Athens - Corinth

Our first stay in Athens was focused on the boat trip and we stayed near the harbor. So we journeyed back to see more of the sites in and around the city.

The first excursion was a full day event to see Corinth and follow the steps of the Apostle Paul. What a fascinating day this turned out to be. We had a guided tour with two other women and our guide was most excellent. It was a blustery day but didn't rain on us until the end of the day on our way back.

This is the Corinth Canal connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. In its early days, it saved four plus months of travel time at sea for ships to go around the point from one gulf to the other. Nero started the manual excavation in 67 AD using thousands of prisoners, all with picks and shovels. The canal was finally finished and opened in 1893 after more modern contruction was used, such as dynamite. The canal is four miles long, 80 feet wide and 260 feet from the top of the canal to the water. Depth of the water is 26 feet.

But here's another twist to this story. While they were doing construction on this watery path, they still had to find a way to get across this spit of land in less than four months.

So they built a road and this is a picture of what is left of it. The sailors would empty the ship of its cargo and using logs and lots of labor, again from the prisons, they pulled the ships across the spit of land to the other gulf. The pulling effort only took 45 days, so the sailors had nothing to do but wait.

It is believed this is where Paul stayed while he was in Corinth and why he stayed for a year and a half. He was a tent maker and made tents for the sailors and taught them about Jesus. Many were saved and they then carried the Christian message to all parts of the world.

This canel is still used today, but mostly by tour boats.

This was another place where St. Paul was known to stay. The top picture is of a dwelling place in a small community and the bottom picture is actually a baptismal where St. Paul baptized new believers.

We saw several churches and ruins. This was one of the more preserved communities where you can see actual dwellings. It was a very full day and a highlight.