Pictures from Delphi

The Theater at Delphi

Gallio Inscription

A Day at Delphi

Hello From Athens,

Everyone is fine and doing well.

Today we visited the Ancient Site of Delphi. It is a beautiful site and the favorite of many people. I think that it is my favorite site in Greece. You are high up in the mountains but you have a commanding view of the sea below. Ancient Greeks climbed the hills to worship Apollo and Athena and seek guidance from the oracle at the Temple of Apollo. They also gathered for the Pythian Games, which is one of the four Pan-Hellenic games. There were also poetry and music contests and meetings where leaders of Ancient Greek City-States could talk politics over and come to decisions.

We made our way to the Roman Forum and then up the Sacred Way. Along the Sacred way there were once statues to honor donors, athletes, and musicians. These statues lined the Sacred Way so everyone would remember what they had achieved. Also along the Sacred Way were several treasuries of cities housing their gifts to the god Apollo. For example at the prows of the warships were lined up to commemorate the Athenian victory over the Persians. The retaining walls are built of polygonal construction to help them survive earthquake attacks.

Many of these stones are covered with inscriptions, many of these inscriptions record masters freeing their slaves. At the heart of the site is the Temple of Apollo which has a large altar in front. Adjacent to the Temple stood a bronze tripod of Platea which is made of intertwined bronze snakes. This tripod was carried off by Constantine the Great and was put in the center of the hippodrome. A part of the tripod is located at the hippodrome in Istanbul what is left of it we saw earlier on the trip

The Temple of Apollo is of Doric style and it is built over 2 fault lines which has recently been studied by geologist who have determined that a form of methane gas would have been released from these fissures which would have had a hallucinogenic effect on the priestess who would sit on a tripod over the opening and speak in a “language” only the priest could understand. People would wait in line on the seventh day of the month and would be chosen by lot to choose the order. They would tell the priest the question and he would rely it to the priestess and later return with her answer. An answer he would interpret for the one waiting. Sometimes the answers were straight forward and often the person would get the answer they desired. But sometimes the answers were veiled and opened to interpretation. Under the temple there are still passages which people climb in. The oracle would go into the basement of the temple to answer the questions.

Up above the Temple is a nice theater which was used for dramas and plays. Up even further is a stadium with stone seats and nice starting gates.

Before visiting the site we went to the museum which has several amazing objects all found during the excavations at Delphi. Delphi was home to the Pythian Games which was one of the Panhellenic Games. These games took place every four years in honor of Apollo, the god of wisdom. The temple to Apollo was home to oracle of Delphi. A priestess of the temple functioned as the oracle. People would come and ask questions of the oracle on special days. She would sit in the temple on a tripod over a crack where vapors would rise up and have a hallucinogenic effect on her and she would speak in a "priestly language" and predict the future often in vague ways.

Recently geologists and archaeologists have worked together and discovered that a fault line runs under the temple and that have hallucinogenic properties.As one of the panhellenic games as well as a home to an oracle Delphi was the most important religious site on the mainland. Several treasuries and monuments were built as each city tried to out do the other. Many of these offerings to Apollo were lost on the site and have now been recovered by archaeologists.In the museum some of the most important objects include a large Sphinx.

As I look at it I was reminded of Oedipus and the riddle of the sphinx. The Siphinian Treasury which dates to 525BC is one of the oldest Ionic marble buildings on the mainland. The pediments of the building are well-preserved. One side with the Judgment of Paris and the other with the combat of combat before Troy with the assembly of the gods. This has the name of the artist on one of the shields.The Treasure Room has amazing objects such as parts of the chryselephantine (made from ivory and gold) statues of Apollo and Artemis. Also the remains of a large statue of a bull made of silver.One of the most famous items in the museum is the Charioteer which is an original bronze which sections of the horse and chariot. This was made to honor the victor of chariot 478 or 474 in Pythian games.Also there is a famous marble statue of Antinoos. He was a famous companion of Emperor Hadrian who died by drowning in the Nile during a trip their with the emperor.Also the museum has an inscription which has musical notation on it. This is one the earliest indications of musical notation in Ancient Greece it dates to the 3rd century BC.

