Day 6: Ancient City of Ephesus

Next stop: Turkey, and the ancient city of Ephesus (or, Efes, as it is called today). This was one of our highly anticipated stops, not only because we love the God-inspired letter to the Ephesians so much, but also because it is one of the best-preserved ancient cities in this part of the world.

Here’s just a quick snapshot from Acts 19 of why we’re so excited to go to Ephesus: Paul spent at least two years and three months here, speaking the Word in the synagogue and “daily in the school of one Tyrannus…” (Acts 19:9); “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul,” (Acts 19:11), so that people delivered handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched and brought them to sick people and they were healed; people really started to take a stand for the one, true God, and the Word grew mightily and prevails (Acts 19:20) so that all that were in Asia heard the Word of God (Acts 19:10).

Ephesus has had many different iterations of cities, dating back many centuries before the Romans captured and rebuilt a hundred years or so before Paul got there. It sat marvelously in a valley at the foot of a hill looking out onto the harbor. Middle-class businessmen (much like Paul) lived on the hillside, although the closer to the port, the less well-off the citizens were. The water is nowhere to be seen today, thanks to centuries of sewage and sledge run-off that absorbed water and turned into land – the ancient city of Ephesus is now a good 6km away from any port. (That’s a lot of sewage!)

We took a ferry from Samos (Vathy port) and arrived in Kasadasi, then drove about 30 minutes to Ephesus. We got into the town on a guided tour in 100 degree heat. We both burned through about 4 liters of water in about 2 hours it was so hot!



The city itself was divided into a few different parts. The first part we visited was the “state and political forum,” where leaders, the senate, and emperors lived, worked, debated, and oversaw the city. Our tour guide mentioned that particularly high-powered political leaders desired to be (and, to a large part, were) revered as gods or demi-gods. Thus, Ephesus (not unlike many other cultured cities of its day) had a plethora of statues, fountains, temples, and monuments dedicated both to mythological gods and real-life leaders. More than once we would see a temple built to a Greek god right next to a huge statue that venerated a leader for a military conquest.

Leading from the political area of the city where the big-wigs hung out and oversaw the happenings of Ephesus toward the commercial side of town was a long, wide, marble-paved road downhill. Along the sides of these streets was a “hall of fame” of statues of major donors, benefactors, and mythological gods who had done some good for the city.

Ruins of statues along the road in the political part of the city

View of the hillside where middle-class houses were, and the road leading down to the commercial part of town

Paul must have walked this road countless times during his time here, and it just blew us away to see the extent to which man venerating man or other gods (or sometimes both!) was so prevalent in this city. Literally, there was a statue on every corner of every street, on top of every hill, in every part of life. We left amazed not that the Word grew mightily and prevailed here, but that it even took a foothold at all in a place so wholly given to man’s veneration.

Here’s a view of the theater, which held about 24,000. This was the place where Paul wanted to speak to the enraged crowds (but was advised not to) during the “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” mob-rant.



Here’s a view of Arcadian Way, a major through-way leading from the harbor to the theatre. This was also lined with merchant shops and businesses:

Beautiful views of the Arcadian way from the top of the theater

A drawing depicting what the Arcadian Way might have looked like in its heyday

We learned a little bit about “syncretism” in Walter Cummins’s class “Journey Through the Acts and the Epistles,” which is essentially the blending of some true gospel with other, impure or disingenuous material: it sounds like religion and looks like religion (and may even quote Scripture to back it up) but isn’t God’s true Word because it has been blended with other religions, pagan symbols, myths, fables, or other substitutes. Needless to say, there was a tremendous amount of syncretism in Ephesus, and it impressed upon us the worldly brilliance of this great city, but also the boldness need to stand on God’s true Word amidst so much man-worshipping.

We both really wanted to see the School of Tyrannus, but it turns out that they haven’t found conclusive evidence of where that was, although they do have their guesses. Maybe if we come back in 10 years they’ll have found that and where the synagogue was!

We spent a few hours in the port city of Kusadasi after the tour. This about sums it up:



This city must have been something amazing: a massive, powerful cultural center and an imposing example of the collective temple built to man. We soaked it all in after a long, hot day in the sun, talking about the book of Ephesians over a couple of beers…check out the name: brewed in the town of Efes itself!

