18:18) instead we returned to the camp site which is coincidently at Lechaion, the old port on the western side of Korinthos and the road from the port leads straight into the ancient city.

12th June Athens-The Agora

2009-06-12T09:41:00.005+01:00

The Temple of Hephaestus (The God of the Forge) is just one of the many temples and shrines found in the Agora; the administrative, political social and commercial centre of Athens. Socrates shared his philosophy here and it was to here that St Paul came when he arrived in Athens,

As Paul went around the market place he would have come across the Altar of Zeus, the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Ares, Triton Statues, The Altar of the twelve Gods, the Hellenistic Temple and the Southeast Temple. As the business of life went on round about Paul was there preaching about Jesus Christ and the resurrection. The fact that he ended up being taken to the Areopagus means that he must have made an impact even though he considered himself a poor speaker. To stand in the area and try and contemplate the situation he found himself in is not really possible. However, as experienced a traveller as Paul was, he was a long way from home and in a very different culture with very different moral and ethical ideas. In Athens there was a culmination of all that he had experienced on his journeys to date.

It is perhaps fortuitous that at the heart of that alien culture there was belief in the supernatural and a seeking to know about the gods. There was perhaps also a realisation that the idolatry nature of the existing deities did not provide a satisfactory answer to life's question being explored by the philosophers of the time and Paul sparked enough interest to light the fire of faith among some who heard him.

Also in the Agora amidst the temples there was a 10th

century

church (the Church of the Holy Apostles). Having

been reordered in the 19th century, it has recently been restored to its former 10th Cent state again the simplicity of the Apse and Holy Table proclaim a powerful message.

Away from the Agora and in the shadow of Athens' Cathedral (literally) sits a little 12th Century church (it is just 7.5 mtrs by 12 mtrs as in keeping with the 12th century village of Athens!) on the front are a set of carvings of mythical beasts and I was reminded of St Olave's south arch lintel when I saw this particular one.

The church is Panagia Gorgoepikoos - "Our Lady who Listens."

12th June Delphi update

2009-06-12T09:23:00.004+01:00

Having written about Delphi and it's location thought you might like a picture or two the first is looking to the coast (SouthWest) the second is from the top of the site (looking South East)

Animal lover's corner

2009-06-11T06:40:00.002+01:00

Sorry I have already used my only tortoise joke, see earlier blogg, but this chap was just wandering the grounds of the Acropolis.

The fellow in the hover was nesting in the walls of the Acropolis and did quite a display for us.

10 June - Athens

2009-06-11T06:27:00.003+01:00

But before Athens, what of Delphi. Situated half way up a mountain with a river that was probably much wider then than today it is quite a remarkable site. Steeped in Greek history it was a place that determined the fortunes and failures of many. Its location not just on the mountain side but its distance from other significant centres certainly gave it a distinctive quality not experienced elsewhere and it was easy to see how this could be utilised to good effect in an age of deep superstition.

Considering our last major city experience (Istanbul) we moved on with some trepidation to Athens, reluctantly leaving the very pleasant Camping Delphi, probably one of the best sites we have stayed on to date.

The Temperature has taken a turn for the warm. and we seem to be clocking 36+ at the moment, Camping Athens was an easy site to find (we have now worked out the system. A campsite sign with an arrow pointing left and 500Mtrs on it does not mean turn left in 500Mtrs, it means turn left now! (too late you’ve missed it) and the site is 500 Mtrs down that road. So we are entering Athens on dual carriageway three lanes wide when a sign appears on the right hand side of the road pointing left saying Camping Athens. There exactly as it said on the sign, directly opposite was the campsite. (remember we are driving on the right) access to the campsite was only available from the other carriageway heading out of the City. Fortunately I had noticed that the local motorist appears to take no notice of the signs which say no left turn and no U turn. At the next intersection which carried such signs we did a quick u turn (It was OK Chris was driving) and back

tracked to the site. At least this time we had decent accommodation with good facilities, although no pool, which is a real asset after a hot day in the city.

Our second task after arrival was to find a VW garage, we have done nearly 6k miles since leaving home and a service is due. We also have a grumbling wheel bearing. We had located the VW dealer in Athens (there is only one) and the staff in the campsite were very helpful with directions. However, The road we needed was about 5km long and we did not know from which end the numbering started. You guessed it, we started at the wrong end. The only good thing was that it gave us a first view of the Acropolis as we motored towards the centre.

Even today with high rise buildings it stands proud over the city. Despite having visited some large cities, when Paul arrived at Athens the scale of the place must have been striking with the temple of Athena towering over the other buildings which were not in themselves insubstantial.

We found the VW garage and they were most helpful they jacked the vehicle up, took it for two test drives and came back and said, “yes it may be a wheel bearing but the ceiling on our workshop is too low so we cannot put your vehicle on a ramp and do any work on it, not even an oil change. Here is a telephone number for VW Greece they may be able to help!" I have the address fro the VW garage in Corinth we may have more luck there.

Today was a hot day in the city and we did the Acropolis and also the Areopagus (Acts 17:16 - end) Apart from some well worn steps the Areopagus is now just a hill of highly polished and very slippery marble, but it was interesting to contemplate the idea of Paul holding forth about Jesus Christ while surrounded by the many gods of the greco/roman empire in the shadow of the Acropolis. (see picture)

Tomorrow we are off to (yet another) Agora to proclaim the good news there.

6th June Pentecost Sunday (Orthodox)

2009-06-07T19:58:00.001+01:00

There is a whole story to tell about Pentecost Sunday, but that is for another day and time. Here is a brief summary. It was difficult to determine the start time of the service. In the end we settled on the 8:00 am option. Arriving at 7:45 we found ourselves one of about 8 congregation, mainly old ladies dressed in black, that had already done 15 minutes of worship. Late arrival did not attract stares or concern and the reason soon became obvious. As the service progressed new arrivals wandered in continuously following the same ritual of lighting candles reverencing Icons and greeting those already present. all the time the cantors (lay) continued to lead us in litanies and prayers with no break or pause. For some we stood for others we sat. Occasionally the priest appeared from behind the Iconostasis. to add to the prayers or gently waft incense in our direction.

Shortly after 9:00 the main bells sounded out in a great peal and the service gained a sense of anticipation. Still people continued to enter, including families with young children. The door on the Iconostasis was now closed and when it re opened the priest was wearing a stole and he came out to chant the Gospel of the day. More people wandered in. A little later he appeared with Chalice and paten moving in and out of the different doors in the Iconostasis with each part of the celebration. To the best of our understanding, at some point the Eucharist was celebrated. Certainly the children were invited to the front and received their spoonful of honey, but apart from the priest no one else received communion. At no time was their silence and only on three occasions were passages spoken as opposed to being chanted. However, in the language or tempo there was no sense of climax or even of the service drawing to a close. Therefore it came as quite a surprise when suddenly at 10:30 the service just ended as the priest brought out a large dish piled high with pieces of bread that had been blessed earlier (not consecrated) and people all moved to the front of the church as the Priest distributed it generously. Kindly people ensured we knew that we were welcome to receive this bread. By the end of the service some 60 or 70 people including 4 or 5 families were present. That was Pentecost in an Orthodox village church (Basilica can bee seen in middle of picture “Delphi Campsite”. Sadly in spite of it being pentecost we did not understand the people of Greece and they did not understand us when we all spoke in our own tongue.

Tomorrow we visit Delphi, so any questions for the Oracle please e mail them.

