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The day has arrived, and we depart MIA on an overnight flight to Greece.
Today we arrive in Greece at Thessaloniki International Airport (SKG). Upon arrival we will be met by our driver and guide, who will remain with us for the duration of our time in Greece. We transfer to our hotel. D.
Overnight Thessaloniki
We head to Philippi, where we see the site where it is believed that Lydiaʼs heart was opened by God to the Gospel (Acts 16:14). We also see the likely site of Paulʼs imprisonment in Philippi in Acts 16. It was here that Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God in spite of their imprisonment, and here that an earthquake shook the prison so that the doors flew open and the prisonersʼ chains came loose, leading the jailer to contemplate suicide before famously asking Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30). We also see the Acropolis, Marketplace, Basilica and Theater before heading on to Neapolis. Neapolis, now called Kavala, is where Paul once landed with Timothy and Silas. We see Kavalaʼs Roman Aqueduct and Acropolis. B, L, D.
Overnight Thessaloniki
We tour Thessaloniki, where Paul preached and founded a Church to which he wrote the Epistles of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. We see sites like the old city walls, theater, and Roman market. We head to Berea (now called Veria), where Paul and Silas went after they caused a riot in Thessalonica (Acts 17). The Bereans were an example to all subsequent generations of Christians, in that they “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (v. 11). We see the location from which Paul preached to the Bereans. B, L, D.
Overnight Kalambaka
Today we visit the awe-inspiring Meteora Monasteries, perched high on rocky cliffs. Then, we make our way to Athens. B, L, D.
Overnight Athens
This morning we visit tour Athens, to include its Acropolis and Mars Hill, where Paul famously preached in Acts 17. In the afternoon we will visit Corinth. Paul arrived in Corinth in AD 50-51, and he likely wrote First Thessalonians and Romans from here. We will visit the archaeological site, which includes the Temple of Apollo, the Roman agora, the Bema courthouse (where Paul’s enemies brought him before Gallio, Acts 18:12), the pavement inscription of Erastus, the Roman Lechaion Road, and the lower Fountaine of Peirene. B, L, D.
Overnight Athens
Today we leave Greece, flying from Athens to Izmir, Turkey. Upon arrival we will be met by our Turkish driver and guide, who will remain with us throughout our time in Turkey. B, L, D.
Overnight Izmir
Today we visit Ephesus, the site of the first church addressed by Jesus in Revelation 2. Paul reached, taught, and lived in Ephesus for an extended period of time (Acts 19:10). We see the archaeological site, including the house where it is believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived towards the end of her life. Paul visited Miletus, and addressed the Ephesian elders there. B, L, D.
Overnight Izmir
Today we visit two of the seven churches of Revelation 2-3. We begin our day with a visit to Pergamum, where we see the Red Basilica which housed the 1st century church addressed by Jesus in Revelation. We will also visit Pergamumʼs Acropolis, which was designed to imitate the one in Athens, and the Asclepeion Temple which was once dedicated to the Greek god of healing. This temple highlights the fact that Pergamum was a center of idolatry in the ancient world; Jesus in Revelation 2:13 refers to it as the home of “Satanʼs seat.” We will then visit the site of ancient Smyrna. Your flight home may depart either late tonight or the following day. B, L, D.
Your flight home may depart either tonight or the next day. If an overnight is required, overnight Izmir.
Your flight home may depart either the previous night or today. If today and time allows, breakfast is included today. Either way, today we arrive back at MIA.