Santor in i (Thira) or KALL IST I

Even before disembarking you remain breathless. In front of the steep vertical rocks in deep red colorcombined to black , the white houses, like an angry wave in the deep blue sea of the greek sky.There is only one word to describe this miracle.

Eyes! Your eyes only can narrate this marvelous story. The picture of Santorini, wild and peaceful, excitationand calmness ,that created this strange sculptor, the Volcano.

In the arms of the islands crescent, exactly above the crater of the Volcano is where the small islands ,old and new Kameni and the far away Thirasia hide .

Fira

Fira is the islands capital built in a peculiar and unique way. On top of the steep rocks. There is onlywhite and blue over there, identified to the sea and the sky.

In Fira you will walk through the narrow streets, filled with well placed shops, restaurants and cafeterias.

A unique pleasure is the view of the Volcano throughout the sea and the sky. Special characteristics ofthe architecture are the simple houses and hotels built one next to the other. On the rocks root, we findthe old harbor.Places worth a visit are the Venetian Gyzi building in Fira, where we can find an exhibition of paintings,maps and documents and more material about Santorini and the rest of Cyclades .Also the Archaeologicalmuseum with exhibits of Thirean vessels and findings from the excavations on the island.

Fira are found on the western side of the island , with the steep rocks. On this side there are no beaches.The access to the Old Harbor and Skala is by foot, donkeys or the cable car.

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Dest inat ions

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Thirasia, old and new Kameni

All day long,there are itineraries of little boats fromSkala to the island of Thirasia, where only 250 peoplelive in. There you will walk the 250 steps that will leadyou from the harbor to the village with the few whitelittle houses. Due to the volcanic origin of the island,the shores are abrupt and not suitable for swimming.From Skala there are also daily excursions to theVolcano. In new Kameni, you will be able to seesulphur and warm gas coming out of the Volcanoscrater. Swimming possibility in the green and hot watersnext to old Kameni.

Imerovigli

Built in the rocks highest spot , on 300 meters, (itsname means observatory ), Imerovigli offers the bestview between Fira and Ia. In front of the literallymagical view of the sea and the Volcano, you will feelpeace and euphoria, wishing for the time to stop .Thetraditional houses, beautiful churches and narrow streetsare the combination of a beautiful preservablesettlement. It is only one km away from Firostefani .Themonastery of Agios Nikolaos, built in 1674 is worth avisit, located between Imerovigli and Firostefani. TheAgios Nikolaos church, built on the rocks edge, alsooffers a marvelous view.

Ia

Thousands of visitors from Greece and all over the

world come to Ia to enjoy the unique love of the gold-

reddish sun beams as they sink in the deep blue

peaceful waters of the Aegean. Thousand camera clicks

is the only fact that can spoil a bit the ritual of the

sunset.

Ia, built in 350 meters tall rocks, combines colors such

as blue, ochre and mauve that remain exactly the same

since the big earthquake.

The traditional settlement of Finikia ,is one of the places

worth a visit. Just 1 km, is located the Nautical Museum

where we can find rich material from nautical exhibits

and also a big library.

Ia is the most suitable place for fairy tale and peaceful

vacation. In its graphic narrow streets you can find

many shops with wonderful things to shop.

If you want to swim, you have to descend 286 steps

to Armeni beach and 214 steps to Amoudi beach, while

3km from Ia is located the big Baxedes beach.

Moreover with a small boat from Ia, you can visit the

opposite island, Thirasia.

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Monolithos

Is located near the airport, and got its name from anisolated rock, close to the Agios Giannis little churchIt is 9 km far from Fira and there you can find theIslands best beach .

Pyrgos

From Pyrgos, you literally have all Santorini at yourfeet. It is a large Mediterranean village, built in theside of Profitis Ilias on the tallest spot of the island,7.5 km from Fira. The monastery of Profitis Ilias, located on the top ofthe mountain, is 4km away from the village.It was builtin 1711 and many heirlooms and ecclesiastic treasuresare kept there.

Kamari

Tourist center with large sandy beaches and blackpebble, is a perfect offer for your swimming. It is 10kmaway from Fyra and it differs architecturally from thecapitals traditional, with modern houses, manyrestaurants and lots of green. Places worth a visit arethe Byzantine church of Perikopi, Profitis Ilias and theRuins of Old Settlements near the sea.

