Saturday

We awoke Saturday morning and set off once again for the hilltop monasteries of Meteora and visited a second monastery. These places of prayer can only be described as "other-worldly." I only wonder how the monks are able to maintain a life of prayer with so many of us tourists mulling about!

From Meteora, we departed for Berea, where we ate a late lunch and then visited a bronze statue and small park area commemorating Paul's first footsteps onto European soil in response to the call from "the man from Macedonia" (Acts 16:6-10).

We then set off for museum built around the excavation of the site of the Royal tombs of the Macedonian kings, including Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Unfortunately, no photos were permitted, but it was an incredibly impressive site. Although these were pre-new testament tombs, they helped to paint a picture of the power and wealth that formed the backdrop for the later introduction of the Gospel in that region, some 400 years later.

Finally, we made our way to Thessaloniki and checked into our hotel, located on the beautiful harbor Promenade. I skipped dinner, and "crashed."