Sunset in Samos

Day 4: Island of Samos

After three awesome days in Thessaloniki and Philippi, we were looking forward to our “island hopping” tropical vacation kicking off in Vathy, Samos. We had a little bit of excitement getting there, though. We had budgeted about 1.5 hours to drive about 12 kilometers from Salonica center to the car rental place, then to get a shuttle to the nearby airport in time for our flight. Plenty of time, no? Turns out we didn’t expect log-jam traffic of epic proportions towards the popular beach destination Halkidiki on a late Sunday morning. After an hour in traffic, we frantically dropped off the car with 35 minutes to spare, only to find out from the car rental lady that our airline closed the gate a healthy 20-30 minutes before takeoff, and we were still 5-7 minutes from the airport, let alone through check-in and security. Chances of making this flight? About the same odds as the Apostle Paul had at winning mayor of Thessaloniki after a few weeks in the city. The car rental lady (bless her heart) sped to the airport, security was relatively painless, and God took care of the rest. As they were making the final call for “…passengers Sarah and Jesse McCree, please come to gate 5…” we showed up, more than ready for a drink and a beach vacation.

The island of Samos, as shown in this map, is one of the eastern-most islands and set away from most of the popular tourist destinations of Ios and Mykonos. Not many Americans were here when we arrived, and just as well – we’ve had a very calm and tranquil stay. We picked the island mostly because of its proximity to Turkey (where we’ll have a short boat ride to the ancient city of Ephesus), and to some of the eastern Aegean islands like Patmos that interest us. Paul stopped in Samos on his way to Miletus (and ultimately, Jerusalem) to meet with the elders of the church at Ephesus. If we had checked out some of the beaches, he might have been convinced to stay longer…

Great hotel we’re at, and for only 30 Euro a night (maybe $40 at most) it’s a steal with the hurting Greek economy. The owners of the hotel have been very kind and accommodating, although it would have been difficult to not enjoy our stay with sunset views every night like this:

We’ve had a helpful travel guide that has steered us well. One of their suggestions for beaches was a locals-in-the-know-only called Lakidika Beach. A few observations: 1) Getting there took “off the beaten path” to a whole new level with unmarked lanes and dirt roads; 2) It was, hilariously and unabashedly, straight from those Corona commercials, complete with banana leaf cabanas and lounge chairs in the incredibly warm water; 3) While this was very much unlike what we’re used to, we enjoyed it immensely, although we’re pretty sure the sunlight and non-stop hedonistic parties had irreversibly affected some of the locals. We got a couple of looks, of course, when we broke out of Bibles for some easy-going beach reading. Awesome. Check out the pictures:

We explored a little mountain village near a monastery with incredible architecture and neighborhood design (classic Greek small village with whitewashed walls and narrow paths) and some amazing views:

We had a great meal at a restaurant called Garden. Lamb with rice pasta, mousaka (like a lighter, Greek shepherd’s pie), Greek salad, and good wine and ouzo.

We’re gearing up for Ephesus (and maybe Patmos?) in the next day or two. Looking forward to some more journeys through the Acts and Epistles!

Day 3: Ancient city of Philippi

Next up: road trip to Philippi, about 150 km east of Thessaloniki. This was the first place in "Europe" (which was then Macedonia) that Paul and company was sent to speak the Word. We rented a tiny, yellow Hyundai Atos (which, in a pinch, we could have lifted up ourselves to parellel park if we really needed to) lovingly named "Joni" after her famous song "Big Yellow Taxi." Check her out:

Small Yellow Taxi, "Joni"

Ancient Philippi was a "chief city of Macedonia, and a colony" (Acts 16:12). Paul and co. came up through the port city of Neapolis (today, the city of Kavala), which is about 10 km away. The drive up to Philippi was incredibly beautiful: the old city was set in a valley between two mountain ranges, and it sat at the foot of a sizable hill.

Valley at Philippi


View from city center

Much of the city remains were left, dating back to 5th century BC. A theater that was built in the 3rd century BC which held a few thousands spectators was still there. Perhaps most impressively was the Roman agora (forum, or marketplace) that was built a little bit before Paul got there:

Much like in Thessaloniki, this was the main marketplace in the city, and state officials resided there. Again, this was most likely the place where Paul and Silas were taken prior to their imprisonment (Acts 16:19). We read the book of Philippians between the two small columns at the edge of the agora - so awesome.

