On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
And so this is the wonderful post that was suppose to usher in a great week. So sorry for the two misfires.
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes.
So we moved onto another property on Santorini, overlooking the Caldera from a point a little northeast of Akrotiri.
Taken on 2019-06-24 00:00:00
Akrotiri, Santorini, Cyclades, Greece
Around 4000 years ago, the merchants of Akrotiri lived in a city with running water, a sewage system and a functioning city administration. Fleets of Minoan sailors plied through the eastern Mediterranean bringing trade goods.
Then came the volcanic eruption 3500 years ago – the largest one experienced by man to date.
Thera erupted over a series of years. It scoured the island of life and sent giant tsunamis into the economic and political guts of Minoan society, devastating the vital coastal area of Crete and trading outposts in the Cyclades. The wound was a mortal blow for Minoan hegemony – within 150 years, the Mycenaeans ruled throughout Crete. Egypt recorded apocalyptic rainfalls during this period, and the Chinese recorded stunted cereal growth, an obscured sun, and frost in July.
It took over 300 years for people to return to Thera. The very landscape had changed, and previous settlements were buried under 100 feet of ash and rock. This small piece of Akrotiri (maybe 10%) didn’t even begin being excavated until its discovery on a weird hunch in 1967. In order to preserve it from the elements, private foundations and the Greek government decided to enclose the excavated portion.
I found the site deeply moving, and well worth taking the time to see.
Astarte Suites, Santorini
This was the view from the hot tub on our private terrace.
Yeah, it was super romantic – you can let all of your imaginations run wild….
Astarte Suites, Santorini
Here’s a short clip from the terrace, a daytime shot spanning the Caldera (the remnant of two great eruptions, the first being in 22,000 BC, the second in the 17th century BC). The village to the left across the Caldera is Oia, the large one being Fira.
Thank you so much Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form
David Evans
The video clip is wonderful. I’ve seen still photos of Santorini (and been to Knossos which is also very good) but none of them gives such a sense of the place.
p.a.
When I was a kid I read Olivia Coolidge’s The Trojan War and have been fascinated with the Mycenaean, and by osmosis Cretan, worlds. I would love to see the remains of Periclean Athens and classical Greece, but the older cultures are the real draw for me. Thank you.
waratah
Wonderful photos. The view from the cruise ship was breath taking too. We thought to have a small taste of several islands would help us to decide where we would want to spend more time. The islands have so much history and beauty it is hard to decide.
My daughter bought a can of the famous small tomatoes, I keep forgetting we have it.
debbie
Wow!
JPL
The pictures are amazing, as is the video. Let me be the first to admit that I’m green with envy. lol
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Thanks, Botsy! And Alain, of course.
Barbara
You are making me want to go back to Greece. I loved Greece and I found the archeological remains to be moving as well. I found the hilltop remains at Mycenae were the most remarkable.
Mo MacArbie
So, you’re saying there’s no Thera there?
There there, that wasn’t so bad, was it?