A trip to the town of Oia while in Santorini, Greece is a must. This is a small town with many traditional Greek white-washed houses and it was formerly the commercial and economic heart of the island. With a number of shops and museums it is not difficult to find something to do here and hundreds of tourists visit each day during the summer.
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| Oia Santorini |
Most of Oia Santorini hotels are built according to the traditional Cycladic architecture and have kept the “Cave House Style”. The Strogili Traditional Houses Hotel in Oia is a complex of apartments and studios, built in different levels and sharing a large swimming pool with sun loungers, umbrellas and a sun terrace with magnificent sea views.
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| Strogili Hotel Apartments & Studios Santorini (Oia) |
The Strogili hotel in Oia offers elegant accommodation at very reasonable prices and is highly recommended for tourists who are seeking for this type of Santorini accommodation.
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| Strogili Hotel Studios Santorini (Oia) |
The island of Santorini, Greece has a long and interesting history. Over the years volcanic activity has created the islands that we would recognize today and the main island is known as Thira, although the collective name of Santorini is often used to refer to the main island.
A tribe known as the Dorians invaded the island in the 10th century BC and created seven settlements there. It was the Dorians that chose the name of Thira. Over the years other cultures have taken over the island including the Venetians, who settled on the name of Santorini, derived from ‘Saint Irene’ the island’s patron saint. After that, the island was occupied by the Turks until the early part of the 19th century.
The aforementioned volcanic activity has shaped the civilization on the island. In 1625 BC there was an eruption that caused the island to be uninhabited for around 300 years after it destroyed the Minoans. The tidal wave that was also caused by the eruption managed to reach Crete. There were also earthquakes around the same time which changed the islands’ shapes.
Now the island of Thira is the largest of the islands of Santorini, Greece. There is only one other inhabited island, that of Thirasia. The smaller islands can be visited but there is no accommodation there. It is estimated that of the 10,000 people who live on the main island, more than 1000 can be found in the town of Oia. Despite the relatively small population of the island there are at least 550 churches here.
Those who want to experience life at a slower pace will appreciate some of the quirks of living in towns such as Oia. While in other countries the cars need to be registered, here it is the donkeys. Visitors staying in places such as Oia can take trips to some of the island’s best features which include the highest point of Profitis Ilias which is 565 metres high and where there is an 18th century monastery and which is now home to just five monks.
Traditional features of Greek island life can be seen clearly in towns such as Oia and villages such as Pyrgos where there are few contemporary touches. Pyrgos is home to the ruins of a Venetian castle dating from the 13th century.
It is hard to visit Santorini, Greece and avoid the legend of Atlantis. There are those who say that these islands are the former mythical Atlantis, which is reported to have a very advanced civilization and which is claimed to have disappeared under the sea. Given the volcanic activity and how the island has changed in size and shape over the years then this is a possibility.
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