An island offering it's visitors unique
natural beauties, magnificent settings, top quality accommodation, delicious
local food and wine, spicy entertainment, and
a remarkable history.
Santorini is known worldwide for its
surprising natural beauty. Santorini combines an amazing natural landscape and
traditional architecture, while its sandy beaches are preferred by thousands of
visitors every summer. Santorini also combines the height quality services of a
modern touristic destination to its traditional image that the locals keep. Santorini hosts thousands
of Greek and foreign visitors every year. The local community invites you to
discover the clean and relaxing beaches, the unique view from the Caldera, the
breathtaking sunset, the famous local tastes, the traditional architecture, the
archaeological treasures, the stylish nightclubs and the modern state of
hospitality services.
Santorini photos are recognized throughout the entire
world.
The world’s most popular travel magazines recommend it as
the most beautiful island all
over the world.
Santorini is ranked every year as one of the “must go”
destinations of the world.
Santorini has much to offer to her visitors.
Breathtaking natural beauties, unique historical and archaeological sites,
steadily improving hotel and touristic infrastructure and a tradition of
hospitality in combination with competitive prices. Therefore, it is not
surprising that this island has recently become one of the world's most popular
tourism destinations. Due to Santorinis's geography, one can experience
different climates in any one day. From the hot summer long lasting days (up to
8.30 p.m.) from May to September to the cold and windy nights that you need to
wear a jacket. Santorini is surrounded by beautiful beaches, bays, coves,
ports, smaller islands and peninsulas. The summers are long, lasting eight
months from April to November. Santorini is also blessed with majestic
mountains and valleys, farmlands, vineyards, beaches, grottoes, villages and
houses perfect for winter and summer tourism, sports and activities of all
kinds. Water skiing fans, mountain climbers, trekkers, hikers and hunters can
enjoy new and unforgettable experiences on the island.
Santorini is, above anything else, a huge
open-air museum, a repository of all the civilizations that crossed the soils
of the Aegean Sea. The huge amount of historical and archaeological wealth in
Santorini seems more appropriate for an entire country than a single island.
For centuries, Santorini has been a crossroad of
civilizations and religions, not only of Christianity and Catholicism, but also
of many others now forgotten by the history.
Santorini also offers the possibility to health tourism.
The island and the deserted island of the volcano are rich in hot springs,
healing waters and healing mud, which are recommended as remedies for many
diseases.
In 1956 a major earthquake resulted in the demolishing of
many buildings, leading to the beginning of the way the island is build up to
now.
The expansion of tourism has resulted to the growth of the
economy and population. The major settlements are the capital Fira, Oia,
Eborio, Kamari, Perisa, Imerovigli, Pyrgos, Megalohori and the smaller island
of Thirasia. The worldwide known "prehistoric town of Akrotiri" is a
major archaeological site, with ruins from the Minoan era, destroyed by the
1700 B.C. volcanic eruption which is also responsible for the destruction of
the Minoan civilization. It is believed and almost proved by many scientist and
archaeologists that the ancient town "Allantis" that had reached a
high state of culture, was in the centre of Santorini before the
collapse of the whole central part of the island that
created what we nowadays call "caldera". Santorini's caldera is the
biggest volcanic island caldera on the world.
Santorini's primary industry is tourism, particularly in
the summer months.
Santorini was ranked world's top island for 2011 in Travel
and Leisure Magazine. Santorini was also named "the world's best
island" by BBC in 2011.
History
- Archaeology
The
island of Santorini features one of the most significant archaeological sites
in the world, the "prehistoric town of Akrotiri". It is a place of
great importance to the international archaeological community. It is currently
being renovated and is scheduled to open to the public by May 2012 featuring a
new eco-friendly roof that covers the entire ancient settlement.
The
"prehistoric town of Akrotiri" was an active settlement around 3,000
BC, being preserved and almost untouched by time since its last inhabitants
left it to save themselves from the ancient, yet catastrophic, volcanic
eruption. The eruption, which occurred in 1450 BC, wiped out all life from the
island and buried the settlement under tons of lava and ash. Unlike Pompeii, no
human remains were ever discovered at Akrotiri - the residents clearly had
ample warning of the town's destruction. The city was rediscovered in 1860,
when workers quarrying volcanic ash for use in the Suez Canal, brought it to
light once again.
The city
remained untouched due to the tons of soil that covered it and therefore
protected it from being damaged over the time. Systematic excavations began
under Professor Spyridon Marinatos of the University of Athens in 1967 and
continued until his death in 1974, when Professor Christos Doumas continued his
work. When visiting the "prehistoric town of Akrotiri" you can walk
through the city to view the pottery, furniture, advanced drainage systems and
three-story buildings that have been discovered at the site. Millions of people
have visited Santorini in anticipation of viewing this archaeological
phenomenon.
