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Biblelands and Greece trip
  • susie hicks
  • susie hicks

Biblelands and Greece trip

A 36-day adventure by susie Read more
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  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Day 18 Biblelands trip

    October 1, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Day 18 We plan to visit the sites of the 7 churches of Asia minor now called Anatolia) mentioned in Revelation, so on the bus we read Rev1.
    First we drove to SARDIS.. Rev 3 "To the angel in the church at Sardis write.. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen the things that remain.... the one who conquers will be clothed in white.. and I will never blot out his name from the book of life"
    Some very impressive gymnasium and synagogue ruins, and the Temple of Artemis. (In other news.. the yummiest dried figs I've ever tasted😍).. This was clearly a wealthy community, gold mining and the origin of the coin was in this area..but perhaps it was all for show as is suggested in Rev 3.
    PHILADELPHIA... Rev 3 "To the angel in the church in Philadelphia write.. You have kept my word and have not denied my name..I will keep you from the hour of trial.. hold fast..I will write on them a new name.."
    Not a lot remains of the early church here, a modern city is built on the site. All that's left of the original city are a few ruins, but we saw 2 huge sides of a massive arch from St John's church built in the 6th century AD. The rest of the stones have been repurposed to build the modern city 😢 We sampled some delicious local sultana grapes

    We then drove to Hierapolis.. (mentioned in Colossians 4:12.. Laodicea, Hierapolus and Colossae) This is an extensive ruin site, with the best preserved theatre in Turkey, where 95% of the seats are original. It's occasionally used today for performances. Right near here is Pamakkule..2 types of thermal springs.. The most well known are the White formations because of the calcium carbonate in the hot water(34°)(there is another pool with sulphur that is a hot spring 30°all year round) We walked on the White formations and waded in the warm pools
    Next we drove to LAODICEA Rev 3 "To the angel in the church of Laodicea write.. you are neither hot nor cold.. You are luke warm..I am about to spew you out.. you say you are rich and have need of nothing...you are blind.. put salve on your eyes so you can see.. Repent.."
    Here, instead of grapes there are fields of cotton, as this area is known for its textiles. Also in Bible times for its medical Centre.. particularly its eye salve. From here we can see the hot springs of Pamakkule and there are also mountains here with cold water from the snow.. they had everything they would've wanted here..a fertile area..perhaps this is why they were coasting along, in need of nothing, not thinking they needed God..neither hot nor cold, but luke warm. An analogy they would have well understood, along with the blindness/eye salve analogy    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Day 19 Biblelands trip

    October 2, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Day 19
    Kusadasi means Bird Island.. Our hotel overlooked this little island This is the site of ancient Ephesus, an area famed for its peaches, pomegranates and figs. Samos is the closest Greek island to Turkey,about 1.5km from the coast. We sampled the local baklava, apple tea and Turkish coffee 😊

    Rev 2 "To the angel of the church at EPHESUS write..I know that you have persevered and endured hardships.. and not grown weary.. But you have forsaken the love you had at first.. Repent."

    There were 4 different Ephesus in the one city, over the centuries. We started with St John's Basilica in the 4th Ephesus, built in the 6th century AD.(John lived in the 3rd Ephesus and some believe he was buried here, so of course they built a church !)From here we can see the Temple of Artemis .'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!'and the 3rd Ephesus from Paul's time, which we explored next.. walking from the upper gate all through the city to the lower gate. This was largely destroyed in an earthquake which is why they moved to the site up the hill, the 4th City. Of particular interest was the theatre where Paul would've preached (24,000 capacity!!)and the Agora where Demetrius the silversmith would've had his shop
    After lunch we visited a traditional Turkish rug making shop, before heading to Izmir (ancient Smyrna)

    "To the angel of the church at SMYRNA write..I know your afflictions and poverty. Yet you are rich.. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.. Be faithful..and I will give you life.."

    We visited the old Agora, which is all that is left from Bible times after the modern city was built on top.
    The afternoon was spent sipping a local rosé with special friends sitting on the coast of the Aegean Sea ❤️    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Day 20 Biblelands trip

    October 3, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Day 20

    Rev 2 "To the angel of the church in Pegamum write..I know where you dwell, where the seat of Satan is..yet you remain true to my name.. Nevertheless some among you hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans..Repent..I will give that person a white stone with a new name.."
    First stop Bergama (ancient PERGAMUM) The modern city again has been built on top of the 1st century city. We took the cable car to the top of the agora. There are so many temples to different gods.. the most well known is the temple of Zeus.. maybe this was why it was called the seat of Satan.. false worship. You can see the dark rock that is naturally occurring which the original City was built from.. also the white stones the Romans used as a facade to beautify it.. Perhaps this explains the reference to white stones with a new name. More than a facade..a true change.

