Flight to Rome; Ostia

Our alarm went off at 2:15 a.m.  Luckily we had gone to bed early so we were able to get 5 hours of sleep.  Bus left our hotel in Athens at 3:15 for the airport.   Jim doesn't mind getting up so blamed early.  Any one else smiling??

 Sun was rising as we were en route to Rome.

 We flew over the Vatican.

When we landed in Rome, we took a bus ride to Ostia Antica.

Ostia may have been Rome's first colonia.

morning worship

Ostia Antica is a large archeological site that was the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome. "Os" is the derivation of the Latin word for "mouth".  At the mouth of the River Tiber, Ostia was Rome's seaport and at one time the most important port in the Mediterranean.  Ships would load cargo onto barges that would navigate up the river into Rome.  To use this port, you would need to pay a tax to Rome.  Due to silting, this site is now 2 miles from the sea.  

The Apostle Paul would have sailed into this port when he came to Rome.

Umbrella pine

entrance to the old city

 

The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes and impressive mosaics.

 
 Many of the mosaics have references to the sea commerce

 

this design is seen in some Roman architecture;

predates the Nazis use.

 

 

 There was a restaurant there so we all had some lunch.

 Then we got on the bus for a trip to the catacombs.