Heading home

The day has come that my trvels are finished. I am sitting in Rome taking in the last few moment of my excursions before I get on that last train headed towards home. I will be on a train headed towards switzerland airport tonight at 8pm here and flying out by noon tomorrow. It is a sad and pleasant day. It is sad because I am no there are so many things that I got so close to seeing to only watch the moment slip through my fingers. But it is pleasent as I am ready to be back and in familiar sorroundings and with friends and family. It has been a unique experience being so far from the people I love during the two biggest holidays of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas). But the moments that I have had bring to light what really is important in lifeand not just what my culture tries to tell me are important. It is the people in our lives that we share each moment with that make life worth living and not the things that are in our lives, or the time that we spend making 'a living'. I am so glad that I have gotten to see and experience all that I have, but wish even more that I would have had friends to share more of it with along the way. Traveling is so much more when you have someone to share it with and experience the events together in a group. I pray that as I begin my long journey home again that each of you had plenty of shared experiences and community during this most important seasons of celebration and that the joyous memories you have made with friends and family will remain with you as long as that which sustains us. May God be watchful over you and bring you every blessing and gift that He has to give and keep you safe and secure in His shadow as this world continues to spin. My prayers and thoughts are with each of you as my time abroad ends. I pray that I will be seeing you all again very soon.

Rome

Well I have spent the last 2 days in Rome and I must say it is not anywhere near enough time. There is so much to see that even treading over the entire city twice I have only seen a glimpse of it. I haven,t got any way to upload any pictures right now but can,t wait to show you the amazing things I have seen here. It was also a great adventure that I got to share with my cousin Jenifer. She came over to Rome for Christmas with her boydriend and hs family and I got to spend two night catching up on her life and meeting some amazing people (Dan, Larry, and Karen). We had kind of lost touch about three years ago as she was moving around and God was gracious enough to give us this chance to reconnect. Well I pray that each of you had ana amazing Christmas and will have an even more amazing New Year full of Family, Friends and wonder. Stay warm in Heart and Soul and may God bless you every step you take.

OK Picture Time

so it has taken me a while to get the pictures uploaded in so that I can share then. I have been thinking that when I get back to the states of putting together a best of photo album and was just wondering if any of you would be interested in one. email me on what you think. but never the less here are the pictures I got uploaded. Hope they come out alright.

Island of Kos
More of Kos
Island of Rhodes
More of Rhodes
Island of Patmos
Athens Archaeological Museum

