“LAND OF INCREDIBLE VILLAGES”
INTRODUCTION
Santorini is one of the most beautiful volcanic islands in the world. Such kind of volcanic islands are very rare in nature. Volcanic eruptions make the land ugly but it is the gift of God that human has changed this ugliness to the beauty. Santorini is one of the most spectacular sites just not of the Greece but of the world too. The main attractions of the Santorini are the incredible villages. The capital of the island is Fira. This island is the site of the history’s largest volcanic eruptions which is called Minoan Eruption. The name of the island was given in thirteenth century by Latin Empire. It is also called Thera but the old name Santorini is still in use.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
This beautiful island is located in the southern Aegean Sea which is 200 km far from the main land of the Greece. Santorini is the part of Santorini Archipelago which is circular in shape. This is the largest island of this group of islands. The area of the island is approximately 73 km and the total population of the island is 13,670. The inhabited islands of the santorini municipality are Santorini and Therasis while the uninhabited islands are Nea, Kemani, Palaia Kemani, Aspronisi and Christiana.
The island is the remnant of a volcanic cone. The beaches are made of sand and pebbles. The beaches of the Santorini are smooth and shallow. The visitors will find different beaches in Santorini like Red Beach, Black Beach, and White Beach etc. These colours of the beach sand are because of the lava of various colours. Readers must have another important fact in knowledge that lava acts as a heat absorber. So the water is warmer at the beaches of dark colours.
SOME FACTS
Greek war of independence gave independence to the Santorini in 1821 from the Ottoman rule. Treaty of London facilitated the unification of Santorini with Greece in 1830. An earthquake in 1956 and a volcanic eruption badly affected the island and demolished many of its buildings. This earthquake resulted the desertion of the villages. It would be interesting to know that the island has no rivers so the water for routine activities is scarce. There was no development in this regard till early 1990s when people filled ponds and cisterns with rain water that fell on the roofs and courts. Water is important for plants as well and the major source for plants is rain in the world. But in Santorini rain is rare so the plants depend on the moisture which they get from the early morning dew. The island has small but flourishing wine industry. Although the dry and hot conditions do not support wine growers but still it is getting recognition.
The climate of the island is a desert featuring climate. In Europe just two places share the climate like this, one is Santorini and the other is Anafi.
Climate of the island and its volcanic ash soil make the agriculture produce of the island unique. For example the tomatoes of Santorini are very renowned. These are called Cherry Tomatoes which are extremely flavorful and sweet with intensely red colour.
TOURISM
Tourism is the main contributor to the economy of the island. The architecture of the island is the main attraction for the tourists. There you will find low lying cubical houses. These houses are white washed and there roofs are coloured in blue. It is said that the sunsets in the Santorini are best in the world. No doubt it is the best holiday destination in Greece.
