Titus's church and Paul's Beach

We spent two days in Heraklion with plans to get up early and take a ferry ride to Santorini, but when we woke up we decided we just didn't feel like doing that.  Instead, I took Kristin to the South side of the island to see the church of Titus and the beach where Paul landed in Crete. 

The town of Gortyn was one of the largest cities in Crete during Roman times.

The Nave of the old church, as well as a rough outline of the floor plan is about all that remains of St. Titus' church in Gortyn, one of the very first Christian churches-ever.

Kristin manages to get in some shade AND look cute at the same time.

Gortyn shares typical features of Roman cities, including this small amphitheater.

One of the cool parts about the site is the code of law inscribed into a wall. While it certainly doesn't pre-date the code of Hammurabi, it's still considered to be an important early legal artifact.

Another view of the nave of the church from the side.

The beach where Paul landed is called Kali Limenes, which you'll see translated in your English Bible as "fair harbor." We found the name still apt- It was beautiful and so peaceful! The water was cool and crystal clear.  The beach was made of rounded (and very hot) pebbles of all colors.  I had loads of fun looking for rocks (much more macho than shells) out in the water.  This was a local type beach.  We didn't see any other people we could identify as tourists, although we did see plenty of campers and tents. Ah, the joy of insider knowledge!  :)

FYI we have decided to ban swimsuit pictures on our blog.  We have quite a few really cute ones, but you won't see them here!

After a swim, ready to explore.

The church of St. Paul.  Gorgeous isn't it? A dedication on the church said it dated from the early 1900s.

View from the church.  The rocky half-moon-shaped bay is where we were swimming.

Cave behind the church. This is thought to be one of the spots Paul took refuge after his boat was forced ashore in rough weather. No real explanation of why this is thought to be the spot. If you can see Kristin in the cave, that's about as far back as it goes. Not a big place.