    "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write. .I know your love and faith, your service and perseverance.. Nevertheless.. You tolerate Jezebel..who misleads my people.. Repent.. The rest of you- hold on to what you have until I come.."

    Very little remains of ancient Thyatira, as the modern city of Akhisar has been built around it.This area was known for its purple dye. Lydia the seller of people came from here..

    It's been fantastic to visit all 7 ecclesias and we noted that in every letter there are those mentioned that needed to repent and those that were exhorted to hold fast, which we found both sobering and encouraging.

    We then had a 5 hour bus ride which seemed to go very quickly with lively discussions and a stop over for Turkish delight 😊 We witnessed another glorious Turkish sunset as we crossed the Ozman Gazi Bridge, across the Marmara Sea, an inland sea separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. We also crossed the Bosphorus bridge which joins the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The next few days we will spend on the European side.    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Day 21 Biblelands trip

    October 4, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Day 21
    First stop the Topkapi palace(meaning Cannon gate) which was the residence of the Ottoman sultans.. completed in 1475 on an area of 700,00 square metres! The last Sultan lived here in the mid 19th century and then the Dynasty moved to the Dolmabahce palace on the water, built in 1853. There are 4 courtyards, getting progressively more private. Great views of the Bosphorus which is a channel connecting the Marmara sea and Black sea.

    Next stop Hagia Sofia,(means Holy Knowledge) the largest temple structure in Turkey.. Rebuilt 3 times. It was originally a Christian church then became a mosque then now a museum. Spectacular mosaic walls and ceilings! There are 104 marble columns taken from the temple of Artemis in Ephesus which is why we only saw one still standing there. A lot of marble spheres and blocks are also 'repurposed' from Pergamum
    Next stop the Basilica cistern, an underground water system constructed for Justinian the Byzantine Emperor in 5th century (140m long 70m wide with 336 columns, each 9m high)
    Next we had a quick look at the Blue mosque (so named for the more than 20,000 blue tiles) but as it was under restoration most of it was under wraps.
    We very briefly explored the Grand bazaar with 3000 shops.. Then quickly exited 😲
    We walked back to our hotel which is right near the
    Galata tower, built as an observation tower in 14th century.    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Day 22 Biblelands trip

    October 5, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Day 22
    Last day in Turkey today.. some things I learnt here..Turkey is located between Asia and Europe(OK .I did know that bit 😊) with 8 bordering countries. The main income is tourism, followed by agriculture - 80% of the world's hazelnuts and 90% of the world's pine nuts come from here. Also olives, pomegranates,grapes (for dried fruit and white wine mainly). Textiles is the next major source of income, as it was in Bible times (Turkish rugs, fabrics) Tea is very culturally important.. our guide Yetkin drinks 15-20 cups of black tea a day, coffee is not as popular. Baklava and Turkish delight are the traditional sweets. The country is 90% Moslem, but it is far more relaxed and respectful of other religions than Arabic countries. There are no images allowed in the Moslem mosques, so they use tiles instead, So tile making is a very important art.
    Istanbul, where we spent the last few days is much more cosmopolitan than Asia minor where we started, but the countryside and the friendliness and helpfulness of the people in the Anatolia area was lovely.
    We spent our last day cruising the Bosphorus and seeing the many mosques and palaces on the water. Then we wandered the local streets and the Spice Market. After dinner a last local Apple tea with friends ❤️
    Tomorrow...onto Greece!    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Onto Greece!

