The Acropolis

Even though it was only a 45 minute flight from Rhodes to Athens, we spend most of the day getting to and from our destinations. Like I mentioned before that Rhodes is another world, now that I'm in Athens, my immediate reaction is to flee back to the islands. We were met with crowded, dirty streets, crowded metro, and disrepair everywhere. Unlike our time in 2005, when they had just cleaned up the city for the Olympics, we saw a very unorganized, self-centered city.

Their frustration with their economic situation was apparent with a demonstration starting in Syntagma Square ending in the Plaka with police everywhere prepared for a riot. We were standing on the fringe of the crowd  but after singing the national anthem (I think) in one of the market squares, they walked quietly away.

Breakfast was on the roof of the hotel with a view of the Acropolis. What a sight! Standing head and shoulders above the modern city of Athens, it stands as a reminder of a greater, more majestic city with the worship of the goddess Athena at its center. We can not only see the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, but also Mars Hill where Paul preached of Christ in a city filled with temples to the gods.

Today we head to Corinth. It is an hour drive and was the city which developed on the isthmus of land separating the Aegean Sea from the Adriatic Sea. The short land journey would save hundreds of miles of potentially rough and dangerous sailing.  We look forward to seeing the Corinth Canal that was finished 1820 and see the Bema Seat when he stood before Galileo and other sites referred to by the Apostle Paul.