Santorini

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• Santorini

  Santorini (Grieks: Σαντορίνη, ook wel Thira of Thera, Grieks: Θηρα, Thira), is een ringvormige eilandengroep in de Egeïsche Zee, die bij de Cycladen hoort. Het ligt ten noorden van Kreta, ten zuiden van Naxos en Paros. Het grootste eiland heeft dezelfde naam, Santorini of Thira. In de eilandengroep liggen de eilanden Thira, Thirasia, Aspronisi, Paléa Kaméni, Néa Kaméni en op ruim 20 km Christiani. De vorm van de eilandengroep is door de Minoïsche uitbarsting ontstaan, een enorme eruptie van de vulkaan die er daarvoor stond. De hoofdstad heet Thira. Santorini is een van de vulkanen die liggen op de 500 km lange Zuid-Egeïsche vulkaanboog. Santorini is een van de zestien Vulkanen van het Decennium die door de IAVCEI zijn aangewezen in verband met hun geschiedenis van grote uitbarstingen en de nabijgelegen bewoonde gebieden.

• Minoïsche uitbarsting

  De Minoïsche uitbarsting is een enorme vulkaanuitbarsting die zich in de Minoïsche tijd op Thera (het huidige Santorini) volgens diverse onderzoeken tussen 1650 en 1600 v.Chr. heeft voorgedaan. Met een vulkanische-explosiviteitsindex van 7 (dense-rock equivalent = 34.5 ± 6.8 km³) was het een van de grootste vulkaanuitbarstingen in de menselijke geschiedenis. De enige andere uitbarsting in historische tijden van dit formaat was die van Tambora in 1815. Bij de Minoïsche uitbarsting werd dusdanig veel lava uitgespuwd dat de oude stad Akrotiri onder 50 meter puimsteen verdween. De vulkaan, die het centrale deel van het eiland vormde, zakte in zee en vormde een caldeira, waaruit het huidige eiland bestaat. De uitbarsting veroorzaakte een tsunami van ongeveer 28 meter hoog die een enorme verwoesting op Kreta veroorzaakte. De ramp is vermoedelijk niet de belangrijkste oorzaak van de ondergang van de Minoïsche beschaving op Kreta geweest, maar kan er wel toe hebben bijgedragen. Het definitieve einde van die beschaving kwam zo'n tweehonderd jaar later, toen de beschaving aanmerkelijk verzwakt was en door de Myceners onder de voet werd gelopen.

• Akrotiri (Santorini)

  Akrotiri (Grieks: Ακρωτήρι) was een havenstad in de Griekse Oudheid aan de zuidkant van Thera of Santorini nabij het huidige dorpje Akrotiri. Deze stad maakte deel uit van het culturele en handelsnetwerk van de Minoïsche beschaving en werd verwoest door een vulkaanexplosie. Er zijn overblijfselen te zien op archeologische werkplaatsen op Santorini. Deze werden in 1967 ontdekt door de Griekse archeoloog Spyridon Marinatos.

• Santorini caldera

  The Santorini caldera is a large, mostly submerged volcanic 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 the main island of Santorini (known as Thera in antiquity), Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery, and the Kameni islands at the center. It has been designated one of the world's sixteen Decade Volcanoes.

• Episkopi Gonias

  Episkopi Gonias (Greek: Επισκοπή Γωνιάς) also Mesa Gonia (Greek: Μέσα Γωνιά) is a village and a community on the island of Santorini in Greece, located 6 km southeast of the capital Fira. The village is built on the foothills of Profitis Ilias mountain and had 187 inhabitants according to the 2021 census. Episkopi Gonias was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1956. As a result, most of its dwellers moved near the coast and built the village of Kamari. Today, Episkopi Gonias and Kamari comprise the community (Δημοτική Κοινότητα) of Episkopi Gonias with a total population of 1,252 (2021). The village derives its name from Panagia Episkopi, a nearby 11th century Byzantine church which used to be the seat of the Orthodox diocese of Santorini.