My favorite item in the museum was the Gallio inscription. This is an inscription that I have been talking about for many years. It makes reference to Gallio who is mentioned in Acts 18. Gallio is proconsul of Acacia. The emperor Nero wrote a letter honoring him which is preserved in this inscription. Paul was taken before Gallio by the Jews of Corinth. Here Gallio determined not to get involved in what he called Jewish disputes. Since a proconsulship only lasted one year and since Paul was only in Corinth for eighteen months this inscription establishes a benchmark in the chronology in Paul’s life and missionary journeys. So this is an important piece of evidence for New Testament studies.

Tomorrow we fly out of Athens to New York and then on to Atlanta.

I have to fly out earlier than the group go through Milan and then to DC and then meet them again in Atlanta.

John Wineland
Athens, Greece

Erastus, ArcoCorinth, Mycenae Pictures

Lions Gate at Mycenae

Temple to Apollo at Corinth with the AcroCorinth in the Background

Erastus Inscription Picture

Corinth, Acro-Corinth and Mycenae

Greetings from Athens again!!!

We are fine and doing well. We enjoyed our trip today.


We visited the site of Corinth. Corinth importance in ancient times was due to its location near the isthmus with mainland Greece. It had 2 important harbors which it controlled Cenchrea and Lechaion. A great deal of trade traveled through the city. So it control important land and sea routes. This is a site with a long occupation, dating from the Bronze Age like Mycenae.

It flourished from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. It was destroyed by the Roman General Mummius in 144BC. The Romans punished Corinth because they rebelled against Roman authrity. The leveled every building in the town except for the Temple to Apollo.

The town was restructured as a Roman city and it was this town that Paul visited in the first century. He founded a church at the city and wrote 2 letters to the Christians there. The most impressive structure on the site is the Temple to Apollo it has 7 Doric columns still standing and it is one of the earliest temples in Greece.

We also saw the Bema of the city which is the likely location of Gallio's address as recorded in Acts 18 when Paul is taken before him and charged with crimes against the Jews of the city.

The AcroCorinth rising above the city was the home to the Temple to Aprodite. Her priestess served as Temple prostitutes in the city. The mobile population and this temple led to many of the problems in the Corinth church. The main road to Lechaion is well preserved and has a large fountain, several shops and even public toliet on either side of the street.

The museum has many important statues and frescos. It also has an inscription from a 5th century synagogue in the city. Corinth had an Askelpion healing center and some of the votive offerings of models of body parts offered to god for healing are on display.

The odeon and theater of the site were closed. But a few of us found a way to enter the theater area so we could see the famous Erastus inscription which mentions that Erastus a leader in the city paid for a pavement on the east side of the theater. Erastus is mentioned as a Christian convert and friend of Paul in Romans 16.

We then drove up to the bottom of the top of Acro-Corinth. Then several of us hiked to the top. This quite a hike but we were rewarded with an amazing view of the city and harbors below. This was the site of the Aprodite temple and later fortresses from the Frankish, Ottoman, and Venetian periods.


We ate lunch near the canal which was cut through the Isthmus in the late 19th century.

The we drove to Mycenae the site which provides the name for the Mycenean Civilization. The city flourished during the Bronze Age esp from 1600 to 1100 BC. Here is a good website with information about and images of Mycenae http://wms.erudition.net/mycenae.html

This site has an amazing Lion's Gate and a tholos or beehive tomb nearby. This site was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century who found rich burials in the Grave Circle A with several gold objects. On the citadel of the site is the Megaron which was the audience hall/palace of the King. We also visited the well preserved Tholos or beehive tomb called the Treasury of Atreus. It was a burial place for the elites of the Bronze age 14th cent. BC. With a large dromos or entranceway and the tomb itself was flanked by large columns on either side. This style of tomb is constructed of stone in a beehive shape and then earth is piled on top. The dromos is dug out each time a new burial is needed.

