About Santorini
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Santorini is the most southern of the islands in the Cyclades and the boat trip from the Athens seaport - Piraeus - takes about eight hours. Around 12 000 people live here all year round and they survive mainly on tourism, wine production and fishing. Santorini is the 13th biggest of the islands in the Cyclades measuring 75 km2, which is about the same size as Serifos and Sifnos and about a fifth in size compared to the biggest island in the group, Naxos.
The official name of Santorini is Thira (not to confuse with the capital Fira) and it is the most spectacular place in the entire Greek archipelago. The reason it stands out is due to its dramatic history. For about 3 500 years ago parts of the island sank into the ocean. Back then there were no cheers. Nowadays half a million tourists go to Santorini each year for exactly the same reason. Most parts of the island are exploited and adapted to tourists; some feel that the kitsch and knick-knacks are overly represented. Happily, there are oases where the genuine Greek life
continues and it is a shame that more people do not take time to discover the other side of Santorini. In a very general manner one can describe the northern part of the island as over-exploited and the southern as nicely adapted to tourism and in some places totally genuine. No matter what you think of Santorini, the island will not leave anyone untouched, it is impossible to neglect the magical and exciting landscape.Getting thereSantorini is one of the most accessible islands in the archipelago, to get there you can choose between charter, seats, domestic flights or boat. It is the perfect base station for island hopping, there are excellent connections to the other islands, it is easy to travel to and from Santorini and it is a place well worth seeing in its on right.
Getting aroundSantorini is quite small and you can travel around the entire island in one day, if you go by car. But if you really want to experience the island it takes more time. You can rent cars and mopeds in Fira, Oia, Kamari and Perissa. The bus connections are good and cover more or less the entire island.
VillagesThe villages on Santorini can be divided into four different categories: a bit Turkish-like, v
ery Turkish-like, totally Turkish-like, and finally the fourth category: genuine villages. The last mentioned type is definitely in minority. Unfortunately you can not escape the fact that the great attractiveness of Santorini has brought along an uncontrolled exploitation. This is most obvious in Fira and Oia. Fortunately there are places to breathe as well, like Megalochori, Emborio and Exo Gonia. Below some of the beautiful villages on Santorini are described.FiraThe lively capital Fira is tickingly beautiful when viewed from afar, but once there it is easy to get a bit disappointed. Sure, the view over the Caldera and the volcano is stunning - no matter how many times you have admired this panorama you will never grow tired of it - but it seems as if the Greek charm went to the bottom of the sea with the last eruption. The narrow alleys are packed with tourist from all over the world looking for kitsch or centimetre-thick golden links. The last years it has become too much of everything. But the view is still amazing. So, if you are yet to visit Santorini I can guarantee that you will forgive all this business going on and let yourself be amazed by the scenic landscape.
OiaPronounced "Ia" in Greek, Oia is located at the northern peak of the island. The village was partly destroyed in an earthquake in 1956 and is yet to be fully restored. Even though the commerce is fully operating, just like in Fira, it is not as much in your face. The taste of Oia is culture rather than kitsch, there are more art galleries and handcrafts and traditional music is standard in the taverns. The architecture is unbelievable and the houses painted in all the colours of the rainbow. Below Oia lies the painting-like and picturesque harbour Amoudia. The fish taverns lye in a row by the harbour walk and the cosy-o-meter is sky high.
Fira.
EmborionTwelve kilometres south of Fira you find Emborion. With more than 3000 inhabitants it is the biggest society on Santorini and one of the few villages completely unaffected by the tourism. It is a living Greek society all year round, there are several kafenións, schools, ordinary stores for the Greeks themselves, all the signs are in Greek and so on.
Besides the fact that Emborion is a tourist free oasis, there are also a couple of interesting sights to see. It is easy to get lost in the narrow ancient alleys that lead to the top off the village. Many houses lye in ruins, though some are being renovated. In one of the alleys there is a newly opened (2004) kafenión with a special interior decoration; here you can get lunch or something to drink. It is actually one of the cutest kafenións I have ever seen, there are five tables outside and two on the inside. Once you reach to top off Emborion you come upon the Castelli (also known as Mezaná), a village in the village which you enter through two vaults, there is one entrance from each side. Inside the little Castelli the minimal alleys winds around ancient houses with beautiful stairways that put your fantasy
Modern Santorini
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Santorini was annexed by Greece in 1912. Its major settlements include Fira (Phira), Oia, Emporio, Kamari, Imerovigli, Pyrgos and Therasia, and Akrotiri is a major archaeological site with ruins from the Minoan era. The island has no rivers and water is scarce; until the early 1990s locals filled water cisterns from the rain that fell on roofs and courts, from small springs, and with imported assistance from other areas of Greece. In recent years a desalination plant has provided running, yet nonpotable, water to most houses. The island's pumice quarries have been closed since 1986, in order to preserve the caldera, while it remains the home of a small but flourishing wine industry, based on the indigenous grape variety, Assyrtiko; vines of the Assyrtiko variety are extremely old and prove resistant to phylloxera, attributed by local winemakers to the well drained volcanic soil and its chemistry, and needed no replacement during the great phylloxera epidemic of the early 20th century. In their adaption to their habitat, such vines are planted far apart, as their principal source of moisture is dew, and are often trained in the shape of low spiralling baskets, with the grapes hanging inside to protect them from the winds. Also unique to the island is the red, sweet and extremely strong Vinsanto; white wines from the island are extremely dry with a strong, citrus scent, and the ashy volcanic soil gives the white wines a slight sulphurous flavour much like Visanto. It is not easy to be a wine grower in Santorini; the hot and dry climatological conditions give the soil a low productivity. The yield per acre is only 10 to 20% of the yields that are common in France and California, and the island's primary industry is tourism, particularly in the summer months.
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