After twenty-four hours of travel the twenty-six of us pilgrims arrived in Athens on September 22, 1998 to begin a memorable journey that would take us to places that St. Paul lived and preached the gospel to the gentiles. It was also a trip that brought us to cultural, historical and New Testament sites that we studied or read in the past. On the September 23 as we walked through ancient sites we could imagine Paul speaking to his listeners about the resurrection of Christ. We marveled at the ingenuity and intelligence of the people who built the monuments on the Acropolis of Athens. We could almost hear Paul convincing the Athenians at the agora of the power and omnipotence of God of gods who sent His only Son to save us.

On September 24 we visited ancient Corinth. The ruins of Corinth reminded us of the glory that the port city possessed during Paul's time. Because there was no Catholic church in the area to celebrate the Eucharist we used one of the rocks near the Bema or tribunal as an altar. . It was here that the proconsul Gallio dismissed the charge that his fellow Jews brought against Paul (Acts 16: 12-17. We came back to the hotel after an interesting visit to Delpi where the ancient Greeks consulted the gods regarding their future.

It was a short plane ride on September 25th to the island of Samos. Irene, our guide, met us at the airport and took us to Pithogora for lunch. After lunch she brought us to the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Cross. She helped us understand the liturgical and theological practices of the Greek Orthodox Church. On September 26 a ferryboat took the group to visit Patmos where tradition says St. John the Evangelist was exiled and where he wrote the Book of Revelation.

It was time to leave Samos on September 27th to go to Ephesus where Paul spent two years preaching the word of God. We walked through the ancient ruins of Ephesus, admired the restoration of the city and prayed in the amphitheater where Paul was almost lynched by the silversmiths whose business was gravely affected by his preaching against idol worship (Act 17: 23-40). The highlight of the day was the celebration of the liturgy in the garden near the house of Mary, the traditional place of Mary's death.

From Ephesus we traveled to Canakkale passing by Izmir (Smyrna) to celebrate Mass at the church of St. Polycarp the martyr. He was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. After Mass we proceeded to Bergamo to visit ancient Pergamum one of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation (2:12-17). On the way to Canakkale we stopped to view ancient Troy, but the rain and darkness cut short our visit to that fascinating ancient city.

After a restful night at Canakkale we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry to go to European Turkey and then to Istanbul, ancient Constantinople. Once the capital of the then declining Roman Empire and later the Ottoman regime, Istanbul today is a bustling metropolis of more than 12 million people. It is the only city that sits on two continents. It was both cultural enriching and fun to visit some of the important sites of Istanbul. In Hagia Sophia one cannot but wonder at the great minds that helped build this house of worship today turned into a museum. But besides serious activities, we had the chance to practice our haggling skills at the Grand bazaar and the spice market.

But every good thing must come to and end. So it was time then to return home after almost two weeks of travel. We came home with a deeper appreciation of the people of Greece and Turkey and a taste of the journeys that Paul took during his lifetime.

PICTURES WHAT THEY SAY