Tomorrow we head out for our last day of touring. We are ending with a beautiful site called Delphi, home to the oracle.

John Wineland
Athens, Greece

From the National Museum in Athens

The boxer fresco from Akrotiri

Hello From Athens

Greetings

We are now in Athens. We are all safe and sound after our cruise across the Aegean.

We toured the small but amazing museum in Santorini. It has the remains of Akrotiri the Pompei of the Aegean. While Pompei dates to the first century AD, Akrotiri dates to about 1650 BC. There are amzing frescos one with monkeys!! Also a chair (they were able to pour plaster of paris into the holes in the volcanic ash and they were able to recover the outline of chairs and beds etc. They have many everyday objects as well as art.

We then were able to have an hour or so to enjoy the fantastic view and then we were off to the ship. It was a larger ferry which hauled cars and motorcycles underneath. We travel to out hotel and then met in the lobby for a walk to the National Archaelogical Museum. It has amazing finds.

It has material from all over Greece including the islands. There are many fine examples of Greek pottery from all the periods from Geometric on to Black and Red figures pottery. There are many fine bronze statues also. Most which were recovers from the sea. The large bronze of Zeus is one of the finest pieces in the museum. The museum also hs the Mycenaen materials from the tombs of Mycenae. Schliemann found gold desk masks and fine gold objects. Also on display on the second floor are some of the frescos from ancient Thera.

After our visit to the museum we had dinner at the hotel.

Tomorrow we visit Corinth and Mycenae.

John Wineland
Athens

Picture of Santorini

Santorini

Hello From Ancient Thera, Santorini

Greetings, Everyone is fine and doing well. We have enjoyed our day on the island of Santorini. We left this morning from Heraklion, Crete. We traveled on a Cat 4 super fast boat. The boat moves so quickly that it is entirely enclosed, much like an airplane inside. Upon arrival we were greeted by our bus and guide. We then had a nice tour of the island, so many people were able to swin the Aegean. We also drove to the North end of the island for a spectular view of the island. A volcano exploded and formed a calderia about 1650 BC. When this volcano blew up the island exploded and the entire middle of the island blew out. This destroyed the Minoan settlements on the island and created problems for them elsewhere. Some people beleive that this explosion is the history event to which Plato refers when he speaks of Atlantis. Of course this is highly speculative. We were scheduled to visit the ruins of Akrotiri but unfortnately the site is now closed because of an accident earlier in the year when part of the protective roof collasped on the 2 tourists and 1 guide. Akrotiri has been called the Pompeii of the Aegean. I guess we have to return later to this beautiful island to see the site. However tomorrow we visit the museum in town and it has many of the most sceptacular finds from the site. This is the second most desirable vacation spot in the world just behind Bali accord to our guide today. Tomorrow after visiting the museum we will take a boat ride to Athens for the last days of our tour. John Wineland Santorini, Greece

Greetings from Heraklion

Bull jumping Fresco, Knossos

Hello,

Everyone is fine and doing well. We visited the Palace of the Legendary Minos at Knossos. This was excavated in the early 20th century by Sir Arthur Evans. There is a large palace which has been reconstructed which has frescos and throne rooms. We saw the large storage jars (Kraters) which held the grain and oil for the palace. It is a wonderful site. Part of it was shut down for restorations.

Today's weather was probably the warmest we have faced but it was not too bad.

After a bus tour of the city where we saw the Venetian walls and gates, we ate lunch in the heart of the city.

The we had nice tour of fablous Archaeology Museum of Heraklion. We saw the famous Phaistos Disk, Linear A, and B tablets, frescoes from Knossos and the fablous gold ring of King Minos.

Tomorrow we sail to Santorini (Thira) and visit more Minonan ruins.

John Wineland
Heraklion, Crete Greece

Greetings from the island of Crete

The Plane Tree of Hippocrates, Kos

Hello Everyone,

We are all fine and doing well. We are on the island of Crete home of the Minoans.