5th June - Nicopolis

2009-06-07T19:56:00.001+01:00

Titus 3:12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

So we find ourselves in Nicopolis. As much as it might have its attractions we will not be overwintering here. There is dispute about the authorship of the Letter to Titus. In grammar and structure it is a different style from Paul’s other letters. According to the letter it would seem Paul was not in Nicopolis when he wrote to Titus, and it is possible that he never reached there.

A visit to Nicopolis does not tie in with Paul’s Modus Operandi of starting in the synagogue and then moving out into the city. Interestingly The Jewish historic records for the the period show no record of a Jewish community in Nicopolis.

Nicopolis also does not sit between the places we do know Paul visitied. It is well of the Via Egnatia, In fact it sits on the western coastal route most likely to be used by those coming from Rome and landing at the western end of the VE. Any route from Thessalonica to Nicopolis would involve crossing the Pindos mountains (Triaptamia & Kastraki-Preveza) The Guide book describes the area today as a wilderness where bear and wolf may be found. We can well believe it. The roads were severe (one was unmade) the drops were steep and the rivers that cut through the mountains were often thin silvery lines hundreds of meters below. We did not see wolves or bears, we did however see cows! It somehow seems unlikely Paul would have travelled over the mountains to get to Nicopolis. On visiting Nicopolis it was noticeable that there was no “Pauline history” or folklore. We found no “stone where Paul stood” or “hole that Paul slept in” What we did find was that the Bishop of Nicopolis not only built 3 Basilicas (none dedicated to St Paul) but also had very fine views from his garden, but of course that was some 300 years on from Paul. Did Paul visit Nicopolis? It seems unlikely. Did he write the letter to Titus? scholars continue to disagree, however, as with all the Pauline and pseudo Pauline epistles. It is not the authorship that is relevant but the content and the teaching.

3rd June - More Monasteries

2009-06-03T17:51:00.001+01:00

Bottom picture is Adam naming the animals.

More monasteries today. This time we visited the nuns I have to say the woman’s touch was to be seen in the tidiness of all that was done. In the Kathilikon, no space is left unpainted. While we may have English churches with wall paintings the richness and the intensity is overpowering. Timothy Ware in his book “The Orthodox Church” writes of church and worship under the heading The Earthly Heaven. From a western reformed tradition there is a tendency to be dismissive of it all with a preference for the plain and simple, leaving the imagination mind and heart to engage as they will. However, he points out out that “the various iconographic scenes are not arranged fortuitously but according to a definite theological scheme, so that the whole edifice forms one great Icon or image of the Kingdom of God … the icons which fill the church serve as a point of meeting between heaven and earth” It is not something that one takes to quickly or readily but exploring it is challenging and it raises some interesting questions about how we worship.

On more mundane matters back in the van after a week in our expanded accommodation has brought a new meaning to the term “economies of scale.” having scaled down the space, economies must ensue. At times it seems we are in one of those Arctic exploration or desert trek films. You know how the searchers always come across a piece of discarded kit as the the non essentials are abandoned. The first to go was the door mat. Unfortunately this was an essential item becuase it helps keep the van clean. The problem is it is the first thing that goes out when we arrive and the last thing we put back on board before we depart. We have left mats in Cornwall, in the Pyrenees at a service station in Germany and somewhere in Poland. Therefore it was not long into our trip before we discovered we had left the mat behind, we think it was in Bulgaria. We now have a new mat which is tied to the van if we forget it (and strangely now we never seem to) it will drag along behind us and we hope someone will let us know. We have also left the coffee pot behind and a filter water jug. The later item does free up space in the fridge. The former was replaced immediately. The Bike cover also beat itself to death on the back of the van it was carried around for a while just in case until eventually its inconvenience outweighed its value and it was abandoned in Turkey. The lantern never really shed usable light however, for 5 weeks we cleared it from its stowage space, where it blocked loo access at night, and carefully stowed it back in its place the next morning. Finally it was abandoned in Chaldiki. I had thought of disposing of the anoraks and fleeces but Chris persuaded me not to so they are now away in an inaccessible place, It is actually where Chris’s shoes were stored, or should have been stored if it had been more convenient. they now have convenient accessible boxes which keep them tidied away!

Books have also been a problem, the reading list and the maps have added to the payload. There is not a great uptake among fellow campers for works such as Lossky’s The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church ( I can’t understand why) so I have not been able to pass that on. However, as we have met travellers moving on to places we have already passed through we have handed on maps and street plans and guide books as appropriate. Fortunately Suzy’s visit did enable us to send her home with some weighty tomes. Generally now things work well the places are finalized and I don’t think much more will be abandoned (unless the string on the mat comes undone.)

PS. if you are touring around and find a doormat by the side of the road please pick it up and return it you will be rewarded (richly in heaven.)

2009-06-01T19:26:00.005+01:00

Having dropped Suzy and the children at the airport we returned to the plan. next stop was Veria.(Berea)

This is where Paul escaped to, having upset half of Thessalonica and been chased out of town. (Acts 17:1-14)The journey there is over a level plain and the going is easy.

Again he preached in the synagogue however the trouble makers soon caught up with him and he fled.

Firstly we could find no campsite in Veria, but then there was not a great lot to see apart from the 50 or 70 churches the guide books claims (It is called little Jerusalem).

None of these seemed to have any connection with Paul, however, on the site of the Synagogue (unverifiable) a memorial has been erected.

It was a very fine piece of mosaic work, My only concern was in the detail of two people listening to Paul One of them seems to find something quite funny Personally I have not found any of Paul's letters that funny perhaps someone serious cut those bits out?

After a top up with coffee we were on our way this time towards Athens via Delphi, but our next stop is Meteora. An unusual rock formation that has at the summit of the rocks several monasteries . We managed two today Bunyan would have had something to say about the crooked way we went but it was worth the hard climb. see final pictures

2009-05-30T12:01:00.003+01:00

We are coming to the end of a lovely week with Suzy Jade & Kai. on the whole the weather has been warm and sunny, although yesterday (Friday) we had a very exciting storm but then we are immediately below Mount Olympus the home of Zeus the great god of the thunderbolt. He was on form yesterday. Tomorrow we take the family to the Airport and continue on with the journey to Veria and Athens

The pictures were on our "educational day" it was our only other grey day, we went to Dion and then up the road towards Mt Olympus

The Rotunda Church

2009-05-22T16:00:00.002+01:00

The Rotunda church is a 3rd century church undergoing renovation it was a moving place amid the scaffold and the work going on was the Altar. and it stood with the bare walls behind it and the mosaic ceiling above the effect was profound.

2009-05-22T15:54:00.002+01:00

Ayios Dimitrios, the largest church in Greece 5th Century

Ayios Sofia The Main church in Thessaloniki was locked,

It closes from midday to 5pm.

we did get in it today.

22nd May Thessaloniki

2009-05-22T15:41:00.002+01:00

We have walked the length and breadth of Thessaloniki it seems. By the time you fit in the various closing/opening times it took two days to find the places we wanted. Sorry James we did not find the convenient stone. We did find some interesting churches. the oldest was 3rd century and today we found hidden away a little 4th century church with some fascinating frescoes from the same period. (Pictures will follow.) In the meantime these are yesterdays Pictures.

Today we take a break from the journey. Suzy and the Jade and Kai are flying out this weekend and we are having a family week in Leptokaria. I am not sure how we will adapt to all the sudden space of the house we have hired. but it will be nice not to have to build the bed at night before we go sleep.

We will continue in 9 days time as we journey towards Athens.

2009-05-22T15:37:00.001+01:00

Mount Athos appeared out of the mist.

Thats how you transport big toys home on a motorcycle. Note who is wearing the crash helmet!