The famous Roman road Egnatia Via stretched from Constantinople to Rome, a major road for commerce that ran through Philippi towards Thessaloniki and Berea. This kept the city bustling with merchants and travelers:

Egnatia Odos (or Via Egnatia)

One of the best parts of visiting the city was seeing how much the Word was spoken in a place that was very secular. The temple of the Acropolis was sitting at the top of the hill, looming over the entire city. That must have been quite the daunting reminder for Paul every time he spoke the Word, but what boldness he had anyway! Paul's entrance into these cities (Thessaloniki, Philippi, and Berea) was always done in love, but he was faced with cities that already had a set way of thinking and acting, not dissimilar to cities of today. Bottom line: he spoke the truth with boldness and love, and did not seem fazed by the every present opposition, represented by secular images, such as the pagan gods on top of hills and in the marketplaces. A great reminder that we can do the same thing today...

Entrance to the Basilica (3rd Centruy BC). Check out the Acropolis at the top of the hill (very faintly seen)

Finally, but perhaps most notably, we were able to track down one of our (and Jesse's Mom's) favorite passages from the Bible: Acts 16:13. We found the riverside just outside of Philippi "where prayer was wont (known) to be made," and where Paul and company first spoke the Word to a woman named Lydia. We stopped for a few minutes to pray ourselves, take a few pictures, pick up a few stones from the riverbed (we love you Mom!), and accidentally crash a wedding (sorry, My Big Fat Greek Wedding people!) It was awesome to think about how important prayer was to the outreach of God's Word, and the deliverance that followed. To quote Jim Nichols, the "hair-o-meter" was off the charts....a great way to end the day!

By the riverside where prayer was known to be made

Day 1: Thessaloniki

Whew! And we're here...

After an rather eventful layover in Dusseldorf, Germany (pictures with bratwursts and beer at 9am to follow), we arrived in Thessaloniki to begin our month-long journey. Here is a look at where we're starting....

Thessaloniki in modern times is a bustling metropolis that is essentially Greece's "second city," (after Athens), and is the largest city in Northern Greece. Why start here, you ask? Our interest in Thessaloniki (or, Salonica) is in its first century A.D. history as the city where one of the early Christian churches was based. The apostle Paul received revelation from God to write to the Thessalonians, and the believers there were considered a "model" church. Not only did they receive the Word "as it is in truth, the Word of God which effectually works also in you who believe" (I Thes. 2:13) , but the hope of Christ's return was so wonderfully steadfast in their hearts, that they were "examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia" (I Thes. 1:7).

Turns out that, unbeknownst to us, the majority of the ancient ruins that are left were directly below our hotel. How awesome, huh?

This Roman agora (forum, or marketplace) was the major and central marketplace during the first century A.D. (during the time Paul and company would have been there.) It very well could have been the place where Acts 17:5-9 took place. It was really cool walking around the agora, checking out the various artifacts from the first century A.D. Here are some pictures from the agora, as well as from the rest of our time in Salonica. Enjoy!

Entrance to the markets in the agora


Roman baths, circa first century A.D. The circular stones in the middle is where they pour cold water on hot rocks to make steam.


Roman-era architecture meets new age graffiti in the Old City...this was sort of a theme throughout the city, which has become a dichotomous divide between run-down and very hip.


A day at the beach


A view from the highest point in the city

Mission: Honeymoon

Welcome to our blog! Here we'll be chronicling our month-long journey across Europe (Greece, Italy, and France) for our belated honeymoon. We'll do some short updates and post some pictures to keep you updated on where we've been, what we've seen, and where we're going.

Our itinerary has changed somewhat since we planned it a year ago, and we're still flexible about where we're going, so keep your eyes peeled for some random excursions to untold places. Here's our itinerary as of now:

• Greece: Thessaloniki; Philippi; Island of Samos; (Turkey: Ephesus); Island of Syros; Island of Santorini; Athens and Corinth
• Italy: Rome; Tuscany; Venice; Dolomite mountain range; (Swiss alps?)
• France: Provence region; (Barcelona?); Paris

Our plans in Italy and France are still very much up in the air - if you have any suggestions or experience traveling in the area, please send us an e-mail with your thoughts!

Our trip is largely centered around a few main themes. In Greece, we're focusing on the various places on the apostle Paul's multiple itineraries throughout the Macedonia and Achaia regions. After long days exploring ancient cities, we'll head to the beach, of course! In Italy, we'll be spending a lot of time on food, wine, and hiking. In France, we'll be shaping our travels around art...and, well, food and wine, of course....(it is France, after all!) Throughout our blog, we'll try to highlight some of the Word we're reading in these areas, some of the best meals/drinks we've stumbled across, and other quirky facts you may find interesting.

Thanks to everyone (so many of you!) who have helped support the trip in many ways - we're so grateful and blessed to be able to take this trip together! Feel free to shoot us an e-mail at any time, and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

Love,

Sarah and Jesse