Visiting the country of Greece has been on my bucket list for years. I decided this was the year to make it happen since I'm retired and have the time and opportunity to make it happen, so I booked some flights with Turkish Airlines and set off to see what eastern Europe was all about.
First order of business was to determine exact destinations. Even though Athens is the most popular tourist destination in Greece that offers incredible culture and history, I decided to stick to the northern parts of the country this time and focus on Thessaloniki.
I set my sites on finding a centrally-located hotel in Thessaloniki that could offer easy access for me to get to know the country, city and culture better. I found a good deal at the Luxembourg Hotel which was only a couple blocks from the seaside boardwalk along the Aegean Sea and near pedestrian parks that lead to inner parts of the city. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed walking along these public walkways and drinking in what the locals enjoy on a regular basis.
While I am familiar with Paul's letters to the church in Thessaloniki, I wanted to find out what kind of environment he found when he traveled there. So I did a little research on the Ancient Greeks before I left in order to get a more-complete picture of the geographic area and culture I was about to visit.
In essence, I learned that the Ancient Greeks had many gods or supernatural powers over all aspects of life, helping them understand why the world operated as it did along with reason for human behavior. It was in this context that Paul visited Thessaloniki to explain the concepts of the 'one God of the Bible' and His offer of salvation in order to escape judgment for unrepentant sin. Paul spent three weeks at the city's Jewish synagogue, where he reached not only his own people but also the Gentiles who were attracted to Jewish faith and morality.
Paul's missionary journey to Thessalonica, as recorded in Acts 17:1-4:
In essence, I learned that the Ancient Greeks had many gods or supernatural powers over all aspects of life, helping them understand why the world operated as it did along with reason for human behavior. It was in this context that Paul visited Thessaloniki to explain the concepts of the 'one God of the Bible' and His offer of salvation in order to escape judgment for unrepentant sin. Paul spent three weeks at the city's Jewish synagogue, where he reached not only his own people but also the Gentiles who were attracted to Jewish faith and morality.
Paul's missionary journey to Thessalonica, as recorded in Acts 17:1-4:
[1] When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. [2] As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, [3] explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. [4] Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
BULGARIA and NORTH MACEDONA
I have to say my stay at the Sophia Balkan Palace was such an enjoyable part of my trip to Bulgaria. Not only did the hotel courtyard surround the oldest surviving building in the city that I could see from my room, the St George Cathedral, but the hotel was situated a few blocks to my (now) favorite city park by the Ivan Vazov Theatre.