2009-05-22T15:35:00.001+01:00

For the animal lovers. (and especially for Jackie)

A Few Days of Catching Up

2009-05-22T15:34:00.000+01:00

17th May Sunday,

Acts 17:1 They traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. That is about all we know of the next two cities en route. perhaps that is why as we arrived at those destinations we found them quite deserted and the gates locked. We came across The famous Lion of Amphipolis by accident some 3 kms from the site of the city and the closed museum.

Furthermore the nearest campsite was not only run down our presence was announced by 8 or so barking dogs. Noises in the night have been a problem and the previous two sites had excellent guard dogs that barked at anything and everything that moved -all night. We have also been “blessed” on most of the sites with nightingales, romantic they may sound, but you can have too much of a good thing when they sing all night. In fact nights have been quite noisy affairs!

Like Paul and Silas we too decided to move swiftly on but not to Thessalonica yet as the site was by the airport, We decided to strike south to the Sithonia peninsular which is the peninsular opposite Mount Athos. The first glimpse of Mount Athos was striking as it appeared emerging from the mist between the hills.

Unfortunately Although I applied in what might be considered reasonable time (November last year) I was not able to get one of the places available for heretics to visit. (only 4 such are allowed in each day’s allocation of 100 places.) and so we have had to be content with viewing from afar.

It is difficult to say why a mountain surrounded by monasteries with monks who can, by all accounts, be rather hostile, appear eccentric and sometimes behave in a distinctly un-holy manner should be a sacred area, but it does have a presence that speaks of holiness.

I think this is the first camp site that has not had a Dutch presence, have we found somewhere they have not yet discovered? There is one German van and the rest of the residents are local people with their children. The families seem to be regular visitors with their caravans showing signs of permanency. It was with some trepidation that we watched a father teaching his daughter how to ride a mini-motorcycle she was wearing a crash helmet but other than that she had on T shirt, shorts and flip flops (thongs to our antipodean friends). On this occasion it did not end tears fortunately. It is not unusual to see even adults riding powerful bikes in shorts T shirt and no helmet and scooters are the basic transport of the young.

In this respect Greece is not dissimilar to Turkey although we have not witnessed the sight of a motorcycle and flat bed sidecar with a family of 7 (5 adults and 2 children) aboard. As we watched them go past (we were stopped having lunch) we felt sure they would not make it up the hill, but with a steady chugging they did with all still on board.

Of course if a motor bike is all you have then that is what you must use to collect things from town, for larger items it is useful to have a passenger. (see picture on how to get your child's new bike home from the shop). Shortly after observing this we were surprised to see a car in the same queue of traffic edging its way down backwards, unfortunately we could not see what happened when he reached the traffic lights.

Travels are never without their excitements are they?

19^th May Tuesday - Thessalonica

Well that will teach me to complain about the noise. Sunday night was a night of interrupted sleep as thunderstorm after thunder storm rolled across. sometimes it was light and noise and no rain as it passed to the east or west of us, and once or twice it was overhead and plenty of rain. We survived the night and were lucky. Elsewhere on the site sizeable branches had come down one crashing through the roof of a parked caravan, fortunately it was empty at the time.

The day was cloudy but dry and as evening came on so the clouds cleared and we got our daily swim. The temperature od hte water can best be described as invigorating.

Today we moved on the Thessalonica, there are no sites in the city so we planned to stop at one of two sites on the west of the city about 18km out but we knew they had good bus routes into the city. Well that bit of the information was correct as we saw a couple of number 69’s and also a couple of 72’s however all the other details were incorrect as the camp sites were closed, one permanently and the other waiting till summer before it opened. That left us little alternative but to drive round Thessalonica and look for a site on the other side. This we found relying on our campers nose that divines where sights might be from the scant or obscure directions in camping books and the odd sign pointing at some obtuse angle to the point that lies exactly midway between the two roads at the junction.

Now we have to work out how we are going to get to Thessalonica tomorrow as we search out a stone associated with St Paul’s preaching. I am not quite sure whether he stood on it, he was not a man of great stature (2 Cor 10:10). or perhaps he threw it at people just to avoid a repeat of the Eutychus incident (Acts 20:9), alternatively we know he was not a good speaker (2 Cor 11:6) so perhaps he stood on the stone to prevent it being thrown at him. We will report further if we find it.

2009-05-15T19:31:00.000+01:00

Today is Jade's Birthday. Happy Birthday Jade

2009-05-15T19:26:00.001+01:00

This should have been with the Post. It is Paul landing at Neapolis.

14 May Neapolis - Kavala

2009-05-15T19:16:00.003+01:00

Is this really where it started. at the harbour in Kavala (pronounced Kabala). Paul landed in Europe and put behind him the middle eastern culture.

Neapolis and later Philippi (pronounced locally as Philippe) would probably have been less alien to Paul than they would have been to Jesus.

Jesus was man of the country, he spoke of shepherds, barns, vines, figs, wine and water. Things of the country, items that are crucial to country living. These were the things the people Jesus spoke to knew about it was their life and it was his, Jesus lived in a jewish state ina jewish culture, albeit under occupation.

Paul was a Roman citizen, we do not know how he attained that status. What we do know is that he was a city man and he was educated (we need to treat with caution Luke’s statement about being a pupil of Gamiel 1.) Although his Greek was not the finest, he also would have spoken Hebrew and/or Aramaic. He was a person who was used to living as a Jew in an alien culture, Paul grew up and lived in the Jewish community in the city of Tarsus, in Asia Minor.

From the sprawling city of today It is difficult to determine how big the port of Neapolis might have been. We did however find the church set back now from the water front that claims to be built on the very place Paul stepped ashore. Location wise it is feasible. the wall outside(dated 2004) tells the story but sadly the church was locked. The old part of the town is mainly Byzantine with extensive additions, like the aqueduct in the 15^th and 16^th century. and in its time it has been part of the Byzantine and the Ottoman empire.

The road out to Philippi, the Via Egnatia, has been lost to the tourist information office, the best advice they could offer was get a taxi and ask to be taken there We chose not to do that. The port is surrounded by hills and Philippi lies over the hills and about 9 miles in land.

