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Greece and Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

Our country is so young when compared to the Mediterranean area.  Several others and I were in awe by some of the things we saw and experienced.  Imagine seeing things built 4000 years ago. 

With so much to see and so little time, it was difficult deciding what to do. We didn’t see any places equipped with facilities for the handicapped.  Most places required walking over uneven terrain, and none of the buses had lifts.  

In Rome we visited Vatican City.  To see the paintings of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in person was awesome.  Some threw coins in Trevi Fountain, making a wish to return.

From the port of Kusadasi, Turkey, we visited the ancient city of Ephesus where St. Paul was imprisoned.  St. John, the Evangelist, lived and died there, as did the Virgin Mary.  The house where she lived now serves as a small church, which attracts many Christians as well as Muslims coming to pray to her.  There are many frescoes, mosaics, and graceful columns that mark the place where St. John lived and died.

In Naples we went to see Pompeii, a buried and ruined Roman city near Mt. Vesuvius, which was destroyed by a volcano.  I would like to go back and visit the Isle of Capri.

While in Egypt, we visited the pyramids and the Great Sphinx, which are located on a desert plateau in Giza, just outside of Cairo.  We took a side trip down the Nile River, and no, you cannot see the pyramids from its banks.

Limassol, Cyprus, since the Middle Ages, has been known for its wine and sugar cane.  It is a lively and cosmopolitan resort and is the second largest city in Cyprus.

We learned that most of the cities in ancient Greece had an Acropolis.  We had already climbed the Acropolis in Rhodes, Greece, a few days before, and now we would climb the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.  The highlight of the trip for several of us was to reach the top and see the crowning glory of Athens, the incomparable Parthenon, built in the latter part of the 5^th century B.C.  We also saw Hadrian’s Arch, which separates the old and new Roman towns.

This was a trip of a lifetime for those who attended. 

Brenda Neil #26798