We had a busy day today. We left Turkey and traveled by boat to the island of Kos. We had a nice time visiting the island which had a fine castle and shops and resturants. The island has a fine castle built by the Hospitallers. It also has the Plane tree of Hippocrates the famous early doctor and author of the Hippocratic oath. The locals believe that he planted the huge tree.

The Apostle Paul visited this site on his second missionary journey. Acts 21


We then went to the airport and caught our flight to the island of Rhodes and then another flight to Crete. After a late dinner we are enjoying our nice hotel in Crete.

Tomorrow we will visit the ruins of the Minoan palace at Knossos and the museum.

John Wineland
Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Greetings From Bodrum

Crusader Castle at Bodrum

Hello

Everyone is doıng well and having a great time on our tour.

We left the area of Ephesus this morning and drowe to the site of Afrodisia. This ıs a wonderful site with a large theater and a temple to Aprodite. The site has the largest and best preserved stadium in the ancient world. We had a footrace between three of the students. So we got a real sense of what an ancient race would have been like. There was a large tetrapylon on the site too. Thıs marked the intersection of two important roads of the city.

After visiting the site we went to the nice museum. It has much of the material found on the site. A school of sculpture was established at the site so we saw many fine examples of sculpture ın the museum. There also was a nice dısplay on the way ancıent coins were made.

After our visit to the site we had a nice lunch and drove on to Bodrum. Bodrum was called Halicarnasus in ancient times. It was the birthplace of Herodotus the Father of History. It ıs also home to the one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The mauselum of Halicarnassus.

We visited the Crusader period castle located on what was an islan. It now is attached to the mainland by a causeway. The city was captured by the Crusaders during in the First Crusade. Later the Turks captured the city. Finally the Knights of St. John the Hospitallers captured the castle in 1305. The city came under the control Sulimann the Magnificant in 1522.

It is a spectacular castle and housed inside the castle is an extensive museum of underwater archaeology. They have the remains of the earliest boat wreck ever found dating to the Bronze Age, 16th century BC and 13th BC.

They had an amazing dısplay of amphora and anchors. Everyone enjoyed our visit to the castle. Just outside the castle was a nice statue of Herodotus.

Tomorrow we leave Turkey. We will sail from Bodrum to Kos and from there fly to Crete via Rhodes.

John Wineland
Bodrum, Turkey

Group Photo at Ephesus

The group in front of the Library of Celsus

A Day Ephesus

Hello Everyone,

Everyone is fine and doing well. They are enjoying their stay in Turkey and here at Kusadasi.

Today we headed out early and drove to the site of Ephesus. This is amazıng sıte. Thıs Greco-Roman city has extensıve ruıns. We started at the upper end of the sıte and vısıted the Odeıon and made our way down the Curetes Road toward the Lıbrary of Celsus. Along the way we vısıted the nıcely preserved bath house and Roman Tolıets. We also saw the nıce mosaıcs and the temples to Hadrıan. Many ın our group enjoyed seeıng the extensıve inscrıptions.

The Lıbrary of Celsus was one of the highlights of our trıp. It was restored by an Austrıan team of archaeologısts. We saw the sıte of the brothel and the famous footstep ınscrıptıon that some beleıve was an advertısment for the brothel.

We then entered the great theater of the ancıent cıty thıs was the sıte of the near rıot ın the cıty where Paul's mınıstry caused the sılver-smıth guild to work the crowd ınto a 2 hour frenzy callıng out great ıs Artemıs goddess of the Ephesus.

The weather was good for our trıp and the crowds were relatıvely lıght for thıs tıme of year.

We then travel to the sıte of the Temple of Artemıs. Thıs was one of the 7 wonders of the ancıent world but now only a sıngle column remaıns wıth a stork nest on top.

We then vısıted the nıce museum of the sıte of Ephesus. The hıghlıghts of thıs museum ıncluded a fresco of Socrates found ın a vılla, also the fıne statues of the Ephesıan Artemıs. There was also a colossal statue of Domıtıan and a fıne dısplay about gladıtors.

