Corinth - the climax of our pilgrimage In the Steps of St Paul

The sea is grey today, reflecting the cloud cover as the sun struggles to come out. We are following the coast road to Corinth, 70 kilometres south of Athens beyond the Canal of Corinth, which connects the Aegean and Ionian seas. We enjoy beautiful views of the sea to our left for much of the way, with the Island of Salamina clearly visible in the distance across the bay.

Corinth was second only to Rome in its ancient heyday, and we are promised something much greater than Ephesus, which I recall clearly from a baking hot visit on holiday in Turkey many years ago.

We are to see the Bema - the seat of judgment and authority, elevated above the crowds. The Jews were offended by Paul saying that Jesus Christ was the chosen one, resurrected for us. The leaders and Kings were offended that Christ through Paul's teachings usurped their authority. But Gallio the Proconsul before whom Paul was brought by the angry Jews could see no case to answer and dismissed Paul before he even needed to defend himself. See Acts 18.

Corinth is forever remembered through Paul's letters to its church there, formed after his first visit. a young church which has become tainted by the general paganism and immorality of the day. Here he recruited two assistants in his mission - Priscilla and Aquila. Paul departed here from the port of Corinth, Cenchreae on his way to Ephesus.

The Corinth Canal service area where we make a comfort stop on the way to Corinth served for an expensive 2.50 Euros what was without doubt the very worst coffee of the trip, and it was surely instant coffee. 

Comfort break!

The City of Corinth and the Island of Rhodes apparently have the most sunshine in Greece, but it's still quite cloudy when we arrive, although the sun soon comes out for us.

Here among the ruins at Corinth in a lovely setting we gather together for our final open-air Eucharist. A distant church bell strikes twelve as we begin and the Dean gives a homily on Paul's reading in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 4: 7) - we now have this treasure as a light from God in our hearts, but we are like clay jars in all their fragility and all power comes from God alone. The Dean reflects on the fragility of human nature and the difficulties of getting on with each other even today, so visible in international tensions. It is lovely to hear a Hong Kong pilgrim group echoing our service in the distance and singing hymns and alleluias. Finally Rob reads with great sensitivity the letter from Paul to the Corinthians on love ("If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love...") and two tourists listening on the periphery of our group are visibly moved: as indeed was I.

the dog who accompanied us all
around the site!

We finish with the Grace - "The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore Amen".

So much information is available on line about Corinth - with a good article on its biblical significance here and its history here - suffice here to show some photos of our visit.

As we leave some of us have time to rush down to the theatre - where we find the name of Erastus carved in the stone - possibly this being Paul's friend Erastus mentioned in Romans 16: 23 and 2 Timothy 4: 20. This is a rare and important archaeological find.

Erastus plaque

A taverna on the bank of the Corinth Canal gives us the best food of the holiday - great ambiance with Greek locals making music and dancing as only they can - some of us even join in. Two of us share a vegetable platter - very good indeed for just 7 Euros, plus two local beers, as we watch the canal road bridge lowering into the water to allow boats through. As the level is raised again, seagulls and local boys compete in trying their luck at catching the trapped fish brought up from below. The waiters are rushed off their feet serving us all and do a great job. If Corinth was spiritually satisfying, this restaurant experience was magical in its own way.

Tonight we have dinner all together in the Thissio View Restaurant which has the most fantastic views over the Acropolis - for a while many of us try to get the perfect shot from the restaurant balcony of the Acropolis at sunset, while all food is forgotten.

So Saturday arrives and it is time to go home. In the morning we are left to explore Athens on our own and many of us make immediately for the marvellous new Acropolis Museum in an attempt to beat the later crowds who will throng through its doors. And this museum should certainly not be missed on any trip to the city.

the Acropolis at night

I then have time to further explore the area around the acropolis, and the plaka, or shopping area, and I have to revise my initial impressions. Athens is a remarkable city and I would love to return to see even more of its many treasures. 

Corinth Temple of Apollo

The pilgrimage has had its highs and lows for me. But overall it has been a wonderful experience both spiritually and culturally even if I have not always been as receptive in the moment as perhaps I could have been.

Images that will stay with me:

The warmth and friendliness of the people

The lovely hot dry sunshine and the sparkling blue sea

Plentiful food - at the centre of life!

The beauty of the countryside and the pink and white Oleander everywhere

Religiosity of the people in its sense of "piety", or "the state of being religious".

Crazy drivers and the general disregard for seat belt and other laws - reflected in so many sad roadside shrines.