    October 6, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today we leave our beautiful tour group and head to Greece ❤️
    I don't have the words to describe the impact of this tour.. But I'll try anyway.. Some thoughts on the Holy Land of Israel and Jordan..everywhere you look there is evidence of conflict.. from 2000 years ago to very recent wars in my lifetime and unrest on the borders today. Israel's hostile neighbours are sooo close, and even within the state of Israel the different religious groups living at such close quarters strike a tenuous kind of peace that seems very fragile.
    Unlike Australia whose government seems focused on finding reasons to exclude refugees, Israel has assimilated thousands upon thousands of Jews, believing they DESERVE to be there.. Such a different way of looking at it..a definite miracle in the way the state of Israel has developed in recent history
    Walking on the very ground where our Lord trod, and seeing the undeniable proof here has been a faith strengthening experience we will never forget. Likewise, visiting the 7 churches in Asia minor (Turkey) has been an eye opener. At times I felt like I was in a Sunday School play.. bringing the stories to life!!
    Reading the Bible and singing certain hymns will hold a far greater significance now. I feel as if I am seeing things in colour for the first time. It's been emotional and mind blowing. As a side benefit (and possibly even more precious) we have made many new connections that I feel will be lifelong friends ❤️
    Most days on the bus we sang this song, which has become our theme song.."Ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you.. We have come with open hearts.. Oh let the ancient words impart"🎶
    (In other news.. a highlight of the trip was facetiming Caleb who learnt to say 'Granny' while we were away 😍❤️)
    Tonight we arrived safely at Athens and had a brief explore in the balmy evening.. beautiful cobblestone streets with cool live music and eateries. Can't wait to see it in daylight tomorrow!    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Athens

    October 7, 2019, Aegean Sea ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Up early this morning to beat the crowds! First up - the Acropolis.. so many temples to multiple gods, the most impressive was the Parthenon. It was easy to see why Paul choose to preach from Mars Hill/Areopagus though.. Just a plain rocky outcrop..a stark contrast to the ridiculous showy shrines to every god they could think of.. even, as it says in Acts 17.. one to the unknown god..in case they accidentally missed one 🤔

    Then we wandered through the Roman Agora, Hadrian's library and the ancient Greek Agora..the biggest building was the Stoa.. which was a place for Athenians to meet, shop and conduct business.
    We also saw more beautiful architecture in the Athens cathedral, built in 1842.. But again couldn't help feeling how over the top and showy it all was.. compared to Mars Hill. We were reminded of the fact that God doesn't dwell in temples made by man(Acts 17) ..but in our hearts.

    Change of pace..boarded our cruise ship and had dinner before setting sail for the islands 😁 Eep!!    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Mykonos

    October 8, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Woke this morning as we were approaching Mykonos. Breakfast with a spectacular view as we docked.. cute little white houses dotting the hills. We opted to do our own exploring here and wandered the tiny streets with quaint little shops and cafes. Mykonos is known for its night life, but the night clubs are all on the other side of the island thankfully (we must be showing our age!) The side where the cruise ships dock is very pretty.. probably a tourist trap. .but very gorgeous to just meander through ❤️Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Milos

    October 9, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We woke this morning as our ship departed Mykonos, so enjoyed the morning at sea cruising past lots of islands some uninhabited, some quite large . We got to Milos at lunch time, but this time we couldn't dock as it was a smaller port, so we tested the lifeboats to get to shore 😊 We chose the amazing beaches tour.. First stop was Sarakiniko beach.. Not really a beach but stunning white stone cliffs formed by volcanic activity, with crystal clear water.. Very beautiful. The second beach was Paliochori beach.. Known for it's colourful stone formations, and volcanic sands. The water was cold but again crystal clear, so we enjoyed a dip in the Aegean.Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Santorini

    October 10, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We got up early so we could see the ship arriving at Santorini, which is a complex of 5 islands. The main one we visited today has 25000 residents,
    3 are uninhabited with dark lava at the base and white pumice at the top.(One of these is an active volcano..last activity in 1950)
    The other island is called Little Santorini and has 300 inhabitants.
    Santorini is a caldera.. (which our guide defined as the area of land and sea created around a volcanic crater after an eruption) . Originally Santorini was circular but after the volcano exploded around 1650BC the centre sank leaving a ring of islands.
    The ash layer crater created an excellent building material that when mixed with lime becomes very strong. This was mined and used in building the Suez canal, the Port of Alexandria among other things.
    Our first stop was the tiny town of Megalochori, a village of 500 people, famous for its clocktowers and pistachio trees.. all the homes have heavy wooden doors originally for safety against pirates.
    As we drove through the countryside our guide told us Santorini has over 600 churches.. most of them family owned. Most locals own their own family church
    70% of the island's agriculture comes from grape vines.. they don't get watered, just absorb water at night, and are pruned low to the ground in a basket shape to protect the grapes from the high winds. They also have fava beans, pistachio, fig, olives.
    Santorini has no rivers or lakes, so they only use rain water, but have very little rainfall, water is imported from Crete.
    Next stop was Oia- the most picturesque village in Santorini. It was the first major port till after the 1956 earthquake. We wandered the cute streets for a couple of hours. Then headed to Fira, the capital (as opposed to Thira, the official name of the island)
    Trev and I decided to brave the local buses and find our way to the other side of the island to Perissa, a beach with black volcanic sands. It was novel.. but it's not like our Aussie beaches 😊 Worth the trip though to meet some locals and see the non touristy bits of the island.    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Santorini