We vısıted the Church of Saınt John and saw the tradıtıonal place of the burıal of John. There ıs a fıne baptıstry ın the floor of the church and also a mosaıc of John, Jesus and Mary.

We drove back to our hotel on the Aegean. Several people from our group swam ın the ocean and one of the pools at thıs hotel.

The food has been great here and everyone enjoyed the vıew of the water. Thıs hotel was an upgrade as a gıft from the tour company. Everyone ıs doıng well and feelıng fıne and we lookıng forward to the rest of our trıp.

Tomorrow we drive to Afrodisia and Bodrum.

John Wineland
Kusadasi, Turkey

Greetings from Near Ephesus

The Temple at Assos

Hello Everyone,

Everyone is fine and doing well. We are now at Kusadasi, Turkey. It is along the Aegean Sea.

Today we left the hotel at Assos and visited the site. It is a spectacular site which overlooks the seas. There is a large Doric temple on top. It was a nice walk up the hill. Paul visited here during his third missionary journey. Aristotle lived here before he became Alexander the Great's tutor.

Then we drove south to Pergamum. This is one of the seven cities mentioned in Revelation. We tour the acropolis with its spectacular theater and the Altar to Zeus. There is also a large temple of Trajan on the site. Then we drove down to visit the ruins of the Asklepios shrine. This was city where Galen lived and practiced medicine. Asklepios was the Greek god of healing.

Then we drove on to our hotel. We will be here for two nights. Tommorrow we will visit the amazing site of Ephesus.

John Wineland
Kusadasi Turkey

Greetıngs from the Shore of the Aegean

Greetıngs

Everyone is fine and doing well.

I am wrıtıng to you from a hotel along the Aegean Sea. We are near the ancıent cıty of Assos. We left Istanbul thıs mornıng and drove along the Sea of Marmara. The cıty of Istanbul is a large city with about 15 million people. We drove for about 3 or 4 hours along the Sea and stopped for lunch where the ferry crosses from Europe where we were to Asia. This ıs the same route which Alexander the Great took when he ınvaded Asia Minor to seek revenge from the Persians.

After we crossed on the ferry (our bus drove on the ferry too). We stopped at Cannakale and saw the wooden horse from the recent movie Troy. They also had a model of the city of Troy.

We then drove to the city of Troy and visited the ruins. The city has 7 layers of occupation. It was windy on the site and it began to rain a little. Everyone enjoyed the site.

We then drove over to Assos which ıs along the coast. Thıs ıs the city mentioned ın Acts 19 where Paul walked from Troas and meet Luke and others and sailed on during his 3rd missıonary journey.

The water is beautiful here and you can see the island of Lesbos in the distance.

Tomorrow we will visit the site of Assos and drive south to Pergamum annd visit both the upper and lower part of the city. The we will spend the night long Aegean once agaın.

John Wineland
Assos Turkey

Greetings from Istanbul Day 3

Hello,

All is well in Istanbul!! Everyone is doing fine.

We had another full day here in Turkey. This morning we visited the Topkapi Palace which served as the center of the Ottoman government and residence of the Sultan for hundreds of years. It is a large palace with a walled courtyard within a courtyard. This was the residence of the Sultan and his harem. We saw many of collections from the Sultan including fine glazed ware from China, precious jewels, imperial swords as well as religious items, e.g. containers of some of the hairs from Muhammed's beard.

After our tour of the palace we had lunch at a roof top restaurant, grilled meats, bread, rice, and watermellon.

We then drove to the Chora Church which is a small but impressive place. It has spectacular mosaics and frescos on its walls and ceilings. One section has scenes from the life of Christ.

We end the day with cruise on the Bosphorus. We boarded the boat and sailed between Asia and Europe.

After we finished our boat ride we walked to the Spice Market and several people sampled the Turkish Delight and various other candies and nuts.

Several from the group made their way to the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul to do some shopping. This is probably the largest market of its type with thousands of shops.