The Bema information board at Corinth 

The Bema or Rostra at Corinth

The fountain courtyard Corinth

Enormous thanks go to McCabe Pilgrimages who as ever organised the whole trip so well for us, to our lovely guide Mara who gave us so much guidance and information and our driver Tassus who looked after us so carefully, to the Very Revd. Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark cathedral for his excellent spiritual guidance and leadership and to Mark Vernon for adding so much to the pilgrimage with his philosophical perspective on early Christianity. 

Eleusis on our way to Corinth - In the steps of St Paul

view towards the Greater Propylaea

At the moment you will have gathered that, at least to start with, I didn't much like Athens. My first impression is that it is noisy and dirty and assaults all the senses; but this perhaps is saying more about me, not a great city lover at the best of times, and others may well feel very differently and wonder what I mean. There are not enough of what I would call "thin" places here and I feel I shall be glad to get out of it to visit Corinth. Sometimes I have struggled to feel like a pilgrim on what for me has often felt more like a cultural tour. We were not allowed to hold a service at the Acropolis. I guess if everyone wanted to do that chaos would ensue - the sheer numbers there mean that the crowds need to keep moving. But it is mainly the pithy and pertinent blogs from our Dean which have grounded me in the pilgrimage and helped me refocus on the real purpose of our trip - in the steps of St Paul on his second missionary journey into Europe.  

 

Today our final destination and the climax of our pilgrimage is Corinth, (it was a very special place for Paul as well - he stayed for one and a half years here plying his trade as a tentmaker and taking full advantage of the reception given to his missionary activities especially by the pagan Gentiles).

But first we visit Eleusis. 

We are driving along the route of the sacred path that Athenians would have taken to Eleusis. They would have stopped frequently for dancing and making sacrifices along the way. This is one of the few sites not given over by Greeks to archaeological experts from other countries. 

the well

So we arrive. Wow! Today the town has become a suburb of Athens and the archaeological remains of this important site, first inhabited during the period 1900 - 1500 BC. when it was more important than Athens, is now surrounded by industrial estates and close to the largest oil refinery site in Greece, where the majority of the country's crude oil is imported. Small wonder that many tourists just drive by on the nearby motorway with scarcely a sideways glance, but it is worth much more attention than that. 

Marble sarcophagus of Roman Times (2nd century A.D.)
with a scene of the hunting of the Calydonian Boar
on the front

The extensive temple ruins here are famous for being the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important religious initiation ceremonies of the Ancient Greeks, held annually since the Mycenian period (c. 1600 - 1100 BC) celebrating the myth of the abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the God of the Underworld Hades. Mara tells us of this myth of Persephone - as we drive to the site. The cult of Demeter and Persephone may have been based on an ancient agrarian cult, the myth being used by the Greeks to explain the different seasons of the year. The secret rites, complex ceremonies and sacred meals were thought to confer rewards to the initiated in the after-life and it is possible, according to some scholars, that psychedelic drugs would have been brought into use to induce visions. It is also thought that these experiences could have influenced the early Christians and even have links with our Eucharistic traditions taught by Christ. 

Dean Inge, William Ralph Inge, formerly of St Pauls Cathedral, London, in a series of divinity lectures on Christian mysticism delivered in the late nineteenth century, (now available in digitally remastered book form )

concluded: "It is plain that this is one of the cases in which Christianity conquered Hellenism by borrowing from it all its best elements; and I do not see a Christian need feel any reluctance to make this admission." Mark Vernon in his own blog writes: 

Eleusis amphora from 7th c. BC

"Personally, I think that this adoption of the practice and theology of the mysteries is crucial to knowing the life in all its fullness that Jesus lived and taught, and Paul so profoundly experienced and knew."  

Dionysius the Areopagite, one of the founders of mystical Christianity, may have been initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries and therefore he was ready for Pauls' further insight into the mysteries of Christ, for example when Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58:

" Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed ...“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Dionysius used the language of the Mysteries frequently, drawing on their good aspects without their corruptions in writing about the Christian faith. 

There is plenty of the language of mystery in Paul's letters to the Corinthians. 

1st c. BC Caryatid in museum

Here I find my first wonderfully "thin" place, Delphi running a close second. The spirituality is palpable. Perhaps we are the only ones here at the moment. There is clearly much excavation work to do and it seems that the Greeks are very clued up to saving valuable archaeological evidence whenever there are new projects in hand. 