Megalohori

Ascending from the Athinio port , 6km from Fyra, it isthe first village in your way. Traditional, has kept theAegean beauty, with neoclassical houses and narrowlittle streets.The wine factory of the Boutari company, as well asthe Antoniou wine factory, where you can have aconducted tour through their installations and taste theexceptional wines of Santorini, definitely worth a visit

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Perissa

Settlement with great tourist movement, on the southernside of the Island, with black sand, many taverns andcafeterias on the beach and behind the central road.Ascending to Mesa Vouno, you can sea the ruins ofthe Ancient Town of Thira. The excavations brought to light the city, whichaccording to scientists goes back to the 8th centuryB.C. and is believed to have been in constant acneuntil the Roman Years.

Beside the building blocks of houses of different ages,Perissa has markets, theatres, sanctuaries, the house ofPtolemaios the Benefactor, graves of Ancient andClassic Period etc. On the surrounding rocks there arenames of god Appolon in Ancient Thiraic alphabet andgreat statues.

Akrotiri, Archaeological Place

One of the greatest Archaeological places, discoveredin 1967. During the excavations came to light a fullprehistoric settlement aged back to 3000 B.C. that wasdestroyed and covered with volcanic ash, after theVolcanos eruption.

There you can see two and three-floored buildings,untouched steps, walls, a rich collection of findings ofdaily life objects and marvelous murals that give usimportant information on the life on the island.

It is worth mentioning that on this prehistoric villagewere found only a few animal bones, which means thatits citizens were warned long before the eruption andhad the time to evacuate the settlement. It is possible though, that the big wave caused by the eruptioncaught them while they were still in the sea and their traces were lost. The excavations stopped after theman in charge, Spyros Marinatos, was killed in an accident, inside during the excavations, in the exactspot where now you can see his grave. In the Akrotiri area , is located the famous Red beach, with thered sand and the clean waters.

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Santorini (Thira), Akrotiri, the Spring Fresco

One of the most important centers of the Aegeanin the prehistoric period. During the early BronzeAge (3rd Millenium B.C.) there was a settlement inAkrotiri. Later on (20th -17th century B.C.), thesettlement was expanded and became one of themost significant centers and ports of the Aegean .

Its large extent , its perfect urban organization ,itssewage network , the artistic multi-floored buildingswith some magnificent mural decorations and therich furnishing , witness its great development.

The variety of imported products found within those buildings show the extension of the foreign relationsof Akrotiri. They kept strong relations with Minoan Crete , but they had communication with continentalGreece, Dodecanese ,Cyprus, Syria and Egypt.

Life in the city came to an abrupt end during the last quarter of the 17th century , when its residentsdecided to abandon it due to heavy earthquakes. The eruption of the volcano followed. The volcanicelements that covered the city and the whole island protected the buildings and their contents, until today,just like in Pompey.

Elements about the settlements in Akrotiri came into light during the second half of 19th century A.C.Systematic excavations began there in 1967 by professor Spyridon Marinatos under the aegis of theArchaeological Company based in Athens. Marinatos decided to excavate in Akrotiri, hoping to verify anold theory of his , published in the 30s , that the eruption of the Thira volcano caused the destructionof the Minoan civilization. After Marinatos death , in 1974, the excavation continued under the observanceof professor Christos Doumas. No interventions were made on the revealing monuments, except in caseswhere fixing was needed.

The Spring mural was found on D2 group of the Akrotiri settlement and it is dated back to 1550 B.C.(a while before the eruption). Today it is exhibited in the Archaelogical Museum of Athens. Group D it isconstituted by four buildings .A room in the Eastern building was decorated with the Spring mural .Theartist attributed with great sensitivity a rocky landscape with blooming red flowers , with swallows flyingwithin .

This mural covered three walls of a ground floor room and reaches the flooring. We observe a line ofvolcanic rocks in three colors , yellow , red and blue(or black) , that give us an idea of what the wholeisland looked like. The upper part of the wall is white and is litted up with red flowers ( liliumcchalcedonicum) with yellow stalks sprouting in three. The flowers seem to move as wind blows. On thenorth wall two birds with held open the arcs of their wings seem to be making out. On the western wallthe birds still seem to be making out , while a third one is coming towards them. On the southern wallthe birds with their wings lowered and their head down are moving in opposite directions one another.Their attitude shows the sorrow of breaking up. The mural is a hymn to the coming of Spring and comesby a room , that is believed was built for worshiping reasons. The birds remind the corresponding onesin the Cycladic angiography , while the portrayal of the flowers brings to mind the vessels of Phyticalrhythm from Crete. But here the birds are not static like they were in the Minoan Crete art. They are described with thin andthick lines .The flowers look like those of the Ancient Triad in Crete and with those found in the houseof murals, in Knosos. Moreover such flowers decorated the walls of the mansion in Amnisos

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