Ok back on dry solid round

Ok other than long delays and canceled ferries I am back in Athens and God was gracious and room was found for me in the only inn on Patmos that was open (sort of). So I went from having four days on the Island of John the Divine (as he is referred to on Patmos) to possibly not having any to having two whole days. What can I say travel in the off season is . . . well interesting. I arrived on Patmos at 1 am on Saturday with the plan of being back on a ferry at 3 and having to find somewhere relatively warm to spend until the sun came up around 6:30. Well, as I thought I had checked every possible hotel and room for rent on the Island of Patmos with the constant answer of closed before I left, I went into the only thing on the port with lights on at 1:30 am. Low and behold the man behind the bar tells me that there is a hotel up the hill a ways that is always open (funny they aren't listed on any brochure, website, or travel agency site anywhere) but after roaming for about 30 minutes in a town the size of a large thumb (ok a little exageration) I found the place and they had plenty of rooms, but only two that had heat working in them, I will take one with heat please, not that it is really all that cold here compared to back home but 50's with a wet ocean breeze is not something I like to sleep in. So I crashed until the sun came up and headed out for the two sites on Patmos the Cave of the Apocalypse (where the Apostle John is supposed to have written the book of Revelations), and the Monastery of St John the Theologian, a school/monastery built in honor of John. I started out hiking up the wrong hill. I figured it out as I reached the top and could see the monastery on an adjacent hill. Yeah for directions. Well lets just say that the tourist office is only open in the summer and not many people here in the off season speak English well. So I stopped and had breakfast looking out over the port of Skala which had an excellent view of the entire island and I am not exaggerating it is not very big. So I climb back down the hill and head for the right hill and find the cave. It is not much of a cave anymore as there is an entire complex of rooms and sanctuaries built around it. There is a small church that now occupies the cave with 'the holy spots' fenced or chained off to keep people from . . . I don't know rub the holiness off of them i guess. I got to catch the end of a Greek orthodox church service when I arrived at the cave and they insisted on me joining them for coffee at the priests house at the top of the complex. So even though they didn't speak much English and I do not understand any modern Greek, and I must confess I now know very little Greek at all since I haven't worked with it in almost a year, but we had basic pleasantries and I got some strong coffee and home baked cookies before I got to enter the cave. I spent a few hours in the cave and above it on a little overlook area reading the book the John wrote before I headed up to the monastery. Not looking much like a monastery, but a castle built on a hill, which it was, I was disappointed to find that the majority of the monastery was closed for renovations so I only got into the main courtyard but it had some spectacular frescoes painted on the wall depicting events and saint of the past. Well as my clock showed it getting on to a little after 1 pm and my ferry was to leave at 2:20 pm I thought it best to head on back down to town only to find out at 2:45 that the ferry had been canceled because of bad weather at some port I couldn't understand and there wouldn't be another boat back to Kos until tomorrow (23 sun) morning. Well I didn't see any point in going back to Kos just to come back through Patmos a few hour (hopefully) later as the ferry stops at Patmos on it's way to Athens so I made sure the ferry for tomorrow night was still going as best the knew and headed back to the only inn for another night. Needless to say I found ways to kill the time until the 1 am ferry to Athens on Sunday, I just wish it could have been on the beautiful beaches of the island sunning and swimming but it could have been much worse hey I was stranded on a Mediterainin Greek Island for an extra day with beautiful views and deep history

Ok so I guess I lied to you all and didn't know it till this morning

I am glad that I checked my email before I left tonight for Patmos. As it turns out the entire Island is closed. Well sort of. There are no rooms, or even beds available during this time of season. The place I thought I had booked confirmed that they are in fact closed until March, so much for online booking. So it took some more juggling schedules on ferries and other such expensive things to find out I can still go to Patmos for a single day and then I will spend a day on Rhodes and get another day and then some here on Kos. So although I do not get to spend the four days wandering the island of Patmos I still get to see it and add the Island of Rhodes to my travels and a lot more time on ferries moving back and forth through the Aegean Sea. So as my time dwindles down out in the world it seems my transport troubles continue to plague me during the off season in this part of the world. Well here is looking to all that lays ahead of me and all the pictures I can't wait to share with anyone who even looks like they may be interested when i get home (hehehe) Ta Ta 4 Now

Back in Greece (Sort of)

