Crete

Resuming my series from our tour of Greece and Turkey last summer, we will pick up immediately after our tour of Patmos.  From there the P.O.C. Aquamarine set out west to Crete.  Though we did not see any biblical sites in Crete, the island does show up in the New Testament a few times.  The book of Titus was written to one of Paul's companions, a man who was serving on the island of Crete.  Also, Paul's extra-biblical Fourth Missionary journey may have included a stop in Crete. 

What we did see in Crete was the archaelogical remains of the Minoan civilization.  This Kingdom was from the same time as Abraham (2100 BC), and was extremely advanced. Notice how the columns above are wider at the top and smaller at the bottom.  This was not only unusual, but an impressive engineering feat at the time.  Also, below is a picture of part of their plumbing system.  Believe it or not, 2000 before Christ there were some with indoor plumbing! 

Oh, this picture needs to be explained.  The whole cruise ship basically breaks up into tour groups to see the site.  We each have guides who hold up our sign, so that we won't get lost.  That's right, we're international travelers, and they treat us like we're in Kindergarten.  Well, our guide was moving exceptionally slow, allowing a lot of other groups to pass us on the way to the site.  Rebekah and I discussed the matter and agreed that I should confiscate the sign and lead at a more progressive pace.  Sometimes you just have to takeover.

Below is a picture of the Minoan throne room.  On the left side of the picture is the actual throne of a 21st Century BC king.  I think I'd prefer the seat of 21st Century AD average joe.

Our next stop on this blog journey will be Rhodes! Check back for some great pics, and one unforgettable wrong turn!