Exploring the good news of the kingdom of God
This morning we reentered the Bosphorus at its northern-most point, where it meets the Black Sea. The rest of the day we cruised down the Bosphorus Strait, past Rumeli Castle, the Golden Horn and Istanbul, through the Sea of Marmara and into the Dardanelles. As the sun was setting, we entered the Aegean Sea. The castles … Continue reading “Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 12 (Bosphorus Strait)”
It is said Nessebar, Bulgaria has more ancient churches per capita than any other place in the world. I believe it. And if, as I wrote yesterday, churches are the physical evidence of the kingdom of God, this place was once very much Kingdom territory, and perhaps still is today. Nessebar is a strip of … Continue reading “Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 11 (Nessebar)”
Today was our second day in Odessa, but we stayed on board the ship. It was a time to read and relax and think and connect some of the dots before bidding farewell to the Ukraine. The wife and I have had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe quite a bit over the last ten … Continue reading “Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 10 (Odessa)”
Today we were in Odessa, Ukraine, a port city on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. It’s a major city with a population of more than 1,000,000. Movie buffs know Odessa as the site of the famous Communist Era (1925) movie, Battleship Potemkin, and the Potemkin Steps where the massacre in the film takes … Continue reading “Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 9 (Odessa)”
This is what I saw when I pulled back the curtains this morning. Sevastopol. The former home of the feared Soviet Black Sea Fleet, a port so important militarily in a nation with so little freedom even Ukrainian citizens had to have permission to enter and leave the city. I think back to when I … Continue reading “Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 8 (Sevastopol)”