Discover the Lost City of Atlantis and Get Married in a Blue and White Church in Santorini
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
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Santorini and the Exodus
After spending the day at the Acropolis, I figured I had seen enough of Athens and it was time to check out a Greek island so I emailed my friend Carolyn and asked her if she knew of any nice Greek islands. She said she had always dreamed of visiting Santorini, the one with all the blue and white churches. I had never heard of Santorini. I talked to the desk clerk at my hotel and asked which island I should visit and he suggested three islands, the first was Santorini. Then while in a souvenir shop, I flipped through a calendar and I saw a picture of a beautiful white church with a blue roof. I asked the clerk where this was and you guessed it - Santorini Santorini, one of Europe’s tourist hot spots, is all that remains of a larger island that was blown apart in one of the largest volcanic explosions the world has ever seen. The Minoan eruption (also referred to as the Thera eruption because the island of Santorini is also called Thera) took place over 3600 years ago. The eruption devastated the island of Thera and destroyed the Minoan settlement in the town of Akrotiri, perhaps even contributing to the collapse of the entire Minoan culture. The eruption also caused a significant change in climate in the eastern Mediterranean region, the Aegean Sea and much of the Northern Hemisphere, leading to crop failure in China and all kinds of turmoil in Egypt. In fact some scientist claim that the eruption could explain the ten plagues that were bestowed upon Egypt in the biblical tale of the Exodus. According to the book of Exodus, God bestowed ten calamities upon the people of Egypt in order to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelite slaves. Through his messenger Moses, God turned the Nile River to blood, plagued the land with an infestation of frogs, gnats, flies and locusts, exterminated the Egyptian livestock with an epidemic disease, gave the Egyptians an incurable skin disease, made hail rain from the skies, brought darkness onto the land and then caused the death of all first born Egyptian males. The Israelites were finally freed and left Egypt whereupon the Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them. Moses then parted the Red Sea to let the Israelites through. When the Egyptian army followed, the sea filled up with water and drowned the entire army. Scientists claim the volcanic explosion that destroyed Santorini could have caused a chain reaction. Silt from the eruption could have caused the Nile to turn blood red and render it undrinkable, which would have caused the fish to die and the frogs to leave the river and die as well. The lack of frogs would allow the insect population to go unchecked and the flies would bite the livestock and transmit diseases which could have sparked an epidemic. Volcanic activity alters the weather system causing hail which would destroy crops causing locusts to swarm and feed on the remaining crops. After the Egyptians emerged from the darkness, which could have been caused by a solar eclipse, a sandstorm or volcanic ash, they would have eaten with the first born son being served first. The food could have been compromised thus killing the first born males while not affecting the Israelites who prepared their food in a way that made it less susceptible to contamination. The eruption would have caused a tsunami thus accounting for the parting of the Red Sea and the subsequent flooding which would have killed the soldiers. In 1707, the undersea volcano resurfaced and continues to erupt. The twentieth century saw three eruptions, the last of which took place in 1950. While it is currently at rest, steam and sulfur are still given off and it is almost certain that, sometime in the future, the volcano will have another violent eruption. Okay, I can take a hint: Santorini it was. That night I took the train to the Port of Pireas, checked into a hotel then bought a ferry ticket to the island of Santorini. The ferry left the port at 7:30 am and by 3:00 pm, after an 8-hour ride, I was getting off the ferry and looking up at a huge pile of volcanic rock turned Greek island. It was November, which was their off-season, and many of the hotels, restaurants and stores were closed. I was worried it would be difficult to find a room but it turned out to be quite simple. A number of tourist information booths lined the port offering anything from hotel bookings to island and volcano tours. I was about to go inside one of the offices and stand in the lineup when a hotel owner approached me offering me a room for 25 Euros. He even offered to drive me to the hotel with no obligation so I could check out a room. I was rather weary about taking him up on this offer, after my experience in Florence, but there were no available cabs or buses in sight and the nearest city, Fira, appeared to be a long walk up a steep narrow road so I decided to take a risk. Three American students studying in Poland were already in the van and with me he had a full load so he drove up to the nearest town where his hotel was located. When I agreed to take the room, the owner wanted to hang onto my passport until I checked out. I was not comfortable with that arrangement so I convinced him to take a deposit instead. My room had a beautiful sundeck overlooking the pool and a breath taking view of the ocean; not bad for under $50 Canadian! For tips on visiting Greece CLICK HERE
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The Lost City of Atlantis
When I checked my email later that night, I got a letter from my friend Michelle saying she had also visited Santorini. She wondered if I was aware that some researchers believed it could be Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. Wow! Was I really on the island of Atlantis? I was determined to discover all I could about the connection between Santorini and Atlantis so I Googled Santorini and learned about an excavation site near the town of Akrotiri where the remains of a pre-historic village were found.
