Footsteps of Paul

Tuesday morning began with breakfast at 7 am before we boarded the bus for the day.  Before we left Thessaloniki, we stopped to see the Trigomon tower and the ancient city walls.

A fire destroyed most of Thessaloniki in 1917, we drove by the upper town where some houses escaped the fire.

The skies were cloudy with some fog as we made our way out of the city.  The temperature was mild, we wore long sleeves most of the day quite comfortably. 

We made our way toward the city of Kavala, which is known as Neopolis in the Bible.  Paul came to the port here as mentioned in Acts 16:11.  It is thought that Paul met with Luke here. 

Overlooking the city and port. 

 

 The old city walls are on the hill in the distance near the water 

At a church in Kavala a block or so from the port, was a beautiful mosaic in front of a church by the stone which is thought to be from the port during the time of Paul’s travels to Neopolis 

A produce market common along the streets in Greece, so pretty and colorful! 

 

From Kavala we drove over the mountains to Philippi.  Seeing the terrain, you realize how difficult it was to travel to Philippi!  In Acts 16:12 it says, “From there (Neopolis – the port) we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several nights.”  In just a sentence he travels a great and difficult distance, it sounds like no big deal!  After walking the Jesus Trail, we are more aware of the rugged terrain and distances between locations.  To me, he would have needed more than several nights to recover!

We stopped at Lydia’s baptistery, a small place commemorating the baptism of Lydia, said to be the first woman converted in Europe.  The building had a beautiful dome and mosaics with a lovely river where Lydia’s baptism most likely took place.  It was a beautiful place! 

 

 

From there we went on to the ancient ruins of Philippi.  The archaeological site was huge, one very interesting area was the prison where Paul & Silas were held when the earthquake occurred in the night, the doors flew open and their chains fell off. 

 

We saw the ruins of the city where there were first century churches, the baptistery,  the city market, the town square, the magistrate’s judgement seat, even the public toilet!

The ruins of the Basilica of ancient Philippi  

As we read Acts chapter 16, now we have a clearer picture of the location and some of the details and history surrounding the events.  We love how our visit helps make the Bible come alive!  We pray that the Bible also comes alive for you!

As we relax this evening before dinner, we reflect how God has blessed us with safe travel, eye opening sites to see and information to absorb.  We are grateful for this special time of pilgrimage.  We are also thankful for your prayers, we wish God’s blessings on you!

Russ & Carol