Ok while technically I am in Greece there is a lot of water between me and Athens. I didn't get to visit everywhere I had planned to in Turkey because little did I know there is a huge (Christmas travel size) holiday in Islam that started today. The buses and trains have been busting at the seems and people are crawling all over one another for any available seat to get out and celebrate. Amazingly enough you will never guess what the holiday is for. Talking to a Muslim in a train station as I waited three hours for the next available bus I found out that there is a four day celebration of when (now get this) Allah stopped the hand of Abraham from sacrificing his son Ishmeal on the alter at Mt. Moriah. you read that correctly. In Islam it is believed that it was Ishmeal and not Issac that Abraham took to the alter at the command of God to sacrifice. It was Ishmeal that God stop Abraham from killing as that was his beloved son and not Issac. This was a but surprising to me when I heard it, but there are a lot of other stories that are a little twisited in the telling between Old Testament and the Koran. The gentlemen that was nice enough to share this with me was a very nice guy. He helped translate for me as I was trying to get a ticket on any bus heading out of Istanbul toward Ephesus, which ended up being a midnoght one to Izmir. But like I said everyone is out trying to catch any seat available for this holiday. I had wanted to hit a few more sites out east in Turkey but thought it best to get out of the country while I still could. I do have a flight to catch in Athens on the 26 and it has been taking about two days to get anywhere arounf here so I figured leave now or not at all. So I got to Izmir early about 10 am and caught an afternoon bus to Selcuk and walked the couple miles out to Ephesus and around the ancient city. I caught another late night bus for Bodrum and spent the night there. Bodrum has a old Crusader fortress built in the HArbour that I got a chance to visit in the morning before I caught the ferry out to Kos (where I am presantly). It was used by the Hospitaler Knights during their campaigns against the Muslims after the crusaders had been completely removed from the Holy Land. The Templars and Hospitaler Knights held several Greek Islands and they took Bodrum during a raid on the mainlands and fortified the city. The Sister castle on Kos was also a nice place to visit and have a short walk through history. Well as for me all things are well and I must say I am excited because of the travel situation I will be imprisoned on the Island of Patmos for four days what a tragedy. I hope you can read the sarcas in that. I get to spend four whole days walking over the Island where John wrote Revelation and sit in the cave where he worte it with the plans on reading it through. Thank you all for your prayers and interest. I hope to see you all when I return back to the states the end of Dec. God Bless each and everyone one of you.

oops almost forgo the links to the pictures

Istanbul 1
Istanbul 2
Ephesus 1
Ephesus 2
Castles of Bodrum and Kos

Istanbul

Well I am here in Istanbul and I have pictures to prove it

Istanbul
Istanbul 2

Trains

Well I am not sure about this whole trains plan. I have yet to take a train that arrived or even left on time since I left Israel. I heard so much about the train systems of Europe but I think I have to question those assumptions. y train was to leave Thessaloníki's last night at 8 it finally left at 12:30 and it was supposed to be a 12 hour trip it took14 hours and we finally got in at close to 3 pm just in time to watch stuff closing up. Well I guess I am here and am going to go at least walk the city for a while. The view from my balcony is overlooking the water front and I can watch the boats/ship traveling the channel up too the black sea. Well just thought I would drop a line and let you know where I was I am off to see what we can see.

Thessaloniki

Ok so another city down on the list. I just spent 5 hours walking around Thessaloníki in the snow. You got that right in the snow. It was a bit chilly, but walking several miles will help keep you warm. There are some amazing spots here in Thess, but they are all right in the middle of the city and it kind of breaks that whole lost in ancient times exploration mentality. I visited a couple museums here on is the Byzantine Cultural Museum which was amazing. It is basically an entire museum filled with Byzantine Christian art, sculpture, architecture everything. that is a big shift from where I have been in the middle east. The other was the Thessaloníki Archeology Museum which was also cool. Lots of sculpture and other amazing artifacts all the way back to prehistory. The links for the pictures are below someday I might actually get around to labeling them better but the stuff from the museum I tried to get the description in with the pic. Well the snow is still coming down here and I have a couple more hours to kill before my train to Istanbul so time to pull out a good book and curl up on a not so comfortable chair. Anyone got some hot Coco.

Thess 1
Thess 2

Athens-Corinth

Ok so I made it out of Athens and thought I would give you the links to look at the amazing time I had although it was raining throughout my walk around the old city. I am also including the link for my time in Corinth which was shorter than I would have liked because the have unposted winter hours which took about two hours off of my time there but it was amazing. I didn't get the chance to climb up the Acocorinth to see the temple and fortress which I photographed a couple times on that high peak. I am in Thessaloníki now for the day and headed out for Istanbul this evening at 8pm here which in noon for all of you back in Nebraska. Well it is snowing here which was kind of nice to watch, although a little cold, but I got to see snow capped mountains on my way out to Drama yesterday before it started snowing which was a real treat coming from the great flat mid of the country. Well hope you are all doing well and now I am off.

