Monday 11 October, Canadian Thanksgiving, in Thira (pronounce Fira) on Santorini Island, named after Saint Irene ( Holy Peace in Greek). We had breakfast and went to Thira which is about 3 minutes by car from our hotel.
Thira seen from a cliff
Most old towns in Greece on Islands now visited by tourists and cruise ships have been transformed from once upon a time real villages into giant shopping malls.
No one actually lives in Thira anymore, it’s all shops selling, T-shirts, cheap souvenirs, clothing all of it made in China, even when it looks like it might have been made in Greece, there are also lots of expensive Lalique, Baccarat and Choppard stores selling gold jewellery and expensive watches, would you believe in the $6000 dollar range. Mini markets 7 eleven style and of course discos, bars, and restaurants, all promising wild adventures in sensual pleasures, what is wild are the prices, $16. dllrs for a mix drink, $ 9 dllrs for a beer, the best one was a restaurant where the chicken consommé was $13 dllrs, must have been a special chicken.
Dominican nun Roman Catholic convent in Thira
The change on Santorini came about after a devastating earthquake in 1956 when the island which was then a small fishing community was almost deserted by its inhabitants so extensive was the damage and no State help was available just 6 years after the end of the Second World War, Greece was still an unstable country. Land was cheap and developers saw an opportunity to buy and develop the island into a tourist resort, changing forever the look and flavour. But have no fear, you can visit a traditional village today on Santorini where happy peasants delight the visiting hordes of tourists with their simple ways.
Dad looking at the architecture
I was in Santorini 10 years ago and it was still quiet and pleasant, there were shops but all in all it was still a quiet civilized place, since then it has boomed and now it is hardly recognizable. My recommendation is to go to quieter islands in the archipelago of the Cyclades islands.
There are quite a few still ignored by the cruise ships and mass tourism, where you can have a quiet holiday and enjoy the beauty of the place.
So sad that people were forced to desert their ancestral home. Your photos highlight the remaining beauty though, and as we head into fall here, I'm loving these sun-drenched images.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it is still a nice place to visit and the people in general are quite nice and hospitable.
ReplyDeleteYes, one can avoid Santorini but to do so means missing the excavation of Akrotiri, one of the most powerful and interesting archaeological sites I have ever visited. I realize it would not resonate with everyone, but for me as a student and teacher of history, Ancient and Classical, walking through those streets was deeply moving.
ReplyDeleteWill, indeed many of the sites in Greece are evocative, more so in my opinion, then ones found in Italy.
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