Wonder Island
Santorini is one of the most romantic places on Earth.
The Acropolis of Athens is fading against the backdrop of this extraordinary island.
In fact, Santorini is a group of islands in the Aegean Sea. The group includes the islands of Thira, Tiras, Palea Kameni, Nea Kameni and Aspro. The population of Tiras is very small, Palea Kameni, Nea Kameni and Aspro are generally uninhabited, so the main island of Tire is called simply by the name of the archipelago. The main attraction of the island - the volcano Santorini. Arriving in Santorini, it is simply impossible not to visit the volcano - the island is a volcano. The exception is the peak of Santorini. The volcano is active. The island shakes regularly. The last major earthquake occurred in 1956. Until 1500 BC. BC the island had a round shape and was called Strongila. Santorini volcano, located in the center of the island, was 1.5 km high. About one and a half thousand years BC.
An event took place that radically changed both the history of the ancient world and the shape of the island - an eruption of up to 7 points on the scale of eruptions. As a result of the eruption, the crater of the volcano collapsed and formed a huge caldera (funnel), which was immediately filled with sea. The sea surface area of the caldera reaches about 32 square meters. miles, and a depth of 300-400 m. From the ancient Strongili remained only a visible crescent moon with a steep cliff over 300 m high near the western part and gentle beaches near the eastern part. After filling the crater of the volcano with water, it evaporated and a huge explosion (steam boiler effect) caused a huge tsunami, about 100 to 200 m high, which hit the northern coast of Crete. The tsunami resulted in the decline of Minoan civilization. The catastrophe was completed by strong earthquakes and volcanic ash thrown over a considerable distance.
The tsunami, several tens of meters high, destroyed everything on the islands of the Aegean Sea, Crete, coastal Greek settlements in northern Egypt, all who lived on the shores of the Mediterranean, and for a thousand years stopped the development of civilizations. There is a version that this tsunami destroyed Atlantis. Santorini is a conditionally Greek island. This is evident from the architecture, culture, names and Catholics. The name of the island is of Latin origin - Santa Irini (in Greek it would be Agios Irini). Obviously Latin names are found among the settlements - Emporio, Perissa, Messario, etc. Santorini has good roads. There are almost no serpentines on the island, only a long way to Oia. All other places can be reached by car in 20 minutes. They get mopeds and ATVs - there are a lot of them here. The traffic jams on the island are only on the way out of the new port when a large ferry arrives. In Santorini it makes sense to rent a car.
In local companies you can take a car for 20 euros a day, a taxi ride will cost about the same amount. The ATV will cost about 10 euros per day. It is worth remembering that in Greece to drive scooters (scooters) and ATVs you need the rights of category A1 or A. Of public transport on the island only buses. There are many routes, buses run often. The Central Bus Station is located in Fira. There are two ways to get to Santorini - by ferry or plane. Many ferries, flights too. The cheapest option - a slow ferry from Athens (8 hours), the most expensive - a plane (35 minutes), express ferries are somewhere in the middle (3 hours). Ferry connections - Athens, Crete, Rhodes, Paros, Naxos, Ios and others. Flights in general anywhere, especially in high season. Ferry operators: Hellenic Seaways, BlueStar Ferries, ANEK Lines, SeaJets, NEL Lines and others. Cruise liners raid between the old port and the crater island of Palea Kameni.
At the port, passengers are delivered by boat of 100 each. Fira and Oia are the two main tourist towns on the island of Santorini. Both cities were almost completely destroyed during the 1956 earthquake and have already been restored as tourist attractions. In total, these two cities have less than 3.000 inhabitants. The rest are tourists. Both cities are located on the edge of the 400-meter caldera of Santorini. In the area of the cliff the city is exclusively tourist - hotels, cafes, restaurants and shops. The locals live on a smooth descent on the other side. The guides state that all the houses are built of volcanic rocks. It used to be that way. But now traditional materials have supplanted well-disguised steel and concrete. Oia is more like a private hotel or a cruise liner than a city. Fira is the old port from which most excursions to the volcano and islands are made.
Between Fira and the volcano on the raid is the bulk of cruise ships. The upper city is connected to the port by a funicular and a donkey crossing - a donkey line. The principle of operation of the donkey line is very simple. The shepherd's wife 10-20 donkeys (mules) down, where they are queued for loading. There, as on a conveyor belt, a tourist is put on a donkey, kicked and the donkey goes up on its own. There the tourist is filmed, the donkeys are grouped and led down again. There are a lot of donkeys and they also spoil a lot. The stench is terrible, all the stairs in the manure. And here you do not basically climb on a donkey or on foot - the speed is about the same.
