April 19, 2024 - Thessalonica/Philippi/Lion of Amphipolis/Kavala - part 2

I'm breaking this post into 2 parts because this was a memorable day. 

After visiting the ancient ruins of Phillipi, we enjoyed a delicious Greek meal at the nearby restaurant and small museum store/bookshop. I think I had Greek salads at least 3 or maybe 4 days in a row. ha! You'd think with all the walking we did, plus the salads I would have lost some weight, but alas, there was the huge buffets, the Turkish Delights (with or without nuts, rose flavored being the most popular) and then the baklava and other honey-drenched desserts all over Turkey and Greece. 

Anyway, after lunch we drove a short distance to the town (Lydia) where Paul met Lydia (seller of purple) and other believers at the river where they worshipped. At some of these sites (like the ruins of ancient Phillipi) we know that Paul was there and there is even a crypt that is thought to be the place he was imprisoned, but admittedly no one knows the exact spot. Same for Lydia, we don't know the exact spot along the river that they met, but we do know the river. We visited the Baptistery of Saint Lydia where Paul baptized Lydia and her entire family in 49 or 50 A.D. There we read the account from scripture together and Pastor Craig explained about the selling of purple in those days.

Believe it or not, it takes 10,000 of these guys (below) to make enough dye to color an average size ladies blouse. In those days, only royalty wore purple (or perhaps the very wealthy). This explains why a purple robe was put on Jesus before His crucifixion - because He claimed to be a king. Of course they were mocking Him because they didn't believe that He really WAS a king! 

Being a seller of purple dye, Lydia herself would have been a wealthy business woman in her day. She was also a worshiper of the one true God, but did not know about Jesus and His resurrection until Paul shared the good news of the gospel and the way of salvation to her. So Lydia became the first recorded person in Europe to become a follower of Jesus and the first person Paul baptized at Philippi.

 

10,000 snails - to dye one shirt

One of the ladies in our group asked if she could be baptized, because she had only been baptized as an infant. Of course the pastor was happy to do that, but the water was extremely cold so he gave her the option of just letting him pour water over her head. So even with her bum knee, she managed to get down the stone steps and onto her knees. After that, another man in the group wanted to be baptized, and then yet another. This was all spontaneous, and very meaningful to everyone in the group.

 

I baptize you...

in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

buried with Christ in baptism...

raised to walk in newness of life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

at the baptistry of St Lydia

Nearby was a church named "The Baptistery of Saint Lydia." We were able to go inside (see photos below). It was ornately decorated with many colorful murals and mosaics.

Baptistery of Saint Lydia

one of the beautiful mosaics outside

the tiled floor was a map of all the places Paul visited

narthex ceiling

get your candles here

colorful depictions of Biblical scenes

beautiful mosaic work

view from entry toward river and baptistry

stained glass, painted murals

upper dome

Pastor Craig (L), Kyle & Karen Rodgers

The day was a great ending to a great trip! 

A few days later: 

After a very long and tiresome trip home (30 hours leaving the hotel to our driveway - long story!) we are still getting our days and nights back on US time. The trip was pretty much non-stop "going" from early morning until evening. We actually had one afternoon "off" in the entire 16 days.

Most days consisted of LOTS of walking in difficult places. And there was a ton of information to take in, of which I only absorbed a snippet. But it was exciting to see places that we have only read and heard about. And it was a wonderful opportunity to make new friends and sit under the teaching of a very good pastor. 

My best advice for anyone considering doing the "Steps of Paul" tour is to consider your overall fitness level and any physical limitations you might have (it was quite difficult for me in certain places). We are thankful we got to go, but also for our "sooner rather than later" philosophy because I'm not sure how much longer I would be able to do it. Not trying to discourage, just keepin' it real!

Here is the group we traveled with. Pastor Craig Bollinger (not pictured) was behind the camera. Man on right end is our van driver. Our Turkish guide "Art" is in the middle.