We end the day with dinner on the glass terrance of our hotel.

Tomorrow we head out of Istanbul for a long drive to the west coast of Turkey. We will visit the site of Troy and Assos tomorrow.

John Wineland
Istanbul, Turkey

Greetings from Istanbul Day 2

Hello,

Everyone is fine and doing well!. We had a full day today. We were on a walking tour of the old city of Istanbul. To the left is a group photo we took today.

We began the day with a tour of Roman/Byzantine Hippodrome which seated 40,000 fans. Today the central part of the Hippodrome is preserved in a park. We saw an obelisk from Egypt during the reign of Thutmosis III. It was brought to the spina of the Hippodrome by the Romans. We also saw the remains of the bronze tripod which once stood before the Temple to Apollo in Delphi. We will visit Delphi later in the trip.

Then we visited the famous Blue Mosque, which was built in the 17th century. Its name comes from the blue tiles which decorate the interior. After we stopped for a group photo, we crossed the street to visit the Hagia Sophia or St. Wisdom. This church was built by Justinian in the 6th century A.D. It had the largest dome in the ancient world and it was the largest church building too. This record remained until the construction of St. Peter Basilica in Rome. It is decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescos.

We stopped for lunch near the Hippodrome, some of the group ate in the Pudding Cafe.

After lunch we visited the Byzantine Cistern which held 80,000 cubic meters of water. It is famous for appearing in the James Bond Movie "To Russia with Love" where they ran speed boats through the cistern. It was constructed during the reign of Justinian.

We then walked to the National Archaeological Museum. There we saw the famous Siloam inscription and Gezer Calendar. We also saw the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. In the Near Eastern Building we saw several of the baked glazed tile animals and figures which once lined the entrance way to the Ishtar gate from ancient Babylon. We also saw the earliest international peace treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians.

Then we walked back to the bus and returned to our hotel. We are looking forward to tomorrow when we will visit the Chora Church and Topkapi Palace. We also take a boat ride on the Bosphorus.

John Wineland
Istanbul, Turkey

Greetings from Istanbul

Hello From Istanbul.

Remember it is Istanbul not Constantinople!

We are all fine doing well in our hotel in Istanbul.

We got up early this morning in Athens and made our way to the airport. We left on an Olympic Flight from Athens to Istanbul at 8:05AM.

After we arrived in Istanbul we were joined by Adnan Shaweesh from Amman. He has helped us plan this trip. It is good to have him with us now for a while.

We were greeted by our guide Mehmet and our driver Nejat. We had the same driver 2 years ago on our Turkey Seminar. Our guide is the cousin of our previous guide two years ago.

We had a driving tour around Istanbul and along the water of the city. It is a beautiful city. Tomorrow we will take a tour of the old city. We will visit the Palace and the archaeological museum.

We are staying int he beautiful Cartoon hotel. The lobby is decorated with cartoon character from Warner Brothers and Disney.

John Wineland, Istanbul, Turkey

Our Day In Athens

Hello,


This blog has been used to get everyone ready for the trip. Now I will use it to communicate with friends and family at home so you can follow along with our trip. Also you will know what we are up and that all is well.

Everyone arrived safe and sound the Athens airport and everyone has their lugguage too!!. So that is good news!!!

We travel from the airport to our Hotel the Delphi Art Hotel. After a quick break we made our way to the Acropolis. We toured the Acropolis and and the museum on the Acropolis. Then we walked down the hill to the Aeropagus, Mars Hill where Paul spoke to the Athenians. We then walked down into the Agora and visited the museum and the Temple to Hesphiston. Finally we walked around the acropolis to the Theater of Dionysius.

For more on what see saw today see the following:
http://mellon2006.blogspot.com/2006/06/acropolis-and-national-archaeological.html
http://mellon2006.blogspot.com/2006/06/acropolis.html
http://mellon2006.blogspot.com/2006/06/athens-agora.html
http://mellon2006.blogspot.com/2006/06/agora-etc-pictures.html


The hotel is very nice and tonight we will have dinner at the hotel. Tomorrow we get up early and go to the airport for our flight to Istanbul.

