Program

Monday 18 Aug. 25: Gathering at the airport (A/F) "Glafkos Clerides" and departure for Athens. Arrival at the A/F "Eleftherios Venizelos", boarding the bus and departure for our first destination which is the Holy Monastery of Agios Porphyrios. Then we go to Skala Oropos for a walk and coffee. Next is our visit to Amfiaraion, which was a sacred place and oracle dedicated to the mythical hero, seer and healer Amfiarao. It is a wonderfully curated archaeological site in nature, in a magical location. Finally, we depart for the beautiful city of Evripos, Chalkida, where we will spend the night. Upon arriving at the hotel, we check into our rooms and the rest of the time is free.

Tuesday 19 Aug. 25: Breakfast at the hotel and we depart from Chalkida for Agios Ioannis the Russian, where we will venerate the full-length relic of the miraculous Saint, which was transferred to Evia in October 1924 by refugees from Asia Minor and is preserved in a carved marble shrine. We continue to the Holy Monastery of Hosios David to venerate the miraculous bones, the incense burner and the stone helix of the Saint. We continue with our destination to the Baths of Edipsos, the largest spa town in Greece, which has 60 hot springs, some of which are therapeutic with temperatures from 34 to 70 degrees Celsius. Free time for lunch at the beautiful taverns along the beach. Return to Chalkida and overnight stay, with an intermediate stop for coffee.

Wednesday 20 Aug. 25: Breakfast at the hotel and tour of the city of Chalkida until noon (Beach, Old Bridge – Evripos Strait, Karababas Castle). With one foot in Evia and the other in Central Greece, the city of 90,000 inhabitants with the “crazy waters” or otherwise the “Evripos phenomenon”. The tidal phenomenon that occurs in the strait causes the waters to move for six hours from the north to the south of the Euboean Gulf. There are 8 minutes of stagnant waters and then another six hours to the opposite side. Chalkida, built on the sides of the Evripos Strait, is only 78 kilometers from Athens. Around noon, we depart for Athens. Arriving in the capital, we will make a stop at Lycabettus Hill, the rock that, according to mythology, was carried in the hands of the Goddess Athena and fell from her after a bad news brought to her by a raven. Since then, the legend says, the ravens have turned black. After enjoying the wonderful view from the hill and our coffee, we depart for our hotel for the night. Arrival and check-in. The rest of the time is free.

Thursday 21 Aug. 25: After breakfast, we depart from the hotel for a walk in the center of Athens. Starting from the "trademark" of the megalopolis, the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, we cross Syntagma Square, walk along the busy Ermou Street, Monastiraki and approach Thision. Stopping for a rest and gazing at the sacred Rock of the Acropolis, we enjoy our coffee. We continue crossing the narrow streets of Plaka, we pay homage to the Metropolitan Church of Athens and return to Syntagma, where we complete our day's tour. The rest of the day is free.

Friday 22 Aug. 25: The day is free for shopping and/or visiting the sights of Athens, such as the Acropolis Museum, the War Museum, the Royal Garden and more.

Saturday 23 Aug. 25: Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Piraeus to take the boat to Aegina. In Aegina we will visit the Holy Monastery of Saint Nektarios to venerate the honest Kara and the Holy Relics of the great Saint, which are kept in the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity and which the Saint himself founded in Aegina. The Church of the Holy Trinity of the Monastery of Saint Nektarios is located a little lower than the Monastery. It was founded and inaugurated on June 2, 1908 by Saint Nektarios, it is Byzantine in style and has a beautiful wooden carved iconostasis with Byzantine icons as well as many vows and offerings coming from a large number of pilgrims from all over the world. After our pilgrimage, we have the opportunity to walk on the beach and in the beautiful alleys of the island and have our coffee and / or lunch. Don't forget to eat ice cream and pistachio made from the famous, wonderful pistachios of Aegina. Then we board the ferry and return in turn to Piraeus and our hotel, where the day's program ends.

Sunday 24 Aug. 25: After breakfast we depart for Salamis, the place where the mythical Ajax the Telamonius reigned, where Euripides wrote, where Karaiskakis ate, where Sikelianos retired to find inspiration. Salamis is the most densely populated island in Greece, due to its connection with the capital. We will pass by the beach of the Faneromeni Monastery to admire up close the windswept house of the great Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos where he lived the last decade of his life. We will visit the historic Faneromeni Monastery, the monastery founded at the end of the 17th century by Saint Lawrence, who played a significant role during the Revolution of 1821. We enjoy a coffee and/or lunch on the endless beaches of Salamina before our return to Athens. The rest of the time is free until the evening, when we will have dinner from our Office in a traditional tavern in Athens. Overnight stay.

Monday 25 Aug. 25: Breakfast at the hotel and free time until noon. We board the bus and depart for Nea Makri, after making a stop at the Panathenaic Stadium. Arriving in Nea Makri we have the opportunity to have a coffee and/or lunch, as well as take our walk in the area. Then we will visit the Holy Monastery of Saint Ephraim, where the relics of the Miraculous Saint and the tomb of the gerontissa Makaria are located. Here they hung him upside down on a mulberry tree that survives to this day, nailing him to the feet and head with sharp nails and violently piercing his devastated body with burning wood! Around 4:30 p.m. we gather all our memories and board the bus for our transfer to "Eleftherios Venizelos" Airport, for our return to Larnaca, loaded with our new experiences.