• Pyrgos Kallistis

  Pyrgos Kallistis (Greek: Πύργος Καλλίστης, lit. 'Beauty Tower') or simply Pyrgos (Greek: Πύργος, lit. 'Tower') is a village on the Aegean island of Santorini, Greece, in the Cyclades archipelago with a population of 1,078 according to the 2021 census. Pyrgos is part of the Municipality of Thira and is situated approximately 7 km away from the island's capital Fira. It is built amphitheatrically on a hill that offers magnificent views of Santorini in almost all directions. On top of this hill remain the ruins of a Venetian castle (Kasteli) that was once the island's administrative center. Pyrgos is a typical example of medieval architecture with narrow, labyrinthine streets, fortified walls and hidden passages. Nowadays it is one of the villages of Santorini least spoiled by tourism.

• Santorini International Airport

  Santorini International Airport (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Σαντορίνης) (IATA: JTR, ICAO: LGSR) is an airport in Santorini, Greece, located north of the village of Kamari. The airport serves as both a military and a civil airport. With its redesigned apron, as of 2021 the airport is able to serve up to nine civilian airliners at the same time. Santorini is one of the few Cyclades Islands with a major airport. The airport is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southeast of the centre of the city of Thira. The main asphalt runway (15/33) is 7,208 feet (2,197 m) in length. The parallel taxiway was built and marked to runway specification but is now marked and lighted as a taxiway. The airfield can accommodate medium-sized jets like the Boeing 757, Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series as well as smaller aircraft such as the Avro RJ, Fokker 70, and ATR 72. Scheduled airlines include Ryanair, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines, with seasonal scheduled and charter flights from other airlines during the higher seasons in spring, summer and autumn. Transportation to and from the air terminal is via buses, taxis, hotel car-pickups and hired cars.

• Panagia Episkopi

  The Panagia Episkopi (Greek: Παναγία Επισκοπή) is a middle-Byzantine Greek Orthodox former cathedral, now church, on the island of Santorini (Thira), in the Cyclades region of Greece. It is also called Panagia tis Episkopis (Παναγία της Επισκοπής) or Church of Episkopi Thiras (Ναός Επισκοπής Θήρας). According to an old, now almost completely destroyed inscription, the building of the church was commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos at the end of the 11th century, and took the place of a previous three-aisled early Byzantine-era basilica. The church was dedicated to the Panagia ("All-holy"), a Greek Orthodox appellation for the Virgin Mary. The second part of the name (Episkopi) means "episcopal". The Panagia Episkopi was the seat of the Orthodox diocese of Santorini until 1207 and again from 1537 to 1827.

• Kamari

  Kamari (Greek: Καμάρι) is a coastal village on the southeastern part of the Aegean island of Santorini, Greece, in the Cyclades archipelago with a population of 1,065 according to the 2021 census. It is part of the Municipality of Thira and is situated approximately 8 km away from the island's capital Fira. Kamari was built by residents of the nearby village of Episkopi Gonias, which was almost flattened by a devastating earthquake that hit Santorini in July 1956. The village got its name from a small arch (Greek: Καμάρα, Kamara) at the south end of its beach and is what remains from an old customs house (Greek: Παλιό Τελωνείο, Palió Teloneío) built between 1537 - 1650. This arch is also the site of annual Ephipany and Blessing of the Water tradition for the area. Today, it stretches along a beach covered with black pebbles, which is the longest of the island. The beach extends in a northeast to southwest direction from Monolithos to the feet of the Mesa vouno mountain that rises up to a height of approx. 400m, being Santorini's second highest peak. Once an agricultural and fishing village, modern Kamari boasts a thriving tourist industry, offering a wide choice of accommodation, restaurants, cafes, bars and night clubs, plus several water sport activities. In 2002, an archaic sanctuary dedicated to Achilles was discovered in Kamari.