Keep checking the blog for updates. I will try to post them each day.

John Wineland, Athens

One Last Thing

Hi Again,

One more thing. Remember to tell your family and friends about this blog. I will attempt to post a message each day to this blog. This way your family and friends will know what we are doing. They might like to floow along with our daily updates. I will post each evening unless computer access is impossible. So your family and friends will be able to see it by early afternoon each day.

So that address again is http://lee2006.blogspot.com

See you soon

John Wineland, Athens Greece

ARE YOU READY TO TRAVEL???

Hi from Athens,

You will be here very soon. I hope you are ready. Get that bag packed. Bring a camera, film, batteries, memory cards/sticks and extra film, memory, and batteries.

Some last minute advice.

1. Bring your passport!!!!! You can't travel with out it!!!!
2. Bring any medicine you might need!
3. Bring some cash and a ATM card, it works over here. Be sure you know you password, if you remember it as a word be sure you know the numbers because sometimes the letters are not on foriegn machines.
4. Pack light, it is not a fashion show.
5. Bring a little liquid soap to wash things out
6. Drink plenty of water on the flight and during the trip
7. Get some sleep tonight and on the flight
8. Remember our motto for the trip: Plan ahead but be flexible!! We have worked very hard to put together a great trip but some things might happen along the way, so we will have to all adapt.
9. Remember we are a team lets work together and watch out for each other as we travel.
10. Enjoy your trip, it really is a once in a lifetime trip.

Here is our schedule for Friday. I have been working to make our stay here in Athens the best we can make it

This is my best guess at the times:

Friday the plane is scheduled to arrive at 10:10 AM.
I will try to come to meet you at the airport.

At the airport you should change some dollars to euros, or withdraw some money from an ATM, for pocket money for snacks and water.

We should arrive at the hotel about noon.

12-1pm Get checked in and freshen up, get your cameras out etc.

1pm go to the Theater of Dionysus, 1:30-2:00
Climb to the acropolis, visit the acropolis musuem 2-3:30
Mars Hill enroute to the Agora
Agora and museum 3:45-5:30 or so.
Leave for the hotel about 6 or 6:30pm,

Have dinner at 7 or 7:30pm at the hotel.
Rest up for our flight to Istanbul.

I will see you in Athens on Friday.

John Wineland, Athens Greece

Preparing for the Trip

Aerial View of the Acropolis

Hello Everyone,

It was a little warmer in Athens today. I spent the day walking all over the Agora and Areopagus and theater of Dionysus. I hope you are excited. You should be it will be a great trip. We will be busy when on Friday when you arrive. So you should wear clothes and pack in your carry on things you will need when you land. We have a busy day Friday when you land. So you should be ready to tour when you land in Athens. Your plane arrives on Friday about 10:10 I plan on being at the airport if at all possible to meet you. Then we will go directly to the Theater of Dionysus and the Acropolis. After that we will walk through the Agora and then eat a little something. Then we will go to the National museum and final the hotel.

This means you have to have your camera and film, batteries, etc ready to you arrive. So pack them in your carry on lugguage. Also you should wear some good walking shoes, and pack a hat in your carryon. On Saturday you will be able to have a little more rest when we get into Istanbul. So plan ahead and try to sleep on the plane.

Ok I will see you on Friday!!. Remember your passports!!! Pack light !!! Be prepared to tour when you land!!

John Wineland
Athens, Greece

Coin From Athens

This coin has an owl the symbol of Athena

Hello from Athens

Greetings Everyone

I am in Athens now. We arrived this evening. I hope you are getting excited!!! The weather has been great it has been warm but not too hot.

You can read about what I have been in Greece at http://mellon2006.blogspot.com Just click that and you can read all about it.

Here is just a few things to remember as you make finally preparations for the trip.