    October 11, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Another day at Santorini. We choose not to do any shore excursions but relaxed and watched the spectacular scenery. At night..the captain's cocktail party 😊🥂

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Heraklion, Crete

    October 12, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our ship arrived at 7am at Heraklion, capital of Crete. First stop was Knossos palace (5km from the port), the ruins of a Minoan palace, built in 2000BC. This is one of 4 Minoan palaces that have been uncovered in Crete so far, from the Bronze Age. Around 1700BC a series of earthquakes destroyed most of the palaces but they were rebuilt. The ruins we saw are dated from this second rebuild. Around 1450BC Santorini volcano erupted and Crete was affected by the resulting tsunamis that reached the North coast, destroying their ships which annihilated the Minoan economy.
    The first excavation here began in 1878, and it's still an active archaeological site with more things being uncovered. The palace was a labyrinthine series of 1400 rooms for the royal family, priests etc. It was built as a labyrinth to be a refuge for the minotaur (said to be the product of the daughter of the king and a white bull she fell in love with, according to mythology, which was hunted, then eventually killed by Theseus). Most stone is white gypsum stone, locally occurring (also known as alabaster)
    The red columns we saw in concrete are reconstructed.. (the original columns were cypress) Typical Minoan columns look upside down.. slightly narrower at the base and wider at the top.
    Original Fresco paintings using natural pigments have mostly been moved to the museum, but some have been reproduced here.
    We saw the oldest throne in Europe, and the oldest continual flushing toilet!😲
    The original drinking supply was natural Springs which are still the major water source for Heraklion today
    150,000 tonnes of olive oil are exported from Crete annually. This is their main export, and also 95,000 tonnes of wine.
    .. Back to City centre to the archaeological museum to see the jewellery, pottery, frescoes etc that were found at the palace of Knossos and the 3 other Minoan palaces. The museum is built on top of a Venetian monastery from 15th century, the Venetians controlled Crete from 1204-1669AD and there are remains of many buildings , castles and City walls from this era The Turks took over and held control of Crete from 1669-1898 After that it was a separate state until 1913 when it became part of Greece again.
    We walked the city of Heraklion, including the Venetian sea fortress.    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Kusadasi

    October 13, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Kusadasi.. Since we'd been here with our tour group last week and explored ancient Ephesus already, we decided to do our own tour today of the port instead. We visited a 17th century Castle from the Ottoman Empire, which was used as a resting inn for travellers on the silk road.. also the sea fortress which we'd seen from our hotel last week but hadn't had time to visit. An unexpected surprise inside was a huge whale skeleton which had been washed up in the 1990's.😲
    After running the gauntlet of the local bazaar and coming out unscathed we enjoyed a local Apple tea, and spent a lazy afternoon watching the local fishermen, before setting sail late afternoon to head back to Athens.    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Athens again

    October 14, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Disembarked in Athens.. Our cruise director made an observation that stuck with me, having been to several countries that are in constant conflict with their neighbours and within their own borders.. On board we had 900 passengers from 33 different countries, with crew of about 450 from 30 different countries.. all living together in peace and harmony for a week. With a bit of tolerance and understanding it's amazing what can happen.

    On our last day in Athens we went to see the Changing of the Guardians, which happens on the hour, every hour at Parliament House, and also at the home of the President. Quite hard to keep a straight face... Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks came to mind 😂
    We also visited the Olympic stadium where the first modern Olympic Games was held in 1896 (the ancient stadium is in Olympia.. about 2.5 hours drive from here).. Wandered through the Botanic Gardens and ambled through the backstreets, stopping for a traditional moussaka and local wine.. to end up at Mars Hill, where we sat and soaked up the view until sunset ❤️    Read more

  • susie hicksBiblelands and Greece tripTraveler

    Athens to Doha

    October 15, 2019 in Qatar ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    After a hairy trip to the airport (local taxi driver who thought a 60km speed limit meant no worries.. Go 130!!😲) boarded our flight to Doha. Fairly rough landing.. But now we wait for a couple of hours till the long haul home.❤️Read more

  • Trip end
    October 16, 2019
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