Wash day at the Black Sea

2009-05-14T09:06:00.000+01:00

The Blue Mosque

2009-05-14T09:04:00.000+01:00

Ayios Sofia

2009-05-14T09:02:00.000+01:00

Long time no Internet access, but the journey continues

2009-05-14T08:56:00.001+01:00

8 May Towards Istanbul
Well today should have been Istanbul, but instead it was wash day. From Hierapolois to Istanbul was schedule for two days. With that our target we set off. We knew we needed a proper site before Istanbul so that we could do some Washing etc and we hoped Nicea, now called Iznik, might provide the answer. It might be the place to provide the answer to the relationship between Father Son and Holy Spirit, but it doesn’t have a camp site. Oh well I suppose it can’t have everything. We journeyed on and as evening came on decided to turn off the main road and look for a quiet spot in the country. Eventually we ended up in a village and the tarmac ran out. We wound our way through what seemed to be farmyards and people’s back yards until with help of the villagers we were directed onto a dirt road that took us back out into the country. However, this was not before we had a very impressive display from the guard Turkey who wished to challenge our passing and puffed himself up with tail fanned out and much cackling and squawking. I shouted out “Christmas dinner” and that seemed to deflate his ego.
A mile or so up the road we found just the spot pulled over ready to spend the night amid the pines and fields. A conversation in universal sign language with the passing shepherd confirmed we would be ok there, and we were. problem no water and no washing machine and the prospect that if we reached Istanbul the next day we would be in trouble. A check in our camping guides showed us a reasonable site with facilities about three hours out of Istanbul and so we needed to stop their before venturing in.
The journey was not without its interesting moment. The road construction methods were now becoming familiar and so it was no surprise to find that the access to the dual carriageway was indicated by a handwritten sign that pointed up a graded but un-tarmaced slip road. Having gained the dual carriage way we found ourselves the only vehicle on the right hand side travelling east whilst the other carriageway had two lanes in opposite directions in operation. It all came out ok at the traffic lights. Later a similar situation arose and so we gaily travelled up the slip road and then along the graded carriageway only to be stopped and told that although the road was on the map it was still being built, turn round go back and do a 20 mile detour.
All came right in the end and we found our site very pleasant on the edge of the Black Sea, which wasn’t black at all, but it was a good place to do essential housekeeping see picture. At this point I should mention that I actually went swimming in the sea earlier when we were at Gallipoli, I found it a bit chilly round the Dardanelles and it was not a lot warmer in the Black sea either.
The scenery in inland Turkey has been quite spectacular and of a scale that cannot really be captured on camera. What was very clear was the trade routes of Paul’s time that linked the various cities together were in most cases still in existence today the reason being they run through the valleys that are several miles wide with the Hills on either side somewhere between 1000 and 2000 mtrs.
9th May Istanbul
Although we had been further east and further south somehow Istanbul had about it a real sense of exploration. Two recent series of Radio programmes, one by Bethany Hughes and the other by Judith Herren had painted a picture of the heart of the Byzantine empire an empire that they both point out lasted 1000 years.
However, The first problem was finding a campsite in Istanbul. Previously at Selcuk we had shared the camp site with a Dutch couple whom we first met up with in Gallipoli. Their advice was “there are no campsites in Istanbul” This served to confirm what we had already learnt from a NZ couple. They did kindly give us details of a friendly restaurant (Kebab House) owner who was willing to let you use his car park in the middle of Istanbul. They then gave us explicit details and maps of how to find the place.
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus. half in Europe Half in Asia. The historic old town is on the western side and therefore in Europe. A large Horn shaped inlet called the Golden Horn further splits the city and provided a degree of natural fortification.
If I can offer one piece of advice it is do not drive into Istanbul midday on a Saturday. We did eventually find the place, but we were on the wrong side of the road and the trams up the centre made doing a u turn impossible. We crossed the Golden Horn again and then again eventually coming up on the right side. The car park was full, and no, we could not use it, try down the road same story, and again and again. we suddenly found ourselves in a lane that crossed the Golden Horn again and as we passed over the bridge there beneath us was a car park with a space. As the road swept off the bridge the entrance was on our right and we swung in and were parked.
Now a plan was needed as to what we were going to do about a campsite or hotel. But first explore. When we returned later in the evening with no real idea where we should go we found that the car park was almost empty and a chat with the attendant indicated we could stay overnight, and use the facilities of the adjacent Mosque for Water etc. It seems all Mosques have water and toilet facilities! Within the hour we were joined by another van with a Swiss couple who had been driving round Istanbul all day looking for a non existent sites, they saw our van and came to join us. This was to be our campsite for the next two nights.
There is no doubting the magnificence of the notable buildings of Istanbul and the Aya Sofia (The Church of Divine Wisdom) is a remarkable building. This 6th Century building is one of the oldest standing churches of Christendom and predates most of our “old English” village churches by 6-700 years. The Minarets bear witness to the subsequent Ottoman Empire. Today it is called a museum this change was made by Ataturk to defuse inter faith tension and improve foreign relations.. It is a building of magnificence and the renovation being undertaken is much needed. The dome is 33 metre in diameter seems to hang in the air some 50 metres up. It would be nearly another 1000 years before the world had such another similar sized structure.
But it’s history is a story of politics and intrigue and of desecration by fellow Christians. (The Crusaders) It should have been a ladder reaching up to heaven, Jacob might say “How dreadful is this place!” But I am not sure he would continue “this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven,” for it did not seem to be such.
The Christian legacy is still apparent in an historical sense however, it no longer provides a spiritual link back to the early church and the followers of Christ, who prevailed against the odds to keep alive the message of Christ. We speak of the church being the people not the building, but sadly this building seems to epitomise the people not only in the past and their loss of focus on the Gospel and all that it means to be Christian. But as it stands today it somehow characterises the church of the present day struggling to be a Christian presence, trying to recapture past glories in the world of changing values and ideas and fighting to stop the Christian faith being something consigned to a museum of anthropology.
The following day we visited the Blue Mosque. This also is a remarkable building in quite a different way. The geometric patterns and the Arabic script with texts from the Koran contribute to that, but on entry there was a sense of stillness, awe and wonder among all the tourists gathered there. Areas are cordoned off creating a sense of sacred space and tourists are not allowed in to wander round during prayers. The message was that the people who worship here take their faith seriously there is no compromise for the sake of the tourist or the coffers. You arrive with and expectation of being struck by the fine art work and ceramics, you depart with a sense of what faith means to those who worship in that place.
Hot, noisy, the meeting of cultures east and west, Istanbul is an interesting bustling place (Ah you come from England; Lubbly Jubbly. Join me for tea. Do you want to buy a carpet?) It would be good to have stayed longer, but it is time to move on and so it was an early morning start and heading to Greece and on to the place where Paul first landed in Europe, Neapolis, (Kavala) on his way to Philippi

5 May - The temperature of the water

2009-05-05T21:20:00.003+01:00

For the first time in three weeks we saw some rain today. Which did not bode well for the Laodiceans. While John described them as being neither hot nor cold Today they were decidedly chilly, it was wet and windy. Having said yesterday about locations both Laodicea and Hierapolis are built on hills, the latter being quite high, however the logic lies in the water which springs from the top of the hill and flows down making white cliffs of calcium that create the impression of snow.

More ruins and pillars and a desire for immortality reflected in the buildings and their stone work. sadly the buildings no longer stand in their former glory and of course the same applies to the characters that were their patrons and sponsors. Both sites had their 6^th Century Basilicas now no more than marked out on the ground by a pattern of bricks and plinths. In fact more remained of the first church which was formed by converting the Gymnasium in the 4th Cent, the cross carved appropriately in the key stone over the doorway reminds those that thought they were coming for a work out that the building had changed. They also have examples of Merchant’s housing large and spacious with a courtyard that would have been “open to the public” The early church we read about in Acts, Paul’s letters and in Revelations would have been meeting in such houses. Lydia for example would have been comfortably off as a trader in Purple cloth, the most expensive and exclusive of materials (Acts 16:14 & 40.)

Paul’s strategy seems to have been to go first to the synagogue to preach and then, usually after a couple of days, he would be thrown out. (Acts 13 to 19 have many reference) so he would then preach in the street or in the public buildings. He seems to have rapidly developed a group of gentile friends, which is fortunate because he was loosing many of his Jewish ones it would seem. What is interesting is that Paul’s second and third journey’s are quite different from his first. In his second and third journey’s he selects Gentile communities with large Jewish populations and they all lie along the trade routes of the empire. This had two advantages. Firstly travelling between them was more secure especially when Paul as in Greece on the Via Egnatia. Secondly, even though it seems Paul was becoming unwelcome in the Jewish synagogue community, his friends, the merchants, could give him contacts and references for each of the new towns he visited. Having lost the advantage of his Jewish roots he developed a new network in which he gained acceptance.

Oh yes and we saw a Blackeared Wheatear

2009-05-05T08:01:00.002+01:00

All that remains of the temple of Artemis - Ephesus.

Below is a picture of my teacher.

She tortoise!