1. Bring only 1 bag to check and that bag should have rolling wheels if possible. Then you can bring a carry-on bag too. Be sure your carry-on or some bag you bring is handy to carry on the bus and also as we walk around. You will always want to carry wate, notebook, pen, sunscreen, camera, batteries etc. with you. You will not have access to your big bag as we travel and stop. You can bring a water bottle or buy a bottle of water and resuse it when you get here. You should carry water with you each day. Also bring and use sunscreen and also a hat that will shade your face and neck.

The bottom line is you should not bring more than you can personally carry through the airports and also to the hotel. There might be times that you will need to carry all of your luggage personally to and from the hotel; and to and from the bus and through the airports and on the boats. For example today everyone in our group had to move all of our possessions about 4 or blocks from where the bus had to drop us off and the hotel. Remember to bring some liquid soap so you can wash out clothes.

Pack your bags early and then go back the next day and take out about half. You don't need as many clothes as you might think. Also pack enough stuff in your carrying on that you could survive with out your main bag for a few days just in case your bag is lost or delayed. For example my bag was misplaced and I had to live without my bag for 6 days. That is an extreme case but it could happen. If you can you might pack with a friend and each carry half of the others clothes just in case one bag is lost you will still have enough to get along.

Bring good walking shoes. We will be doing a lot of walking.

2. Bring shorts for Greece but also long pants for Turkey, when we are going to enter a mosque or a church everyone will need long pants and shirts that cover shoulders .

3. You can buy international calling card in Greece for about 5 euros and talk for more than an hour. This is a good deal. Turkey I think has similar cards too.

4. Bring lots of film and a camera or if a digital bring memory cards and batteries for your camera. Do not forget a battery charger that can handle 240volts most will say power 240 to 110 accepted. You will need an adapter for for the outlets, it is 2 prong in Greece and I think the same in Turkey you can bring a universal plug adapter at WalMart or Radio Shack and elsewhere. Remember a plug adapter does NOT change the volts for that you will need a transformer.

5. You can get access to internet cafes but sometimes they are slow and expensive. But still to check you email they work well in most places. Be sure you are using some web-based email and that you have email address entered in the web mail or with you (also any important phone numbers)

Greetings from Delphi

Hello

I hope you are getting excited about the trip which leaves in a week. Be sure to only bring one bag with you and a carry on bag. Remember we will have to haul all of our stuff around with us everywhere we go. You should remember any medicines, sunblock, and a hat. You should have a small bag that you can carry with you for your camera, film, batteries, water etc.

Bring some modest shorts with you for Greece and swimsuit. The weather here is very nice sunny and warm. So far not too hot but it could get quite warmer by the time you arrive.

I have already visited Corinth and Mycenae a few days ago get myself ready for our trip. Today I visited the Delphi museum and saw the Gallio inscription. If you don't know what that is read Acts 18 and you see the name Gallio. This inscription is dated and it helps us date Paul's journey to Corinth. We can look at it when you get here.

See you soon.

John Wineland, Delphi Greece

Registration, Updated Syllabus, & Worksheet Information

GreekTemple at Assos, Turkey

Hello everyone!

I hope things are going well with you and your trip planning is progressing fine. I am now home from the England/Scotland trip and can be reached at (423) 339-3209 or at dlh39@aol.com or dhoffman@leeuniversity.edu if you have any questions.

Attached are updated course syllabi for all the trip courses and the worksheets (kind of like take home tests) that you should print out and take with you on the trip. Let me know if you have any questions.

Please remember to be at the Lee University Humanities Center parking lot ready to go NO LATER THAN 5:45 AM on Thursday, June 8 for our departure to Atlanta! See you soon!

Daniel Hoffman

PS. As far as I know, only Nicole Cain will be meeting the group in Atlanta at the American Airline departure gate for the flight to New York. If anyone else does NOT plan to go with the group from Cleveland to Atlanta, I need to know this ASAP! Thanks.

PSS. Luanna Reed and Jason Sharkey have not "finalized" course registration for the trip classes. Please do this ASAP. Contact Kate Price, 614-8104, if you have questions about what to do to complete your registration.