Why is Santorini on a cliff?

This island of black rock owes its unique, dramatic landscape to volcanic eruptions. A volcano, still active, stands at the center of a ring of islands, Santorini the longest. In between them is a vast, deep caldera, filled with water, surrounded by the islands' cliffs, volcanic rock, and black and red sand beaches.



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That explosive phenomenon of the volcano occurred continuously for the next 200,000 years and, every time an explosion occurred, it would further deepen the caldera, which ultimately shaped Santorini as it is today.

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It was created by one of the largest known eruptions around 3,600 years ago. The explosion was so powerful that it wrecked Santorini's ancient city of Akrotiri and dealt a fatal blow to the seafaring Minoan civilization, which had settled on the island at the time.

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Later Atlantis suffered a terrible earthquake and a flood, sinking in its entirety into the sea. Finds from the excavations at Akrotiri have led scholars to conclude that the lost Atlantis was none other than Santorini. However over the centuries, as myth was retold, experts beg to differ.

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Santorini caldera is a large, mostly submerged caldera, located in the southern Aegean Sea, 120 kilometers north of Crete in Greece. Visible above water is the circular Santorini island group, consisting of Santorini, the main island, Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery, and the Kameni islands at the center.



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The lowly crew members of ship owners and sea captains were not able to build their houses on top of the hill in Oia and had to come up with alternative housing. The peculiarity of the volcanic terrain of Santorini offered a much cheaper alternative: it allowed the inhabitants to carve a building into the earth.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, during the war, serious deceases, like cholera, plagued the Greek islands. Whitewash is a cheap, disinfectant material that was used regularly to limit the contagion. Back to that era, it was probably the most effective or even the only medium available for disinfection.

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The reason behind this color choice has to do with practicality. In the old times, Greek housewives would use a cleaning agent called loulaki (blue powder in English) which came in the form of talcum powder. It was widely and cheaply available across Greece.

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The solution was to paint their houses light-colored by using whitewash which they made by mixing lime, water, and sea salt. As white color is a reflector of heat it worked perfectly to preserve the freshness and coolness of Greek homes.

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According to Mythology, Santorini was created from a lump of earth that was thrown into the sea by Euphemus, Poseidon's son. Euphemus had a dream one evening that he had made love to a nymph who was the daughter of Triton (the son of Poseidon and Aphrodite).

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However, swimming in the clear blue water of Santorini is wonderfully refreshing. Since the beaches have coarse sand, there's little dust to cloud the water. Don't come to Santorini primarily for the beaches – come for the volcano boat tours, incredible views, wine, hikes, nightlife, and great food.

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No, in Santorini you cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet bowl. As with most places in Greece, toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet. You should place the used toilet paper into a special trash bin located next to it. The hosts or hotel staff empty the bin every day and put a new bag in it.

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However, swimming in the clear blue water of Santorini is wonderfully refreshing. Since the beaches have coarse sand, there's little dust to cloud the water. Don't come to Santorini primarily for the beaches – come for the volcano boat tours, incredible views, wine, hikes, nightlife, and great food.

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The best way to get around Santorini is on foot or by bus. You'll see that it's easy to walk around the tiny seaside towns, but the bus is best to get from one town to another. There are KTEL bus routes from Fira (the capital city) to many different destinations around the main island.

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During winter time only a few people live in Santorini and in the summertime when the island is very populated, everyone is very busy and it is very difficult to meet even for a coffee.

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