There is a fabulous albeit small museum, not to be missed, where the most priceless artefacts from the site are stored. It is small but well worth the visit for all the statues, vases, friezes and many small objects on display. On pressing, the shop produces an excellent English guide which many of us buy for further reading.

The Telesterion - the large hall where initiates watched
the rituals 

The breeze here at Eleusis is cool and gives a pleasant relief from the heat for many, although I am one of the fortunate ones as I have not been overly bothered by this week's temperatures in the mid 30s. It is such a dry heat, not the enervating humid sticky heat of so many other places.
We move on towards Corinth...

Travelling through Greece - In the Steps of St Paul - Verea

Loudias river

Monday dawns and we have a long day ahead as we leave Thessaloniki for the Meteora mountains - a place we are told will be quite beyond words. Along the way we will visit Beroea (now Veria), and the very modern monastery of The Holy Monastery of St John the Forerunner, in total isolation a few tortuous miles beyond the mountain village of Anatoli. 

paddy fields and egrets

We drive parallel with the coastline towards the site of Veria where St Paul went after his escape from Thessaloniki in the middle of the night Acts. This would have been a long trip for him. But he was rewarded by the people, Jews and Gentiles, who were all more open to his Gospel teaching than they had been in Thessaloniki. Jews from Thessaloniki however heard of Paul's success here and set out to incite trouble for him here, so again he moved on 17 vv 10-14

Now Verea is home to the largest wind farm in Greece.

 

Our journey out of Thessaloniki crosses a very large flat plain, with rice paddy fields as far as the eye can see. There are plenty of bulrushes in wet ditches and the pink Oleander is still lining the roadside. Lots of white egrets in the fields stand motionless and upright - watching for food in the water.  We're crossing the alluvial Axios Delta, known as well for its rich fishing, bird population and oyster farming as for its rice fields.

the Bema modern memorial 

We're soon approaching the mountains, appearing eerily in the distance through the haze across a patchwork of fields in the foothills. We cross the Loudias river. Its valley is fertile but the land is getting drier and the crops are changing to tobacco, potatoes, beans. Three labourers are hand-hoeing a huge field - hay is being made in another - and a road turns off for Veria.

in commune with St Paul

From the state of its attractive houses on the way into the centre of the village in our coach, Veria looks altogether wealthier than anywhere else we have seen.  Mara confirms that yes they have done quite well for themselves. This is a very fertile area for apricots, almonds, lettuce, cucumber. Also there was a huge fire in the 1930s which meant that many houses had to be replaced. Saffron is produced in a nearby village and ornamental bay trees adorn the sides of the main street we are driving down - all very pretty.

water melons for sale

There are many significant Byzantine monuments to explore here in Veria for the tourist but we head straight for the "bema", the oracle's podium or steps on which St Paul is said to have addressed the people eager to hear the Good News, set in a new memorial. 

In the centre is the bema itself with St Paul, and to the left and right mosaics commemorating his Macedonian Call and his preaching here respectively. 

St Paul

at the bema monument - minaret in distance

For those with time to spare here, I understand that the Anastasis Church is a must, with its spectactular frescoes from 1315. A coffee shop near to the bema serves the most excellent cappuchino and a bargain at only 1 Euro! One is tempted to pay more. A tip is welcome.

a colourful balcony in Veria

We soon have to retrace our steps and move on - and before long are passing close to Vergina, known for some of the most important archaeological finds in Greece, unearthed in the 20th century, including the Macedonian Tombs (among which is that of King Phillip II of Macedonia) and the ruins of the lavishly decorated Palace of Palatitsia from at least the 3rd century BC, maybe even earlier - many treasures from here are in Thessaloniki's Archaeological Museum and much more is likely to be found. 

We're back on the road in the direction of Mt Olympus and the Holy Monastery of St John the Forerunner.

Travelling through Greece - in the Steps of St Paul - Thessaloniki

sunrise in Kavala

Another lovely day has dawned. The fishing boats have left harbour by the time I awake - the sea is still and shimmering in the pink hue of dawn before the sun is fully risen. After an early breakfast we all make sure that our own bags have been placed on board and so we are off again in the coach bound for Thessaloniki, retracing our steps of the day we arrived and once again following in the steps of St Paul. 