Ok I know it is a turtle but that is the only way I could get the joke in because we have not yet found a wild tortoise.

2009-05-05T07:59:00.000+01:00

Now for those who requested more animals. This one would have quite happily jumped in the van.

2009-05-05T07:55:00.001+01:00

The impressive stadium and below a fearsome gladiator emerging from the tunnel.

She might look small but she is big in Japan, and I would think twice about taking her on especially with that hat.

2009-05-05T07:54:00.002+01:00

Gateway to the temple. note Snow in background.

4 May - Aphrodisias

2009-05-05T07:51:00.002+01:00

En route to Laodicea a small detour allowed us to include a little gem, Aphrodisias. set on a plateau 600mtrs high it was surrounded by mountains some still capped with snow. It is interesting to note that many of these ancient towns/cities are built on lower ground around a water source and although walled do not have strong defensive positions. They are more like our ancient monasteries than our castles. The other feature is the mountainous country side which channels the routes through the wide valleys. Each city therefore is sited on a trading route and so besides its citizens it would be visited by traders and journeymen. The whole setting is one of peace time and law and order, which of course is one reason why learning and trade flourished.

Aphrodisias, was a remarkable site becuase of the excavation that has been undertaken and also the survivial of the stadium. the difficult part with all the sites is a lack of information about them. and so we wandered rather blindly stumbling across the various features. Firstly there was the gateway to the temple of Aphrodite, rebuilt with very little use of concrete support. This gateway was later to become the entrance to the Church when the pagan rites were set aside in favour of Christianity and the temple was converted into a more basilica like form that is the pattern of eastern churches.. then as we wandered round we came across what at first site appeared to be the amphitheatre. but suddenly as we walked between the mounds of earth that formed the entrance, it opened up into a Stadium, about 200m in length. It had been left untouched for 1500 years and apart from the ravages wrought by nature was complete and had undergone no reconstruction.

Other areas were equally well preserved and it appeared that very little robbing of materials had taken place this was a site that could rival Ephesus when further archeological research is completed.

2009-05-03T18:21:00.000+01:00

No Jenny, nor have they built the cubicles yet.

2009-05-02T16:49:00.003+01:00

Now travelling in the footsteps of St Paul you might think that this has a deep christian tradition behind it. clearly a footstep but whose? well no one in particular, this is the footstep that shows the way to the Brothel! one of the major buildings in the centre of Ephesus. It would seem that Ephesus, was a licentious city. That is why we read so much in Ephesians about moral rectitude and responsibilities of a husband to a wife and wife to a husband.

The Temple of Artemis was said to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, sadly not much of it remains today, one reconstructed pillar out of the 140 that were in the original. However, again the reference to the body being a temple (Last weeks MP reading) would have had a deep meaning to the Ephesians it painted for them a vivid and significant picture. of a mighty structure.

Below is the purported tomb of St John. the basilica if still standing would be the 7th largest church in the world. In its day it equalled Ayios Sophia in Istanbul. Sadly is was destroyed in the middle ages.

2 May - Market Day

2009-05-02T16:37:00.001+01:00

Today was market day. which is good except that yesterday should have been market day. Yesterday we ran out of milk and salad and bread. The only problem was not only was yesterday a holy day, it was also a holiday. Hardy travellers that we are we managed with our all day breakfast Suzy bought us for Christmas!

. It would seem we were not the only ones in need of resupply for today down town Selcuk was busy. and there stalls for everything, pots, pans, olive oil, cheese, fruit, bags, clothes, tools, spades, picks even fork handles!

Initially it all seemed to cost just one Turkish Lira. (40p) so we got a lettuce for 1TL, and some spinach for 1TL oranges apples all seemed to be the same price. Honey was dearer, (we have now finished Patrick’s marmalade) that was 8TL. The delight really was was that as you wandered round you were invited to try, and so we had some sausage, (from the chicken shop) three types of cheese, an assortment of olives. some orange, sesame covered nuts and some small green fruits about the size of crab apples and about as sour. We did not get a sample of the bread, but we were invited to come in and watch it come out of the oven. Clearly some of the stalls were major retail enterprises but many were obviously small holding gardeners with only one type of veg or commodity. One hardware stall looked a little bit like my collection of boxes from the garage with all the bits in that you keep “just in case.” Another man was selling Duracell batteries loose?

Then there were the two old ladies sitting on the floor traditionally clothed and with head scarf. In front of one were a selection of limp herbs, in front of the other were about 5 kilo of dried figs and some even more limp herbs. The figs did not look the best we had seen, but there were not too bad, we didn’t need figs, but she was a very old lady and I doubted any one else would buy anything from her. We went for some figs. As we expressed an interest, she picked out a fig, in anticipation of a taste we watched as she broke it in two showed it to us and then threw it on the floor. She took out a second hand poly bag and put in a handful of figs, then anther and then another. Uhm, we didn’t want quite that many, and then another, we now realised we were likely to end up with all 5 kilos. the elderly lady alongside shouted to her, she knew we didn’t want that many. She stopped, looked up, we smiled yes that was enough. She looked back at the figs and pulled another handful out to put into the bag again the woman next door shouted at her. She looked puzzled. then the woman next door put her finger to her head in what seems to be an international signal for someone who is not really with it. In this case perhaps a touch of dementia. We went round the shouting, handful of figs and nodding and gesticulating route several times before eventually the lady realised she could palm (ouch) no more of her figs off onto us.

Now we had to determine how much. She of course had no scales so she got up from the floor and we walked along to the next stall where a kindly young lady weighed the figs, we had managed to limit the purchase to about 500 grms How much? The young girl looked at the lady, a quick conversation took place. 5TL.

The young lady had the decency to be embarrassed asking 5 TL for the figs. An exchange of looks took place between us and her. Her expression half suggesting it was too much. and ours suggesting, Yes we know its too much but she is an old lady and 5TL is probably worth much more to her than to us, so we are not going to haggle. We handed over the 5TLs which the old lady squirreled away, the young girl laughed and went on our way.

We had some bread, cheese and some figs for lunch and thought about the little old lady.

2009-04-30T19:44:00.002+01:00

Finally a picture of Nike

Note for the Philistines among you, no she is not the Goddess of trainers and sports wear.

2009-04-30T19:38:00.002+01:00

This is the centre piece and probably one of the most photographed sites. The facade of the Library. It is really a very clever design and the detail work is amazing, The four statues are in fact replicas. We saw the originals in the Ephesus Museum in Wien (fortunately)!

The detail work of the marble frontage is remarkable even at the very highest points.

2009-04-30T19:36:00.001+01:00

The problem with going out of season is that you catch the tourist board out. Clearly they are still building the theatre!

2009-04-30T19:24:00.006+01:00

You will see from the Pictures today was Ephesus day. It is an amazing site that spans several hundred years in its development. The grand theater is where Paul's friends were dragged to after Paul had upset the silversmiths. It shows one of the difficulties for the three tiers of the present structure were built at different times. In Paul's day it was not nearly so impressive being only one tier high.

It sits at the end of the road from the harbour. a paved marble causeway.

In the picture the area of brown beneath and to the right of the hill at the top of the picture is where Paul would have landed.

2009-04-29T15:29:00.004+01:00

I am not sure where he put it it all but here is one well fed cat.

And for those of you like the Aaah factor here is friendly dog who muscled in on my sunset picture (and then barked all night) and a cat that was wandering in Troy. Aaah!

