Personal Journeys

While participating in the 2008 Officer Study Tour there was no thought at all for what might come later: it was all about relishing the experience day by day. Even though there was some disappointment in missing out on Alexandria Troas and Thyatira it never occurred to me to wonder about opportunities to put things right in the future.

Being invited to do it all again in 2010 was a wonderful privilege but it also represented the doorway into something new.

The Australia Eastern Territory had asked Wilfred to help them set up tours for their own territory, based on the itinerary he had devised. He was to return to Athens a week later to lead their first tour, and to help prepare their designated leader for future tours.

That meant Wilfred had seven days to fill and when he asked me if I was interested in a post-tour 'holiday' covering the last part of Paul's journey to Rome, I didn't have to think about it for long. The story of that adventure is told here, beginning with a delightful discovery in Athens airport...

That invitation, and that journey, turned out to be the beginning of a bit of an obsession. Somewhere along the way I decided it would be a good idea to visit every biblical location associated with St Paul. It depends on how you count them, but by my reckoning there are about 54 such identifiable locations.

I have chosen not to count regions (eg Pamphylia) or whole islands (eg Crete, Cyprus) when there are specific sites located within those regions or on those islands. I do count named islands or places which Paul may have only sailed by without landing. I have not counted Spain (Romans 15:24 ) but I may be tempted to add it if I learn of sufficiently attested 'traditional sites'. Similarly, Arabia (Galatians 1:17) is too vague to count, but I am open to being persuaded that, for example, Petra might qualify.

My 54 locations are grouped here.