Athens 3
Athens 4
Corinth 1

Out of there

Well the strike ended I got to see many of the sites around Athens and headed out for Thessaloníki. So I sit here as the sun rises with a chilly wind blowing around. Who would have thought that the Paradise of Greece would have ever gotten this cold, well I didn't so it is a good thing I am from Nebraska and like cold weather although it would have been nice for some nice sunny days to walk around in. Well after they allow me to check in to my room here at Hotel Rex, I am back on the train towards Philippi for the afternoon. I was informed this morning that during the strike out in front of Parliament in Athens that they had riots and that the police quick reaction teams were called in to quell the violence. Well let me just say this if there was riots I didn't see any of them and I was watching the protest march out in front of Parliament for 40 mins or so the walked through the National Gardens right next to Parliament for about another hour the watched the Guards in front of the Presidential Home, just down the street a little ways from Parliament for another 30 mins or so while the changed over and never saw or heard anything remotely like a riot or clashing of the Titans just a bunch of people walking the streets with picket signs protesting the Government reducing their retirement benefits, raising the retirement age and refusing to increase their pay as the cost of living increases. Hey that sounds really familiar I wonder why that is :> Well I pray that all of you are having a much less exciting time than I am watching riots and sleeping on rock hard train platforms, but Hey I got to see the Acropolis of Athens so I guess it works out in my favor. God Bless each one of you.

On again

Well it seems that again sometime while I was sleeping the strike ended without anyone getting what they wanted as I am told is how these things always end here in Greece. The people strike and then give up because the government never gives in to them no matter how long they strike, so basically it was just a day off of work for them. So I am hoping that at 8 am this morning I can get back on with my travels and get to see the sites up close and not through fences. But on a less favorable note it is raining here in Athens and bit chillier that it was yesterday so good and bad news same day I guess that evens it out. Well if the strike is off so am I and Corinth is next on the list. I won't be on for a couple days so hope everything is going well with all of you and God Bless.

Strike

Well sometime between when I went to bed last night and when I woke up this morning the strike expanded to include several national agencies. I left the hostel this morning at around 7 to get a head start on the walks to the sites I wanted to see as the transit system was on strike. When I got to the Agora I was told that the archeology sites were on strike as well, but that the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus, because they are handled by the national system exclusively may still be open. So I circled the fences of the Agora taking the best pictures I could, and headed off to the Acropolis. As I stood from the top of the Aereopogos looking out over the city and watched the sun rising behind the Acropolis you could see that all the gates and shutters around the Acropolis where still shut an hour after they were supposed to open, and sure enough the Acropolis was closed for the strike as well. So I walked the perimeter of the Acropolis and took some more pictures. I came back to the hostel with news that the strike had spread and may be extended more than the original 24 hours it was planned for. So keep this in your prayers that they will resolve this dispute and I can at the least leave Athens to see the rest of Greece and hopefully Turkey as well. God Bless each on of you.

Athens
Athens 2

Athens

I am in Athens. Yeah. I arrived this afternoon and just got checked into my hostel in the Old City of Athens area. I also wanted to ask for prayers because as I was checking in I found out the the city is scheduled for a strike starting tomorrow so there will be no public transport of any kind. It is a good thing that everything I am wanting to see is with in walking distance for the most part, but it will be interesting to see what all is going to be affected by the strike as to if I can get out of Athens Thursday or not. But I am alive and doing well and looking forward to a full day of exploring tomorrow. The Agora and acropolis are top on the list and then we will see after that. There is supposed to be an amazing public bus tour that hits 20 of the most popular spots in Athens, but of course the strike makes that a non possibility. Well just thought I would check in and let you all know what is going on. hopefully tomorrow night I can upload some pictures for you all to see Greece. So long for now.

Egypt

I don't have a lot of time tonight since we just got back but I wanted to upload some pictures for you to see what I have been up too for the last 8 days.

Egypt 1
Egypt 2
Egypt 3
Egypt 4
Egypt 5