27th April Troy, Troas, Assos Pt 3

2009-04-29T15:27:00.000+01:00

The journey to Assos was about 35 miles. The terrain was hilly and bleak there were a few villages dotted along the way and most of the area was un-farmed. pleasant enough in April but it would be very hot in summer. I cannot imagine it would have been much different in Paul’s day, perhaps a little busier as alternative routes were not available, but, as hardened a walker that Paul was, I would guess it would have been a two day journey.

From the bible accounts we get an impression that Paul was full of energy charging from one place to another constantly on the go taking every opportunity to tell the good news. Why did he take two days to walk alone rather than the days sail with his friends? and what about the language? We are so familiar with the idea of Greek and Latin being the language of the educated and the learned that we forget that the many different nationalities will have spoken many different languages (Acts 2). Unless Paul was a linguist, it was likely he could only speak with those who understood Hebrew(Aramaic) and Greek.

Places such as Ephesus, Troas and Assos were Greek settlements. outside of these places the native language would have been different. At best spending the night in a pub at worst spending it under an olive tree somewhere between Troas and Assos, begs the question was Paul even able to communicate with the locals? Did he deliberately choose a path of isolation to give himself space for reflection? Was Paul far more of a contemplative than we portray him?

27th April Troy, Troas, Assos Pt 2

2009-04-29T15:23:00.004+01:00

Troas was just down the coast. Paul passed through Troas twice. The first time heralded the start of his mission to “Europe” It was while in Troy that he had the vision of a man from Macedonia inviting him to come to Macedonia. (Acts 16:8-11 also 2 Cor 2:12 & 2 Tim 4:13). Paul’s second visit was on his return from Macedonia (Acts 20:5-13) He preached all through the night! and unsurprisingly someone fell asleep unfortunately he was upstairs and sitting on a window cill at the time. Troas was in fact a very large city covering a 1000 acres. The granite path down to the port (see picture) was walked by Paul once he came ashore. the amazing aspect was the fact that outside of the offical site there were bits of walls and building littering the countryside. The basilica pictured was probably 2^nd century AD. We then read Paul walked to Assos.

27th April Troy, Troas, Assos Pt 1

2009-04-29T15:21:00.000+01:00

For the last two days we have had to really rough it with lemon tea black coffee and no Weetabix in the morning. Shopping is always interesting when abroad. The thing we fogot when we shopped in Kipa’s (aka Tescos) was some milk. as we passed through Encabit it seemed a good place to shop locally. The butchers provided a choice of Lamb (goat?) or chicken. No beef despite the advert outside that showed a healthy Charolais. The lamb was in flanks, either legs and half a body or shoulders and half a body, Oh yes, there were also the heads complete with eyes. after some gesticulation we left two lamb cutlets.

Next came the milk. Well it was in a traditional white plastic container, it looked white and liquid and it had a picture of a cow on the front. It looked a far bet so off we went and paid for it. As it was poured into the cup for our coffee it looked the real stuff. Except it wasn’t. Those that have been to these parts will by now have guessed it was yoghurt. My recollection from a visit to Sarajevo was that drinking yoghurt was quite pleasant so it would go ok on the cereals except that this was salty. I am afraid philistine that I am salty yoghurt, is on a parr with salty porridge. Hence the black tea and no Weetabix.

Our journey to Troas took us within a few kms of Troy. As far as we know Paul did not visit Troy But it would be a shame to miss the horse “wooden” it! see picture.

26th April Sunday - Gallipoli Peninsular

2009-04-27T07:16:00.002+01:00

The crowds having departed we spent the day touring the various sites of significance. The writings and memorials reflect the honour and respect each side held for the other. A round trip amounts to barely 30 kms and yet Half a million lives were lost in 9 months. You do not have to wander far from the road before you stumble into the remains of the trenches.

Kemal Attaturk, the founder of modern day Turkey, but then a junior colonel was the inspirational figure on the Turkish side. At one stage he advanced into no mans land at night and then stood up and called for his troops to advance, launching a successful surprise attack that won back a strategic position. In the ensuing battle he was hit in the chest by shrapnel. His pocket watch which was over his heart was smashed but he suffered only bruising. One wonders how the course of history might have changed for Turkey if he had been killed that day.

Then there is of course the squaddy humour. One particular position is known and Johnson’s Jolly. It gets its name from the Cpl who manned the gun at that point and always referred to the firing of the piece as Jollying up the enemy.

The picture shows what to me was the most significant memorial, A Turkish soldier carrying an injured allied soldier. Following an offensive on the Turkish lines many soldiers lay dead in no man’s land. Near to the Turkish lines one man was crying out in pain. A stick with what looked like white underwear was waived from the Turkish trenches, and an unarmed Turkish soldier came out of the trench. He picked up the injured soldier crossed over to the allied lines and handed him over to his colleagues before returning to his own trench. It serves to remind us that we share a common humanity with our enemy and even in the darkest days there is goodness and compassion. How does the song go? “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”

2009-04-25T12:53:00.002+01:00

Another view of the same beach. The many of the Aussies were wearing the yellow tops with ANZC 2009 on the back.

2009-04-25T12:50:00.002+01:00

At the time of the landings a drifting marker buoy meant the ANZAC troops landed on the wrong beach. This was where they landed immediately below the Turkish troops and facing an uphill battle.

2009-04-25T12:48:00.002+01:00

The first sighting of the Aegean

25th April - Anzac Day

2009-04-25T12:45:00.000+01:00

Turkish roads as experienced so far are a dream it was mainly dual carriageway that carried us down to the Gallipoli Peninsular. A stop at a local supermarket on the way opened a vast array of of unusual produce, mainly covered with almonds, pistachios and honey. Having settled the bill and enjoyed a turkish coffee, we discovered the supermarket was owned by Tesco’s! Lunch was taken in the sunshine overlooking the Aegean. As we need the site we became aware of a strong military presence. finally we stopped and asked detailed questions about the prupose of our journey and where we thought we were going. Having satisfied our questioner we were given two A4 sheets of paper to be stuck on the windscreen, In the centre on the right!. But that is the bit I look through when I drive. Ah! pause for thought. OK on the left. We were waived on.

It had been our intention to be up for the dawn service on ANZAC Day, but a recce always pays dividends so we drove out to the site of the landings. The place was ful of Aussies and Kiwis! papers were checked at various places and fully equipped Turkish troops were abounding. It was 5:00pm and people were already taking their places.The Aussie Govt Official we spoke too told us we would not be able get within 4 km with a vehicle after midnight. and we needed to be in place by 3:00am. The thought of spending all night out in the open with the remains of last nights frost still in the wind was a deciding factor. Having walked the area for a while we returned to the camp site for a warm nights sleep.

It was estimated that 6-8000 people would attend the service (which was broadcast live on Aussie TV) The atmosphere was very interesting the people were mainly youngsters. There was a sense of pilgrimage in the air and about their purpose and somehow we felt as though we were intruding into an area in which we did not belong and was not part of “our” history. We were by far and away the oldest people there and were concerned at one point that they may ask us what it was like in those days! It was good to see so many young people still taking the trouble to remember. The futility of the whole enterprise was on everyones lips. Of course many British were also numbered among the quarter of a million who lost their lives in the 9 months of the campaign. As a percentage of the male population Australia lost more men than any other country in WW1.

The military and police clear out at lunch time today and so we intend to stay here now for a couple of days and explore what is a very beautiful area, which makes the history seem even more irrational.

2009-04-25T12:42:00.000+01:00

We did get nearer the snow line than this but this is nicer picture

2009-04-25T12:38:00.002+01:00

I did her tell her the dog only spoke Turkish so she was wasting her time.

On the breakfast table you can see Patrick's marmalade. It travels well.

Thank you Patrick.

23rd April Continued.

