SPS+ travel, follow st Paul's steps in Greece, let your Bible guide you!

	Wednesday (Day 1) Arrival in Thessaloniki You will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for dinner and a relaxing evening.
	Thursday (Day 2) Thessaloniki (Acts 17:1-13) Paul wrote his two Epistles to Thessalonians, contained in the New Testament, to the first Christians of this city. Here you will visit the Roman Agora (Forum), the Archaeological Museum and the Basilica of Saint Demetrios. You will also see the White Tower, the statue of Alexander the Great and the remains of the Palace complex of Galerius (Late 3rd century AD). The Arch of Galerius and Rotonda was later converted to the Church of Saint George. You will also see the City Walls and the Great Gate, which connects the city with Via Egnatia (Via Egnatia was the trans-continental east-west road of the Roman Empire built on the 2nd century BC). Thessaloniki was for many centuries a city with a sizable Jewish community up until the Second World War. Dinner and overnight stay in Thessaloniki.

	Friday (Day 3) .........................................back to top A day's trip to Philippi and Neapolis (Kavala) In Philippi (Acts 16:12-40; 20:6) Paul preached his evangelistic sermon to women who had gathered at the river. You will visit the river where Paul baptized Lydia, a purple fabric merchant, who became the first Christian woman to be baptized on European soil (Acts 16:14, 15, 40). You will also see a crypt, dating from the Roman period, which is thought, according to the Church's tradition, to have been the place where Paul was flogged and imprisoned. Also at Philippi you will see, the ancient Roman Agora (Forum) built during the time of Augustus and mentioned in the Book of Acts as the place where Paul was publicly punished after he released the possessed girl (Acts 16:19). You will also see the Basilicas and the Greek Theatre (4th century BC), which was converted into an arena by the Romans and used during the persecutions of the early Christian Church. Paul's letter to Philippians is addressed to the first Christians of this city, 14 years after his first visit there. You will also see Neapolis (present day Kavalla), Greece's most picturesque mainland port. Paul landed in this city (Acts 16:11) with his disciples Timothy (Acts 16:1-3; 17:14-15; 18:5; 20:4, 5) and Silas (Acts 15:22-35, 40, 41; 16:25-40; 17:4, 14, 15) . Here you will see the Roman style Ottoman Aqueduct and the Citadel. On the way back to Thessaloniki you will see the remains of ancient Via Egnatia. You will pass by the ancient cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, which are mentioned in the Book of Acts (Acts 17:1). Return to Thessaloniki for dinner and overnight stay in the city.


	Saturday (Day 4) .....................................back to top Pella, Berea (Veria), Vergina and Katerini Pella is the birthplace of Alexander the Great. In this place you will see the ruins of the second capitol of the Ancient Macedonian Kingdom. Then we travel to Veria (ancient Berea) where Paul during his visit preached to the Jewish synagogue of the city and to the Greek nobility who readily accepted the new faith (Acts 17:10-15). There is in this city a monument dedicated to Apostle Paul. In Veria you will see the Jewish quarter where the synagogue is still situated today. We continue our trip to the recently discovered archaeological site of Vergina, the old capitol of the Macedonian Kingdom (5th to 2nd centuries BC). There you will visit the grave of Philip the 2nd, the father of Alexander the Great, which was found intact. Afterwards we arrive in the city of Katerini for dinner and overnight stay.
	Sunday (Day 5) ........................................back to top Dion and Kalambaka We continue our travel to Dion, another holy site of Ancient Greece, and the holiest for the Macedonians, at the foot of mount Olympos, where there are still archaeological excavations going on. It is from Dion that Paul possibly departed for Athens and it is the place where, according to Phlavius Josephus, Alexander the Great had the vision of the Jewish High Priest. From there we continue south and west to the city of Kalambaka for dinner and overnight stay.
	Monday (Day 6) .......................................back to top Kalambaka and Delphi Near the city of Kalambaka in central-western Thessaly and at the edge of the Pindus Mountains is the rock forest of Meteora. On top of soaring, sheer sided gigantic rocks are several Byzantine monasteries. The monastic life (hermitages) there started in the 11th century when the monks sought refuge in cliff-side caves. The history of the organized monasteries starts in the 14th century, when the hermits fled higher to build the original wooden shelters later transformed into monasteries. In these monasteries were preserved through the centuries large collections of priceless manuscripts and treasures. You will visit one of those monasteries. Then we continue our trip to the ancient oracle of Delphi for dinner and overnight stay.
	Tuesday (Day 7) ......................................back to top Delphi and Athens Delphi was considered in the ancient world the center of the earth - the Omphalos ("Naval of the Earth"). Its prestige extended far beyond the boundaries of the Hellenic World. Delphi lies on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, in a landscape of unparalleled beauty and majesty. The exact age of Delphi in not known, but it is mentioned by Homer. You will visit the Sacred Way, the Athenian Treasury, the Theatre and the Temple of Apollo where the famous oracles were pronounced. You will also visit the Museum where among other treasures you will see the 5th century BC bronze statue of the Charioteer. In the Museum you will also see the important inscription which dates Gallio's stay in Corinth and from which we can date Paul's stay in that city and also with accuracy date all Paul's mission Journeys. After Delphi we continue our trip to Athens for dinner and overnight stay.

	Wednesday (Day 8) ..................................back to top Athens (Acts 17:15-34) The architectural splendors of this ancient city are as magical as ever. You will visit the world-renown Acropolis. Special emphasis will be on the visit to the Areopagus (Mars Hill) where Paul's speech to the Athenian philosophers is engraved in its entirety (Acts 17:18-34). You will also visit, in the same area, the Ancient Agora (Forum), where Paul met the Philosophers, the Stoa of Attalus and the Temple of Hephaestus. You will also visit Pnyx where the meanings of Democracy, City Assembly (Ecclesia) and Reasoning (Logos) were first conceived and practiced. Many of the terms used in the Athenian Democracy were incorporated in the Church's terminology. (Ecclesia, Logos). Dinner and overnight stay in Athens.

	Thursday (Day 9) .................................... back to top Corinth (Acts 18:1-18) Corinth is the city where Paul stayed for one and a half years, during his first visit, the longest he stayed in any of the cities he visited except Ephesos. Paul wrote at least two letters addressed to the Church of Corinth and while he lived there he wrote three and possibly four letters addressed to the first Christians in Rome, Thessaloniki and Galatia. You will visit the Archaeological museum, the Ancient Agora (Forum) and the Bema where Paul stood in Front of Gallio (Acts 18:12-17), the Roman Pro-Consul of Achaea. Near the ancient Theater of Corinth you will see the inscription of Erastus (Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23; 2 Timothy 4:20), the Treasurer of the city, mentioned in Paul's Letter to Romans. You will also visit the Temple of Apollo and the hill of Acrocorinth, where during the time of Classical Greece used to be the famous Temple of Aphrodite. Return to Athens for dinner and overnight stay Friday (Day 10) ....................................... back to top Departure from the Athens International Airport.