Caldera Santorini
Welcome to Caldera Santorini where the wonders of the remnants of a once beautiful island are a magnificent caldera whose sheer walls tower hundreds of meters about the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea. Santorini is a small island in the southern Aegean in the Cyclades, a grouping of islands approaching the famed island of Crete, home to the ancient Minoan civilization. It is said that the destruction of the Minoan civilization coincided with the rise of Santorini as a major force of culture and trade in the region.
However, one day, a massive explosion at the center of Santorini destoryed the entire city and leaving a caldera that eventually filled in with ocean water soon after the explosion. In an instant, the powerful and influential Santorini culture was destroyed and covered under meters of thick volcanic ash. It wasn’t until a few decades ago that the Santorini caldera culture was rediscovered.
Today, the caldera of Santorini provides breath taking views, stretching from Oia, Fira, Imerovigli, and Akrotini. There are dozens of hotels that line the caldera, providing once in a lifetime views that cannot be seen anywhere else. In Imerovigli, the Tholos Resort sits at the edge of the caldera, in front of the remnants of an ancient Venetian fort and provides sweeping 230 degree views of the caldera stretching from Oia to Akrotini and providing a spectacular vantage point to catch Santorini’s famed sunsets.
Oia is the famous village at the norther tip of Santorini as well as the northern edge of the caldera where ships who have entered Santorini’s inlet typically exit. Oia, or Oia town is a short drive from Fira and Imerovigli and every night, hundreds of tourists gather in the late afternoon to position themselves for the Oia sunset which provides an unobstructed view of the sun setting below the Santorini horizon. You’ll be surrounded by couples honeymooning, seniors vacationing, and photographers photographing a site taken straight out of a movie. Within Oia are many restaurants which also sit on the caldera within the famed whitewash buildings that Santorini is also famous for.
Wherever you go in Santorini, one thing is unavoidable – the caldera. And its certainly a site that you’ll want to keep seeing in Santorini over and over again.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
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