2009-04-25T12:36:00.001+01:00

The trip across Bulgaria proved very uneventful and smooth, the exit from Romanian Custom and entry into Bulgaria did not bode well fortunately a large truck had already fallen into the pothole and filed it in so we just drove over the top. However from there on the roads were very good smooth and free of traffic so good timing was made. one small diversion was required as a road was still being built. I really did not want to go back and start out again so a short cut shown on the map was taken. after 10 km of decreasing width road that eventually ended in a track we turned round and did retrace our steps. however, the journey was not without its interest. .we put up a buzzard and the overhanging trees blocked his escape so he flew down the road in front of us at windscreen height for 20 metres or so before tipping over the edge and into the valley below. We are satisfied however that we also made a contribution to the community. for many of the local villagers studied us with that inscrutable knowing look that never reveals whether you are on the right route or driving towards doom and destruction and the end of the road. They watched us carefully as we drove past, and then were equally interested in us as we drove back. They probably spent the evening talking about the English and their strange habits.

Our rerouting also had another advantage and that was steep climb over the mountains (Stara Planina) not quite to the snow line but quite close and then a splendid descent to the plains below and onto Turkish Customs.

At 6 in the evening you might have thought things would be quietening down, and so they would. except. The first man checked the vehicle documents and entered details onto a computer. drive on he says. we do.The next man in booth 80 checks the passports. You need a visa go to booth 92 (with 92 booths they were clearly geared up for a mass inrush into Turkey) The man in booth 92 was friendly and helpful and sold us a visa each for £10,which he converted into € then into Turkish Lira. Hurriedly returning to the vehicle fearing we may be holding up the queue I discovered that we had not moved. It seems the problem lay in the man in booth 87. Eventually we reached the very nice young man in booth 97 where the problem became instantly clearer.

One fingered typing, Turkish only speaking, customs officials are greatly disadvantage when trying to register English only speaking owners of unusual English vehicles (The drop down list on his screen did not have camper van and he was reluctant to classify it as a plain van.) Yes I know we had already had the vehicle docs checked, that is what we thought also. Not saying it was a long job but even the official next down the line came back and asked if there was problem. Eventually, after having details of the van insurance added to my passport. We moved on to the aforementioned, and we hoped final customs person.He duly admired the vehicle giving the luxury accommodation the once over by way of a cursory search and hoped that we would enjoy Turkey. We hoped so too, if we could ever get out of customs. And so we were off into Turkey? No, not quite, 100 metres further on sat in an unnumbered booth was yet another official. Another check of passports and finally we brook out into Turkey proper. The lesson we learnt was that by Turkish standards Adelaide immigration officials are really speedy.

Our night stop that night was just the next town on from the border, which was fortunate becuase the whole process had taken nearly two hours and it was now 8:30pm. What a wonderful gift patience is. We awoke next morning to a thick frost.

2009-04-24T21:37:00.001+01:00

Sebiu, European Capital of Culture 2007. A lot of work had been done and it looked splendid.

2009-04-24T21:35:00.000+01:00

The Storks Clacking

2009-04-24T21:34:00.000+01:00

A delightful site could have stayed longer.

23rd April - En route to Encabit - Turkey Pt 1

2009-04-24T21:33:00.000+01:00

It is hard to know where to start describing the experience of the last three days. on leaving Wien, we first of all found new tyres for the steed, a voice inside said I told you you should have done that before departing UK. The task ahead was three countries in three days. A review of the schedule revealed that daily mileage would be too great if we only went as far as Budapest before stopping. This was to prove a wise decision. The end of day one saw us in South Hungary in what was obviously in communist days a party hotel and sports facility but now was rather unkempt and English 50’s camp site. we camped on the tennis court with electrics that were dodgey (no earth). the journey, 280 miles, had taken 10 hours. we realised that the next two days would be similar. we had left the autobahns and dual carriage ways back in Austria.

If Hungary was bad Romania was worse. two ages co-existed. at one point in the journey we passed through a village, All the main roads run through the centre of the village, no by-passes. All observe the speed limit of 50kmh because speed traps are the norm. outside some house would be a shiny new Audi, while outside others would be tethered a cow munching the kerb side grass.. It appeared that all the village men and women were in the surrounding fields working the land, ploughing with horses and loading horses and cart with veg or whatever. No farm machinery was in sight.

As for the roads themselves they would regularly break up and traffic would suddenly slow to 10kmh as the potholes were negotiated. Then there were the expansion gaps in the bridges almost without fail the gap had become a chasm almost needing its own bridge to cross it. All slow again pick up speed only to slow at the other side of the bridge. There are many rivers and railway lines to cross in the southern half of Romania!

However, despite its rustic nature, Our first camp site in Romania was a delight. It was accessed by turning off the main road through the village onto a side road which was unmade, like all the other roads in the village that did not carry through traffic. Julian the owner spoke good English and we did the business over plum brandy. The site was to a high standard. It was only small, (about 10 vans when full) and it was in the side garden of the house, alongside the apple trees in blossom. The electricity pylon standing by the gate was blessed with a stork nest, a sign of good luck, and a source of frequent clacking of beaks when a parent returned.

The next stop was to be Bucharest, just short of the Bulgarian border. Julian suggested a stop in Sebiu and we did, becuase we always do as we are told. We explored there the Evangelische Cathedral where we were the only only visitors in our half hour sojourn. and then the Orthodox cathedral. This was a church that was less than 100 years old and inside the walls were covered with paintings and symbols telling the story of Christ from birth through his ministry, his death and resurrection no space was left uncoloured. It was a story book church and when we talk of medieval wall paintings the churches must have looked something like this basilica with its colourful depictions of bible scenes. As we sat and read our bibles in picture form tthere was a continual stream of worshippers coming in for a moment of prayer as they went about there daily work.

We arrived in Bucharest in the rush hour with no proper map or directions for the camp site. Bucharest has its own Arc de Trumpf. we are very familiar with with all aspects of its architecture having done more laps than Jenson Button (isn’t he doing well!) did in his last Grand Prix. The secret lay in the airport the site was just before the airport. so when we passed the airport we knew we had gone too far. Help came in the form of a tourist street plan on one of the many roundabouts. A quick pit stop in the bus lane and snapping a picture of the map on the camera phone helped us to discover there were two airports almost side by side. Suddenly we were home and dry and ready to grab a night’s sleep before dashing across Bulgaria.

2009-04-20T08:28:00.002+01:00

A picture of J E Schindler. Note how he leans to his left. This is known as Schindler's list!

2009-04-20T08:26:00.001+01:00

The watering canist

19th April Wien Day 2 The Italians arrive

2009-04-20T08:21:00.000+01:00

Not so much Wien as the ways of different nationalities. Now when you arrive at a new camp site certain actions take place with unspoken military precision. Observation show that while the Brits are good at this the Germans really excel. We Brits are less fastidious in the actual pitch chosen, we drive around the site and on finding a suitable place reverse in, parking squarely. Firstly the van is levelled, then power is applied, the kettle is put on for tea and the awning is unwound. Tea is taken then the area is finally prepared. with table and chairs. Our German friends will have carefully surveyed the available pitches before selecting the one most suited to their needs (usually the first one they saw). Having reversed in, they will connect power and then place out the tables and chairs before erecting a most elaborate and finely engineered awning. When all is spick and span they will pause for a beer. The Dutch have a slightly different tactic. They will usually stop outside a site walk in and inspect the toilets before deciding whether book in at the reception. Having made the decision to stay they follow the accepted German/Brit procedures except they unpack more food. A German friend suggested that NL on the back of their campervans stood for Nur Limonade (they buy “only lemonade” when out of Holland) I have not ben able to verify the accuracy of this observation.

