Fira, Santorini - Greece Evening Walk 4K - with Captions
We begin our walk in the south of the city of Fira. We are walking along the Ipapantis street, famous for shops selling gold jewelry. These sculptures are part of the Mati art gallery, a contemporary museum established in 1990. Fira is the capital city of the island of Santorini, known officially as the island of Thera. Santorini (Thera) is part of the group of Aegean islands dotted around the Aegean sea.
Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene. The name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini. The name Thera was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island but the name Santorini is still in popular use. Fira is an alternative pronunciation to "Thera". Lining this street, you can see multiple jewelry shops. As such, this street is often dubbed “Gold Street”.
Gold jewelry is a famous craft product from all over Greece. It has a history that goes back thousands of years to ancient Greek civilizations. In the Bronze Age, complex jewelry designs were a sign of power and social status.
The Ancient Greeks likely learned the trade of the goldsmith from Egyptian or Mesopotamian civilizations. During the classical period, craftsmen developed highly refined techniques like filigree work. The jewelry sold in shops in Greece today still recalls some of the styles and symbols of ancient Greece. The settlement of Fira is built on the high ridge of the caldera of the island.
The ridge runs along the western edge of the island. It is 400 meters (1,312 feet) high. As such, the town affords magnificent views over the Aegean sea. From here, you can see how Fira is built high on the steep cliffside. Ciao! :) To access the city from the port below there is a cable car. You can also reach Fira by climbing a steep zigzagging footpath of 600 steps.
To reach the city, you can also ascend the footpath by donkey. Mules and donkeys are part of the island’s tradition, used for traveling and transporting goods. However, a couple of years ago the island’s mayor appealed to tourists to stop using the donkeys to ascend the steep hillside.
On the left is the tiny church of Agios Stylianos which sits picturesquely on the rim of the caldera. Because of an increase in tourists numbers and having to carry overweight passengers, the animals have been suffering serious spine injuries. Tourists are now encouraged to use the cable car instead. Fira’s other main access is by roads to the east.
Santorini is home to around 15,500 inhabitants. So, if we're on a volcanic island in the middle of the sea, where does the electricity come from you ask? Good question. There is a power station on the eastern part of the island equipped with a diesel engine and gas turbine powered generators. The power station supplies electricity to Santorini and the nearby island of Therasia. A fire at the power station in 2018 knocked out the power on both islands for four days. This iconic church is the Three Bells of Fira (whose official name is The Catholic Church of the Dormition).
It is a Greek Catholic church built in 1757 but restructured and expanded over the centuries. The building was badly damaged during an earthquake in 1956 and was subsequently restored. The church has gained fame for its iconic three bells, blue painted dome and picturesque views over the cliffs.
The earthquake of 1956, known as the Amorgos earthquake, had a magnitude of 7.7. It caused severe damage on Santorini, including destroying 529 houses. The earthquake caused the deaths of 53 people, while another 3 died as a result of the tsunami triggered by the earthquake.
From streets like this in Fira you can admire the panoramic view of the 18 kilometers (11 miles) long ridge of the caldera. The ridge stretches from southern Cape Akrotiri to northern Cape Ag. Nikolaos. "Ok mom, I need this for my Instagram feed...and Go!" Santorini is the biggest island in a small archipelago of the same name.
The archipelago is the remains of the volcanic caldera, which refers to a cauldron-like hollow that forms when a magma chamber empties during an eruption. The caldera was created around 3,600 years ago during a volcanic eruption that is one of the largest in recorded history. The volcanic eruption is thought to have led to the end of the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete due to the tsunami.
Some historians have theorized that Santorini is the location of the lost city of Atlantis. These Thera‐as‐Atlantis advocates suggest that Santorini and the other nearby islands around the caldera were one large island known as Stronghyle. The eruption, known as the Stronghyle cataclysm, is said to have caused the sinking of Atlantis.
The date of the eruption and the date Plato gave do not align, but some still hold on to this theory as correct. We are now going to take a path that leads down below the street we first walked along. The water is so deep here, that ships are unable to set anchor and instead need to moor up to a buoy. As a municipality, Santorini also includes the inhabited island of Therasia and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi and Christiana. The total area of the Santorini municipality is 90.623 km2 (34.990 sq mi). Evidence of the Minoan settlement was found on Santorini during excavations starting in 1967.
Archeologists found evidence of a large town with multi-story buildings and walls as high as 8 meters. The remains of the town were preserved by the solidified ash from the volcanic eruption. At the settlement, called the Akrotiri site, researchers found wall paintings, pottery and a highly sophisticated drainage system.
The sun is about to set. Get your phones ready! Many of the wall paintings still display their original colors. Archeologists found pipes supplying both cold and hot water, the latter likely being geothermal. The finds suggest the population was wealthy and advanced. We are now back on to "Gold Street." The architecture and layout at Akrotiri is very similar to Plato’s description of the legendary city of Atlantis.
After the eruption in roughly 1500 BC, Santorini was unoccupied for the remainder of the Bronze Age. After the Bronze Age collapse, Phoenicians founded a settlement on the island. On the left is the Candlemas Holy Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral. It is one of the island’s most striking and monumental buildings. The sunset was much better the night before. There were no clouds.
The cathedral was built in 1827 and underwent restoration after the 1956 earthquake. Inside the cathedral are frescoes by local artist Christoforos Asimis. In the 9th century BC, Dorians founded a Hellenic city on the island. The Dorian settlers claimed to have named the island after their leader Theras. The city they built is now referred to as Ancient Thera. There are several descriptions carved into stone dating from the Dorians near the temple of Apollo.
The island, still named Thera, came under Roman rule. When the Roman Empire was divided between east and west, Thera became part of the eastern Byzantine Empire. The first mention of the name “Santorini” was in 1153-54 in the work of Muslim geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi. It derived from the name of the island’s patron saint, Saint Irene.
Following the Fourth Crusade, Santorini was occupied by the Duchy of Naxos, a maritime state created by Venetian interests. In around 1270, the island was reconquered for the Byzantine emperor by admiral Licario. In 1301, Santorini came back under Venetian rule. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the island was subject to raids by the Ottomans. Finally, in 1576, the island was captured by Ottoman admiral Piyale Pasha.
Under the Ottomans, Santorini enjoyed a privileged position as a semi-autonomous state. In the 17th century, the island suffered attacks from the Venetians as the Ottoman-Venetian wars raged. The Greek War of Independence began on the Greek mainland in March 1821. Santorini gained independence as part of the new state of Greece in May. With the Treaty of Constantinople, Santorini became an official part of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832.
Fira’s architecture is instantly recognizable by the simple, white-washed houses and blue-domed churches. The white and blue that dominates is also reflected in the Greek flag. Fira now lives mainly on tourism as Santorini is often ranked among the world’s top islands by travel magazines. This means prices in Fira can be quite high due to the volume of tourists visiting.
The island is also a popular stop on cruise itineraries. We end our tour in Fira’s main square, lined with shops and cafès. The square buzzes with life day and night and is a popular meeting place for locals. I ate some pad thai at the restaurant at the right. It was pretty good. :) Before this video ends, you will see the theater group singing one of their songs and passing out flyers.
The name of the theater is the White Door Theater. This song is part of their next performance called The Greek Wedding Show. Thanks for watching this tour. If you made it this far, please be sure to LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel. Grazie!
2021-11-29 02:34
