Restaurant Dining in Santorini
Santorini, known as Thera in classic Greek, is one of the largest islands in the Aegean Sea, almost directly between the Greek mainland and Turkey. Thera is filled with eye catching Greek architecture, white and blue winding streets, and is one of the most historically rich regions you can visit. Santorini is one of the most famous locations for honeymooners and romantic vacations in the Mediterranean and is known for its incredible food and wine. It wasn’t actually a luxurious travel destination until the late-twentieth century, though its history goes much, much further back. Whether we were in the ancient capital, or the more modern cities of Fira or Oia, we felt the history all the way back to the 9th century BC.
Lava Sweets Delivered To Our Room
Santorini is actually host to one of the few volcanos that are still active in the Mediterranean and is also the location of one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded. It’s no wonder you can feel the history as you walk through this incredible island. A great deal of what we currently know about the Minoan civilization was actually discovered from what was preserved in the volcanic ash right at Santorini. We were able to walk through Akrotiri, a prehistoric city that was beautifully preserved from the eruption of Thera in 1600 BC. It was incredible to walk through both streets and rooms of this ancient civilization where some of the walls still stand over eight feet high. Even older than the famous volcano is the ancient Hellenistic city known as Ancient Thera. Founded in the 9thcentury BC, Ancient Thera actually sits above the modern city and provides some of the best views and sunsets on the island. It was the capital all the way into the medieval period and is filled with thousands of years and many layers of history. Complete with a Venetian castle, ancient houses, and temples. It truly is as you’ve stepping into the past as you walk through Ancient Thera.
Strolls around Santorini nobody tells you about all the stairs and the maze of buildings.
One of the most exciting things we were able to do in Santorini was walk along the rim of the caldera. Formed 3,600 years ago by the famous volcano eruption, the caldera, which is a large volcanic crater, is located in the southern Aegean Sea and is now filled mainly with water. If you look at a map of Santorini, you can see the shape of the caldera and the shape the island used to be. At first, it seemed like we were taking a costal stroll, but we quickly saw that we were actually walking along the edge of the caldera and that we could walk all the way from Fira to Imerovigli.
So many beautiful things to buy
The final aspect of this incredible history that we got to enjoy throughout our stay was the food. Due to the rich volcanic soil in the area, the local cuisine is incredible and is known for having some of the best food in all of Greece. From sun-dried cherry tomatoes and fava beans to caper and white eggplants, the produce grown on this island is mouthwatering and unlike anything we’d tasted before. The ever-increasing tourism rates in the area have been pushing chefs to combine modern recipes with the traditional ingredients and gastronomy, resulting in the best food we could imagine.
We stayed in Santorini for two weeks at 4 different locations in some of the best luxury hotels on the island each one was different in its own way and had a different view we will leave all the details though for a more in depth blog on our Santorini hotels.
