Meteora - Berea - Pella - Thessaloniki

We began our morning with a trip up the mountain to a monastery in Meteora, Greece. The monastery we visited currently had three monks living there. We were only allowed to tour 20% because the monks like to be secluded. We began in the church but I do not have any pictures because they were not allowed. It has three sections, the section for the non-baptized, the section of the baptized, and the holy of holies. We were allowed in the first two rooms, but only the priest is allowed in the holy of holies. In the first section, the walls are covered in scenes of Christians through history being persecuted. It was supposed to persuade the non-baptized to get baptized or they would not go to Heaven. The church was so elaborate. Next we saw the wine cellar. Then we saw the old entrance. They used to hoist people up in a net before the bridge was built. They also would scale the wall if no one was up top to turn the crank to bring up the net. The net is still used today, but only for bringing up heavy items. 

Net Entrance

Net Entrance

Net Entrance

After a long bus ride, we arrived in Berea. We saw the monument to Apostle Paul, but James told us that it had no historical evidence that he was there. It was merely a monument. It was interesting to see how Paul was portrayed. 

We happened upon a rare tree in Berea. It was an oak tree and an olive tree had grown inside it. If you look at the picture close enough, you can see the two different leaves.

We then went to a synagogue. It was built many years ago and was still standing. It was no longer in operation though because to have a synagogue in operation, there must be ten males and apparently they did no thave ten males in this community. We were very blessed because the lady who kept the keys to it happened to be standing outside and she unlocked it so that we could go inside and tour it. 

After Berea, we drove to Pella. You could tell that the people who lived here were obviously very wealthy because of how extensive the houses were. They had many rooms with beautiful mosaics.

Then we drove to Thessaloniki to spend the night by the beach. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved it. While in Thessaloniki, we made a quick stop at the Roman Forum where it is believed that Paul would have stopped at. We also toured a basilica dedicated to Demetrius. It burned down and they had to rebuild it, but the built around the remains and incorporated them into the church. 

Roman Forum

Roman Forum