Not much survives here from the 1st century BC but not only has it always been a thriving seaport, it is an important city for the spreading of the Christian gospel - there was a large Jewish community here and Paul preached several times at the synagogue albeit with little success, but many pagans and women were open to his message, some taking it so literally that they ceased work as they waited for the second coming, understood to be imminent. But he thereby also infuriated many Jews, who mobbed Jason's house where the apostles were lodging. So Paul and Silas set off once more this time for Beria. (Acts 16:11-17:14)

Much of the highway we are following from Kavala to Thessaloniki is easy on the eye - with plenty of pink Oleander, tall cypress trees and dramatic rock faces interspersed with woodland and agricultural tracts of land.

We cross the Strymonas River near to the city of Amphipolis, an important city for Philip II - this very fertile area of Macedonia was much fought over. Paul, Silas and Timothy used this as a staging post on their way west to Thessaloniki from Kavala. 

on the seafront at Thessaloniki

We do not have time to detour to see the Lion of Amphipolis, reassembled from 4th century fragments and guarding the mouth of the river. It is quite probable that the apostles saw and appreciated the splendid mane and glaring eyes of this huge statue. Amphipolis made headlines recently with the discovery of a huge funeral monument - to a woman - who could be Alexander the Great's mother Olympias so there is obviously a  huge interest. But there is also controversy and uncertainty as the research continues. There is a superb website where full analysis is available with 3D and interactive representations.

the White Tower

The modern service areas on this new road are superb. At our comfort stop today along the road we enjoy great coffee overlooking the Aegean Sea - and no queues for the loo either! We see storks flying over the Volvi lake - this is good luck for Greeks. Suddenly a loud bang - the lorry we are about to overtake blows a tyre - lots of dust and debris fly up - our driver skilfully avoids a more serious mishap. Few seem to wear seat belts here - even young children.

Workers are hand tending grapes, small herds of cows are seen but they are few and far between, a man kneeling in his field waves to us - he is planting something, but I cannot see what? A solitary manual job but he is clearly happy. Grain is being harvested - there are beautiful red poppies among the oats or barley. Nearer to Thessaloniki farming is on a larger scale. There is a large American Genetics factory . Here is not the forum for me to delve deeper into my own concerns re genetic modification if that is what they do. Then we see lots of closed down industrial units on industrial estates on the outskirts of the city. It all seems very sad, looking for all the world as if the owners just locked up one night and walked away from their failed businesses leaving vehicles to seemingly rot away in the yards.

up at citadel above Thessaloniki

So we arrive. I love the way Mara our guide pronounces Thessaloniki, with emphasis on the "al" and the "iki"! 

First we have a brief photo stop down on the port front, to see the imposing White Tower, and statue of Alexander the Great. We stroll down to the water's edge - it is very pleasantly warm at 11.30 in the morning and there are plenty of families strolling and relaxed - in spite of all their troubles - as Mara puts it: "how unhappy can you be in this sunshine?"

Then we drive up to Ano Polis, the highest point, to the Acropolis and what remains of the city walls - just 8km. There are panoramic views up here and on a clear day Mount Olympus can be seen more than 62 miles away.

We can see churches everywhere here.

Agia Sophia - wedding in progress

In 1917 seventy percent of the old city was destroyed by a great fire starting in a kitchen, destroying much of the Jewish quarters, which gave the city planners the opportunity to come up with a chance to redesign the layout.

Up at the citadel we have a short reading (Philippians1:27-30, Paul urging the young church in Philippi not to be intimidated by their opponents) and we reflect on "turning the world upside down" - and how the residents here must also have felt about Paul's visit. We sing the hymn: "City of God, how broad and far Outspread thy walls sublime!" and have a short prayer.

St Demetrius Basilica 

On our way through the town we see the new construction of the metro underground in progress - it is taking a long time Mara tells us because of cost, budget cuts and austerity measures, and archaeological discoveries which intervene - this will bring huge improvement to the city once completed and it is popular with students.

Taxis in Kavala were orange and white - here they are blue and white - in Athens they will be yellow - different cities had different colours - you knew where you were by the colour! Colours still stick although no longer obliged by regulation.

There is so much Graffiti - Mara says this is mostly about football and not political - but surely much elsewhere is political?

The condition of many houses seems appalling - even when occupied! This is because ownership is often not clear - they could have been lived in by Armenians, Jews, Muslims we are told - who have moved out and they then get very rundown. It is of course difficult to sort out ownership without deeds but the Greeks are trying to sort this out. 

Now it is time to visit some of the important churches here...Agia Sophia and St Demetrius Basilica - described next...