Plato mentioned the legendary island of Atlantis in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias written around 360 BC. He described it as a naval power that, in 9600 BC, conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, it sank into the ocean in a “single day and night of misfortune”. According to myth the Atlanteans were originally a peaceful people living simple, virtuous lives. They were overcome by greed and lust for power so Zeus gathered the gods together to decide on a suitable punishment and in one violent surge they were swallowed by the sea.
The next day I rented a moped so I could tour the island and hopefully find that blue and white church from the calendar as well as the lost city of Atlantis. Along the way I visited the black beach, the white beach and the red beach and passed by countless blue and white churches. What a surprise to learn that Santorini was an island full of blue and white churches.
When I finally arrived at the archaeological site in Akrotiri I was disappointed to discover it was closed for renovations. That sucked! I sat there in disbelief watching the workers going about their duties. How could I be so close yet so far away? The lost city of Atlantis was not about to reveal any of her secrets to me. Looking back I am thankful that the excavation site was closed. Atlantis has always held a special place in my heart.
It represents Utopia; a place unrivalled in beauty and architecture, housing an advanced yet peaceful civilization. It was place of harmony and balance like no other place on Earth. Perhaps even a heaven on Earth. I doubt any place on Earth could live up to this wonderful I picture I created in my head. Utopia is a myth, the ever-elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and I love myths. I love that fuzzy line between fact and fiction, reality and fantasy. I guess the universe did not want to ruin that for me. And after the whole Napoli fiasco I was thankful.
When I checked my email later that night, I got a letter from my friend Michelle saying she had also visited Santorini. She wondered if I was aware that some researchers believed it could be Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. Wow! Was I really on the island of Atlantis? I was determined to discover all I could about the connection between Santorini and Atlantis so I Googled Santorini and learned about an excavation site near the town of Akrotiri where the remains of a pre-historic village were found.
Plato mentioned the legendary island of Atlantis in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias written around 360 BC. He described it as a naval power that, in 9600 BC, conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, it sank into the ocean in a “single day and night of misfortune”. According to myth the Atlanteans were originally a peaceful people living simple, virtuous lives. They were overcome by greed and lust for power so Zeus gathered the gods together to decide on a suitable punishment and in one violent surge they were swallowed by the sea.
The next day I rented a moped so I could tour the island and hopefully find that blue and white church from the calendar as well as the lost city of Atlantis. Along the way I visited the black beach, the white beach and the red beach and passed by countless blue and white churches. What a surprise to learn that Santorini was an island full of blue and white churches.
When I finally arrived at the archaeological site in Akrotiri I was disappointed to discover it was closed for renovations. That sucked! I sat there in disbelief watching the workers going about their duties. How could I be so close yet so far away? The lost city of Atlantis was not about to reveal any of her secrets to me. Looking back I am thankful that the excavation site was closed. Atlantis has always held a special place in my heart.
It represents Utopia; a place unrivalled in beauty and architecture, housing an advanced yet peaceful civilization. It was place of harmony and balance like no other place on Earth. Perhaps even a heaven on Earth. I doubt any place on Earth could live up to this wonderful I picture I created in my head. Utopia is a myth, the ever-elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and I love myths. I love that fuzzy line between fact and fiction, reality and fantasy. I guess the universe did not want to ruin that for me. And after the whole Napoli fiasco I was thankful.
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Where I Stayed...
Golden Star 847 00 Hellas Center, Santorini, Greece Tel: 22860 23191 Fax: 22860 25145 
CLICK HERE to see Trip Advisor Review
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How to Get There - Fly to Athen and take a ship to the Island of Santorini. From there rent a car or scooter to get around.
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