Today we arrived at the island of Santorini around 1:30pm. When a
huge volcano erupted about 3500 years ago, it left a large caldera (a volcanic
crater) surrounded by a circle of islands – now known as Santorini. Santorini has some of the most spectacular
scenery on the planet. We set off on the
“Ultimate Santorini” excursion. We first boarded our tender boat to take us
from the ship to the island where we met our Tour Guide.
This excursion was again conducted in a small group on a Mini-Bus. We first traveled to Fira and a visit to the
Prehistoric Museum housing findings from various excavations from all over the
island, but especially finds from the excavations at Akrotiri.
Akrotiri is the name of
an excavation site of a Minoan Bronze Age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini,
associated with the Minoan civilization due to inscriptions in Linear A, and
close similarities in artifact and fresco styles. The excavation is named for a
modern Greek village situated on a hill nearby. The name of the site in
antiquity is unknown.
Akrotiri was
buried by the widespread Theran eruption in the middle of the second millennium
BC (during the Late Minoan IA period); as a result, like the Roman ruins of
Pompeii after it, it is remarkably well-preserved. Frescoes, pottery,
furniture, advanced drainage systems and three-story buildings have been
discovered at the site, whose excavation was started in 1967 by Spyridon
Marinatos.
Certain
historians hold this settlement, as well as the disaster that left it unknown
to most of history, as the inspiration behind Plato’s's story of Atlantis, as
mentioned in his dialogues Timaeus
and Critias.
Excavated artifacts have been installed in the
museum, with many objects and artworks presented. Only a single gold object has
been found, hidden beneath flooring, and no uninterred human skeletal remains
have been found. This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with
little or no loss of life.
We then continued to Oia and had free time to stroll around the
town and take pictures.
We then proceeded to Fira where we enjoyed a Greek style dinner at
a restaurant while looking at breathtaking views of the caldera and the volcano. We then had free time in Fira before taking
the cable car down to the port and our tenders back to the ship.
The day was incredibly hot and at times I didn’t know if I was
every going to cool down again. The temperature reached a high today of 90
degrees with 75% humidity. I took tons of pictures and we had a great day in
spite of the heat. Check my photo album
on Facebook if you want to see all the pictures.
Goodnight!
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