Greece & Turkey with Patrick Madrid
In the Footsteps of Saint Paul

Today we depart the U.S.A. on an overnight journey to Greece (flight not included).

Upon arrival into Thessaloniki, we’ll meet our Canterbury tour manager at our hotel for check-in and dinner (hotel address provided 30 days before departure).

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for our guided tour beginning with Kavala, the port where Paul first landed with Timothy and Silas. We then continue on to Philippi, where Paul was imprisoned. We view the prison, the marketplace, basilica, and theater. We’ll also visit Amphipolis, the famous starting point of Alexander the Great’s mission to “conquer the world.”

Today, we will walk the places the Apostle Paul walked in Thessaloniki, including the Agora where he preached and the walls where Jason’s home was and where St. Paul also lived. We will also see St. George Church, the Galerius Arch, and the Basilica of St. Sophia and St. Demetrios before continuing Veria, where St Paul preached at the BEMA. We drive to Kalambaka.

Today we will visit Metéora, where we will ascend huge granite rocks to view architectural wonders that are over 700 years old. We visit a monastery with its church and museum containing priceless historic and religious treasures. We drive to DELPHI.

This morning we visit Delphi. We’ll see the Treasury of Athens, the Theater, an archeological museum, and the first monument built in the ancient world to “One God.” Later, we drive to Athens.

Our tour today takes us to the Acropolis and the ruins of the Parthenon, and Mars Hill with a view to the Ancient Agora of Athens – St Paul addressed the judges of Athens at Mars Hill. We will also enjoy a panoramic tour of other ancient sites and landmarks of modern Athens.

We transfer to the port of Piraeus for embarkation on our cruise ship. Enjoy the many shipboard activities or just relax while sailing to Mykonos. Here, we’ll walk to the famous windmills and stroll in the narrows of the island!

This morning we dock at Kusadasi, the starting point for our tour to Ancient Ephessos, site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We’ll visit the ancient town where the Apostle Paul lived and preached. Then we’ll visit the humble chapel that lies on the site of the little house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have spent her last days. In the late afternoon we arrive at the island of Patmos and the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, who received the Revelation here that forms the last book of the New Testament.

This morning we arrive in Heraklion, Crete, site of the Palace of Knossos, legendary home of the Minotaur. This afternoon we sail to Santorini, perched on the rim of an ancient volcano and believed by many to be the site of the Lost Continent of Atlantis.

With a renewed sense of pilgrimage and an invigorated love of our Catholic faith, we say farewell to our fellow pilgrims as the pilgrimage comes to a close this morning (flight not included).