It was late morning when the Italians arrived. They had four campervans travelling in convoy they pulled into the first available pitches some reversing in some driving in forwards. Initially it appeared that this was an all male party as the men gathered together in a huddle gazing downward at a collection of metal work. rapidly the noise levels arose as it seemed all were in a disagreement with each other over the next move they should make. The Italians had arrived.

It seems the collection of metal work was in fact a table, four legs all joined by a fancy geometric arrangement that means you pull the legs apart and then clip on the table top. With six men there seemed to be 12 different ideas of how this should be done. In the midst of this hubbub wandered a little old man, Grandfather. Not for him the holiday wear sported by the younger generation. Grand father was neatly dressed in his best grey suit complete with smartly tied tie. And all the while voluble discussion took place grand father quietly pointed to key parts in the construction trying to catch the attention of one of the other men, but to no avail as no one seemed to listen. Eventually he realised he no longer held the respect in the family he once had and took himself off to clear the space between the van of small twigs. He liked to be helpful.

Eventually the table was erected and as chairs were brought from various stowage's the first sign of a female was spotted. A feminine hand passed some glasses out of the window followed by a bottle of wine. This was clearly a moment of great reverence for now silence befell the gathered masses as the wine was unscrewed (not even the Italians have wine with corks it seems.) glasses were filled and the first drink was taken. The hand appeared again this time with a large bowl, then more items were passed through the window and finally the ladies appeared. Lunch was served to the lively chatter that indicated the whole task had been successfully accomplished. From arrival to lunch was 15 minutes that is impressive even if a little noisy. It was some time later in the day that vans were parked the right way round, leveled and awnings were erected.

Yes we did go into town again. this time by the carefully recced direct route (thanks P). We went to explore the few remaining parts we failed to explore previously only to discover a wine and food fest and that the Austrians have some unusual ideas about costume and musical instruments

18 Apr 2009 - Wien

2009-04-18T10:54:00.000+01:00

Thanks Alan, good answer. It seems he also took the trouble to get to know those we sometimes find it hard to love. He also selected people of character, grit and determination, and although they made a slow start he wanted people with the courage to take on the bigger boats and get the message across.

After being prevented from setting off up the autobahn on our bikes we found the cycle track and cycled into Wien. It took a goodly time and we explored the many interesting parts of the suburbs. It was the opinion of one member of the tour that we were lost. This is not correct and while we may have been momentarily unaware of our position it was described by the tour leader as a familiarization and orientation exercise. We now know the the ins and outs of Wien intimately. Our return trip was accomplished much more quickly.

Internet bookings were duly exchange for tickets and a sampling of coffee houses was undertaken. A quick turn round ensued as we cycled back to the site and set off again for the opera which commenced at 6:30. why so early we thought? Apart from reading a short synopsis of the plot we knew nothing of Der Rosenkavalier. When we emerged at quarter to eleven we appreciated the early start time and added to our list of favourite operas. What an ending!

Some times in life we meet some really obliging people for whom nothing seems too much trouble. One such person was the lady we met at Eurotunnel. having drawn up in the wrong lane she heard our story and said never mind opened up the kiosk and sold us a ticket wishing us a pleasant journey. Finding a restaurant open at 11pm is not easy. but we chanced our luck. The patron was most sorry but the chef had finished and he was about to close. was there somewhere else? He thought not. He looked at the customers remaining in the bar and shrugging said they will be a while yet, then suggested he could serve us Goulash and bread. The food was just right and we returned home happy although I think the taxi driver should attend one of my familiarisation and orientation courses.

Why did Jesus choose fisherman?

2009-04-17T09:29:00.002+01:00

Wednesday 15th April 2009

Everything went according to plan on day one. Departure was on time, Gemma was duly delivered for her three month holiday with the grandchildren. Dover was reached with time to spare and ferry boarded. and as we sailed into the slowly setting sun we said goodbye to England for three months. a relaxed dinner and the business of Easter preparations and celebrations ebbed away as Dunkerque came into view on the bow and then it moved to the starboard side and we watched the entrance slip past the stern as the captain announced that the port was blockaded by French fishermen and we were returning to Dover. I should add at this point this is not the first time we have been blockaded by French fishermen, but we don’t take it personally

Later that night Calais opened and P&O got a couple of boats away and we hoped, till midnight, Dunkerque would open up. It didn’t so we went to bed and next morning at first light, another dawn service, this time it was a laying on of jump leads on the car of a couple we had befriended dfuring the sojourn. They needed to move their car to let us out, However, the battery of their car was flat. Eventually,we headed to the channel tunnel to slip behind the french fisherman’s lines and eventually arrive in France 18 hours behind schedule. What is the rush when you have three months? we need to be in Wien by Friday because we have anniversary tickets to the opera.

Perhaps the question should really be would Jesus have chosen French fishermen?

Friday 17th April 2009.

Wien safely reached last night site on the edge of the city with ring road on one side and railway on the other. But it is close to centre!

2009-04-09T17:41:00.003+01:00

Suddenly we are nearly there. Departure due in a few days (Tuesday 14th 9am) but with Easter between now and then preparation is on hold. However, Maps, Guide books and library are prepared the van has been serviced and some modifications have been done. We now have a sink that drains, a safe, a box for our BBQ and a simplified system for making our bed, (we would never have survived with the old system)

There is a pile of clothes prepared ready for stowing in the van. I am having a problem convincing Chris she did not need to pack three months supply of clothes. Reminding her that when Paul set out on his journey he probably did not take a great deal with him, just needle and thread for his tent making. I quoted Luke 10:4, but then she responded with Luke 6:29 saying she needed some spares just in case she needed to give some away. as for sandals! But then she will say I am as bad which does have a touch of truth about it.

We will try and post as we depart. but then the next call will probably be VIenna at the end of next week (19^th)

Progress one month to go

2009-03-12T22:38:00.003Z

With just over a month to go before we set off the plans are progressing well with only mild panic setting in. Obviously we are totally unaware of what is really happening! The plan needed a major revision when I was unable to obtain permission to visit Mt Athos for my retreat. There are only four places a day available for non Orthodox and my attempts to book early were too late. It looks as though a year to nine months in advance is required.

Most of the jobs are done on the van and we have a storage box for our gas BBQ and other bulky items.

We also hit a problem when the insurance company said they were not prepared to insure us outside of the EU (Hungary Bulgaria Romania & Turkey). The Caravan Club provided a solution so the plans are back on track. Camp sites are few and far between not surprisingly they are mainly situated on the coast and as many of the places being visited are inland we will are hoping we may find some not included in our camping books .

The latest revisions mean that we will now reach the ANZAC beaches by ANZAC day (25th April) and then pass over the Dardanelles and onto Ephesus. With the cancellation of the retreat we are spending the time in Turkey visiting some of the Seven Churches mentioned in Revelations.

In the meantime we continue to prepare our items for packing this involves throwing out about half of what we thought we might take as we look at the space available. This will probably be the first challenge as we determine how much we really need to live.

Why Greece and Turkey

2008-06-30T22:32:00.005+01:00

This year the Pope has declared that it is the year of Saint Paul. The Christian communities that Paul founded were to become the foundation for the Orthodox Church. It is our intention to visit the places we read about in Luke's account of the early church, particularly focusing on Paul's second and third journeys. While doing this we will also be experiencing the Orthodox Church and the monastic life as lived out on Mount Athos. The Journey is planned to commence in April 2009, in the meantime preparation is underway and a reading list is listed below.