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A Sleeping Giant |
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you're there, it's not hard to see why locals on the island talk of 'the
magic of Santorini', as Travis Lochert discovered.
From the reading I'd managed to squeeze into 'my island life', in between
lounging on the beach and laybacks on the bar, I knew that Santorini was
going to be different to the other golden Greek islands that make up the
Cyclades. Sitting on the front deck of the ferry as we passed the northern
tip of Santorini, I caught sight of Oia - a captivating white-washed town
perched along the top of a cliff edge, appearing like snow spilling over the
vast black ridge.
It took a while to go 'clunk', but when it did, I realised that the cliff
hugging towns of Oia and Fira were actually clinging to the top of the inner
cone of one seriously massive volcano - the biggest in the world to rise
above sea level. While on the ferry, we were actually cruising through the
sea-filled mouth of the Santorini volcano and the cliffs that so delicately
hold up Oia and Fira, actually plunge straight down to 600 meters below
sea-level to the massive volcanic crater below.
As we left the ferry port and wound up the steep switch-back road to the
cliff top, Santorini appeared to be an uninviting but intriguing alien-like
world, made up of black and red volcanic rock spotted with clumps of
hardened white ash. Surprisingly however, once we drove out of the crater
and onto the volcano proper, we were met with a green oasis compared to the
other rocky islands in the Cyclades group. Driving across the island, it
wasn't hard to guess Santorini's second biggest industry after tourism -
lush green vines sprawled relentlessly across the black earth.
Ancient Akrotiri was first on my list of places to visit. The city was built
by the Minoans, which was the same civilisation that built the Palace of
Knossos in Crete. The Minoans ruled the Aegean from around 3000 to 1500 BC.
Re-discovered in 1967, Akrotiri was an advanced city for its time,
containing elaborate palaces and frescoes, underground sewerage systems and
heated buildings. The well-presented 'Museum of Pre-Historic Thera' houses
the delicate artefacts found at Akrotiri and interestingly, archaeological
work has revealed that the city was suddenly deserted rather than conquered,
around the time of the ultimate fall of the Minoan civilisation in 1500 BC.
So what may have caused the desertion of Akrotiri? Actually, way back in
about 1500 BC, the pressure in the 73km2 crater of the Santorini volcano
reached its breaking point, the crater cracked and the sea water that was
exposed to the 800oC lava instantly vaporised, compounding an eruption
thousands of times more powerful than an atom bomb. Part of the then
donut-shaped island fell into the ocean contributing to the 200 metre tidal
waves that hammered the coast of Crete. 'The Minoan Eruption' as it is now
known, devastated the Minoan civilisation, allowing the Mycenaean Greeks
from Attica to take control of the Aegean.
Many scholars now believe that The Minoan Eruption of Santorini could have
caused the 10 plagues of Egypt that lead to the Exodus of Moses, as told in
the Bible (Exodus 7v4). Many of the plagues are scientifically explainable
as the aftermath of a huge volcanic eruption that occurred not far from the
coast of Egypt. Evidence for this idea comes from the effects of recent
eruptions around the globe. For example, the several days of darkness that
fell over the sky of Egypt, which was the ninth plague, was quite possibly
caused by several tonnes of volcanic ash drifting south to the Nile delta
region. The first plague, which was the water turning to blood, can be
explained by the poisonous minerals that fell to earth with the ash cloud,
just as rivers near recent volcanic eruptions have turned red.
I spent the next predictably lazy day cruising around the sea-filled crater
on the famous Santorini boat trip. With stunning panorama all around, the
highlight of the day must have been standing on top of Nea Kameni, right in
the centre of where the Minoan eruption took place so long ago. To be
standing at the centre of the site of the biggest natural disaster recorded
in human history, is truly a humbling feeling.
After Nea Kameni, it was off to the mud baths for some therapeutic bathing
(and just plain silliness) before lunch at the charming harbour of Thriasia.
After lunch, we cruised to Oia for a dramatic Santorini sunset. The narrow
alleyways of Oia are lined with the classic Cycladic architecture of
white-washed quaint buildings and blue domed churches, all re-built in their
traditional architectural style since the 1956 earthquake that devastated
the town.
Day three saw an arduous hike up to ancient Thera, a ruined classical city
built by the Doric Greeks some 450 years after The Minoan Eruption, when
Santorini was again habitable. For obvious defence reasons but certainly not
convenience, Ancient Thera was built on top of a massive rock. The million
dollar view from the peak was nearly as refreshing as the cold local brew
'Mythos' that went down an absolute treat after the tough hike to the top.
That afternoon was spent floating in the cool water of the Aegean, which was
back-dropped by the striking black sand beach of Perissa. Santorini had
proved to be an island of spectacular contrasts and fascinating tales -
ancient civilisations, clear waters, dramatic landscapes, charming
white-washed towns, volcanoes, earthquakes and lazy beaches with cheap pints
and lounge-chair service.
On Santorini herself, it's hard to imagine exactly on what you are standing.
A few days later I travelled just north of Santorini to the island of Ios.
On a clear afternoon, I climbed to the peak of the hill behind Ios town.
Looking across the Aegean from an elevated distance, suddenly Santorini
clearly resembled the tip of a huge volcano - her tremendous secret was now
finally exposed. Across the sea, there she lay, a sleeping giant of the deep
blue; one eye waiting and watching, again lying in wait for the time to
unleash her fury from another 20,000 years of pent-up frustration
Travis Lochert travelled to the Greek Islands with his friends Spiros and
Effie Giannopolopoulous in 2003 and stayed a stone's throw from the beach at
the fantastic Stelio's Place, Perissa. www.steliosplace.com
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