Walking with the Gods

 As we journeyed to the far away land of Delphi, we made a stop at the beautiful Osios Loukas Monastery. When we arrived we were told that we had to use quiet voices in order to display our respect. When I first enter the monastery I entered into the public area were the bottom half of the walls were made of marble and the top half was scattered with beautiful portraits of Jesus and various saints. The contrast was made to show the connect and contrast of the earth (marble) and heaven (paintings). I thought that was an very interesting fact. While walking through the building I could just sense the calm, relax feelings surrounding me. The architects of this monastery did such an amazing job creating the proper lighting and atmosphere with such limited resources. Half of the windows gleamed a striking gold-orange hue that cast light all over the walls and the ceilings were covered in designs of every color. I could have explored that place for hours and still be able to find a detail I hadn't noticed before. Dr. Finitsis didn't even have to give us instructions because everyone was speechless while meandering around the church. The monastery had the atmosphere that the people of that time probably felt they were connecting and walking with the gods. Near the exit there were candles lined up waiting to be lit for a prayer. The candles were all burned down to different levels which kinda signified all the variety of prays that were voiced just today. Outside, the view was incomparable. There were rolling hills, thousands of olive trees, and beautiful brick buildings everywhere. Another surprise was that the sun made an appearance, we were expecting freezing conditions but instead I finally had the chance to take off my coat! The rest of the day trip was equally amazing and breathtaking. I cannot wait for the day trips we are still looking forward too.