Holy Land continued Athen's

During our walk we discovered that Athens was having a trash strike as trash was everywhere, especially on corners around large trash bins. Not very pretty! After we returned, a breakfast buffet was served. Checking out of the hotel we left for our tour of Athens. It was 9:00 am and the beginning of a great morning!

I can't remember our guides name but she was woman with a wonderful accent. Our bus wandered thru Athens where she pointed out many areas of interest. We saw a statue of President Harry Truman who had been influential in helping Greece after WW2 and that is how they paid tribute to him. Athens has approximately 5 million people and Greece has around 10 million. The streets were very narrow, particularly for buses but we traveled them anyway. All of the bus drivers in all the countries we went to were insane. Saw no houses but lots of high rise apartments, condos and townhouses. Everyone in Athens have balconies because they want to BBQ like Americans do. The city layout and construction looks chaotic. Very dark streets and no yards. We felt this probably was a result of centuries of wars and unstable governments.

Our first stop was at the foot of Mars Hill. "And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said; 'Men of Athens', I observe that you are very religious in all respects." Acts 17:22 Before we got off the bus one of the cruise directors asked if there was a preacher on our bus. He asked this preacher if he would tell the story of Paul and Mars Hill. The preacher said he could not do that on such short notice so I volunteered Jim. Jim was excited and told the story how Paul met with the learned men and asked them about their objects of worship, especially the one with the inscription; "To An Unknown God." You are worshiping in ignorance Paul exclaimed. These men spent most of their time discussing new things. They were curious and of course Paul was more than willing to share Jesus Christ with them. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." Acts 17:30 Just like today, some sneered at Paul's words but many believed.

Jim walked up the rugged marbled steps to the top. The steps were worn and very slippery from many years of use. The view from the top was spectacular! It made the hair on the back of his head stand up knowing he was standing where the great apostle Paul had stood.

To the right of Mars Hill is the Acropolis ruins. Jim went again by himself to walk thru these ruins to the Parthenon. He was impressed with the fact it was built in the 5th century BC. This day it was being repaired and even so, so magnificient. To stand there admiring these huge structures and knowing that people have done that for 2500 years is a phenomenal experience. At the entrance of the acropolis were three replicas of sculptures by the philosopher Socrates. I knew he was a philosopher but never knew he was also an artisan.

We boarded the buses and went to the Stadium where the 1896 Olympics were held. All marble structure, originally built in the 4th century BC. It was amazing to see how small it was compared to the facilities that are being built wherever the Olympics are held today. The oval of the track was quite different. It was much narrower and longer than the tracks we use today. I assume that even with the different dimension of the oval that it was still 400 meters long. "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games, exercises self control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 I couldn't help but think of Paul looking at this track and using this analogy to bring us to focus on our race and the prize we seek. Let it be the Christ! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 9/21/09