Travelling through Greece - in the Steps of St Paul - back in Kavala

Fire breaks zig-zag crazily down through the forests - fire must be a real hazard here in such searing temperatures and tinder dry vegetation. It is a big asparagus growing area - we see the fields on our way back to Kavala - bright orange pots are for sale at the roadside - all one price - 5 Euro. Allotments look very much like mine at home - complete with scarecrows. We pass remnants of the original Via Egnatia - and plenty of beehives - plus many little road side shrines - commemorating victims of road accidents. We visited Philippi this morning and have the rest of the day free in Kavala to have lunch and explore further.We see plenty of 1920s refugee accommodation lining the streets coming down into old city - contrasting sharply with the stunning views of the port laid out below us.

beehives

 Barley is being grown in quantity for the local Fix beer - which is very good - and is now building up its own export business. Thinking of beer, it is lunch time. There are plenty of water front tavernas plying their trade. The appetizers are all huge and it is obviously expected that a variety of appetizers are ordered and shared between a group - that is clearly the way to do it - like Georgia and Jerusalem and Turkey on previous pilgrimages. The double headed eagle by the port is symbol of the Byzantine empire.

  

locals enjoying the Kavala beach

Kavala beach

After lunch I take myself off to explore the coast to the west of the hotel - I shared my breakfast table this morning with a lady who is staying in the hotel while she visits a friend in the town and I mistook her on the first morning for a member of our group. She has told me that there is a swimming beach further round from the port, where the locals play and swim and I'm off to find it. It is quite a walk, given the afternoon heat. I go through the incredible aftermath of the Saturday street market - rubbish galore, but all being meticulously swept up by two men with nothing more than two small besom type brooms. Tomorrow there will be no trace left and all will be clean and tidy again. But as I leave the old town and port and approach the beach side promenade there is a dramatic change. The prom is but a shadow of its former glory - gardens neglected and everything including three changing cubicles on the beach itself so run down, with graffiti just about everywhere. The sand is very gritty but the sea is certainly not cold and local families are out in force enjoying themselves all along the beach. Paddling and swimming in the sea and enjoying the sand is free entertainment where financial worries can be put aside for a while.

interesting art/graffiti

Walking back to the hotel through the town itself it is suddenly eerily deserted. Most of the shops seem to be shuttered for the siesta and there appears to be a storm brewing. The atmosphere has become very heavy and thick black clouds are visible in the distance. Near the back entrance to the hotel I come upon a plinth commemorating Alexander the Great. An elderly Greek man comes up to me and starts gesticulating wildly. Have I done something wrong? But he seems friendly and after many smiles and waving of arms I understand that he is simply telling me what a very great man Alexander the Great was.

Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. July 356 BC to 323 BC, His father was Philip II of Macedon, his mother Olympias. By the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, a new Hellenistic civilization and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non Greek cultures. Along with his teacher Aristotle he is often thought of as one of the most influential people of all time.

Enticing cake shop Kavala

On the side of the statue as I walk around it I see a plaque recording the oath which Alexander the Great gave at Opis in 324 BC, just one year before he died, at a banquet before 9,000 Greek and Asian officers. Below is not perhaps quite the exact translation recorded in Kavala - but it's close. Please read it - oh if only!

Alexander the Great Plinth Kavala

“It is my wish, now that wars are coming to an end, that you should all be happy in peace. From now on, let all mortals live as one people, in fellowship, for the good of all. See the whole world as your homeland, with laws common to all, where the best will govern regardless of their race. Unlike the narrow -minded, I make no distinction between Greeks and barbarians. The origin of citizens, or the race into which they were born, is of no concern to me. I have only one criterion by which to distinguish their virtue. For me, any good foreigner is a Greek and any bad Greek is worse than a barbarian. If disputes ever occur among you, you will not resort to weapons but will solve them in peace. If need be, I shall arbitrate between you. See God not as an autocratic despot, but as the common father of all and thus your conduct will be like the lives of brothers within the same family. I on my part, see you all as equal, whether you are white or dark-skinned. And I should like you not simply to be subjects of my commonwealth, but members of it, partners of it. To the best of my ability, I shall strive to do what I have promised. Keep as a symbol of love this oath which we have taken tonight with our libations”.

the double headed eagle at Kavala Port

The threat of storm has come to nothing. By 6 pm the harbour is bustling once again with life and activity in the tavernas, the economy helped no doubt by the very large ship in port for the night - a Hellenic Seaways liner or ferry. Many passengers offload here, with their assortment of baggage, some probably arriving home after trips to who knows where, others on the tourist trail. The roads have suddenly become very busy indeed, and where casual jay walking was the order of the day earlier on, now I have to use the lights to cross safely. I see an elderly man with a very old push chair of the simple folding type I used for my sons all those many years ago. But there is no child in this buggy. It is full of garlic bulbs, held together in ropes reminiscent of the way I have seen the French carry them on their bicycle handle bars. Here the Greek is pushing his wares from restaurant to restaurant hoping for sales before the busy evening restaurant trade.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Kavala and continue to Thessaloniki...in the Steps of St Paul...

Travelling through Greece In the Steps of St Paul - Kavala

Lake Koronia

The journey from Thessaloniki airport to Kavala is scenic and pretty, pink and white Oleander lining much of the main road, and we pass through olive groves and coniferous woodlands. There are election posters everywhere and the inevitable roadside litter, although it has to be said that this seems far less of a problem here than, sad to say, either in beautiful Caucasian Georgia or indeed in the UK where our litter problem is shameful.

The castle above the town

We are heading out Eastwards on the main road which was supposed to have been finished for the 2004 Olympics. It was not: apparently rare local brown bears, archaeological treasures and the mountainous terrain all conspired against timely completion. We drive alongside two vast expanses of water, the freshwater Lake Koronia and Lake Volvi. This is an important area for passage and overwintering birds. Water pollution is a problem and the area has some protection status. 

We are told that the Greeks here grow a little of everything; a few chickens, a couple of cows, some sheep, goats, pigs - a sharp contrast to the supposed greater efficiency of large-scale single crop farming which is being promoted.

the castle and port at night

As we view the island of Mt Athos to our right, in the shimmering Aegean Sea, we learn about the monks here who  inhabit this oldest surviving monastery in the world, where a wealth of unimaginable treasures is preserved for those who follow the monastic life here, other male workers and those few others who are privileged to be given permission to visit, for pilgrimage or study. Access is severely limited and women are never allowed, not, it seems, even cows or chickens! Boat trips can be taken to have a look at the monastery from a respectful distance.

Bright orange roofs on glistening white-washed houses tumble down to the shore at Vrasna. The road then climbs away from the sea again, through large areas of olive groves.  

castle and cruise liner

Suitably refreshed at a service area where we sample the local almond cake delicacy,  courtesy of Mara, we continue through a road tunnel and out again down to the lowlands approaching Kavala. The Island of Thasos is in front of us in the bay, famous for its snow white marble, mostly exported to the Emirates and Germany, and which claims to be even more translucent than the Italian white marble.

Kavala is charming - the old city sits on a peninsular topped by a castle and the acropolis. The Kamares, or "arches", are the trademark of Kavala. A listed monument, this is actually an aqueduct built in 1550 by the Sultan Suleiman II, the Magnificent. It was repaired in the 19th century by Mehmet Ali to serve the water supply needs of the City.

fishermen mend their nets and share the day's gossip

Brooding over the whole port today as we arrive is a massive Hellenic Seaways cruise liner - this is a popular tourist port of call for obvious reasons.

Kavala was also the birthplace of Muhammad Ali, founder of the dynasty which ruled Egypt in the 19th and early 20th century, and his house can be seen in the square just behind our waterfront hotel.

The town owes its prosperity to the tobacco industry, started here at the beginning of the 19th century, and there is a Tobacco Museum which recalls the industry's rise and subsequent decline in the area in the early 20th century. Tobacco used to be a big crop generally here in Macedonia - until the advice was given to start growing sunflowers for the oil. 

solar panels - many along the way

Now a different style of farming is evident - Solar panel farms are cropping up everywhere.

Kavala at night

We arrive at our hotel in Kavala in the early evening. It is in the old town fronting the port and after a quick check in and unpacking of essentials there is time for a stroll around this delightful old town. There are tranquil scenes of fishermen sitting around mending their nets, while no doubt sharing the gossip of the day. A row of suntanned women, mostly dressed in black, sit on a bench in the shade, the sun still fierce in spite of the hour. Reflections ripple on the water as just below the surface small fish fry are taking advantage of the day's accumulated detritus from the returning fishing boats. Seagulls are also trying their luck. Houses scramble up the hillside to the citadel. After saying our evening devotional Compline with the group, I sit on my balcony looking down upon the busyness of the cafes and restaurants below which have suddenly come alive. It is lively in a restrained kind of way - and the air is pleasantly warm to sit out. Hard to imagine that winters here can be harsh.