The island of Santorini has a strong impression of its unique Greek Orthodox cathedral and white-walled houses, but in fact it is also a treasure trove of ancient ruins.
We visited two ruins on this day. The first one was Akrotiri, one of the representative ancient ruins in Santorini.
Akrotiri was a very prosperous country centered on the Aegean Sea until around 1500 BC, when it was instantly erased from the stage of history by a major eruption around 1628 BC, and the resulting massive earthquake and tsunami.
Incidentally, this eruption formed a caldera topography, which gave the island its current shape.
By the way, does the story of a very prosperous maritime nation that was destroyed in an instant sound familiar to you?
Yes, the continent of Atlantis.
While Atlantis is considered to be mere folklore or a creation of Plato, there are several theories that suggest it may have existed.
One of them is the « Mediterranean theory », or the volcanic eruption theory of Santorini.
It is said to be the most promising at the moment.
（詳しくは、こちら：アトランティス – Wikipedia）
Now, the ruins themselves are covered by a building like this. There is an entrance fee to enter this building.
Being in a building, it was very easy to avoid the strong sunshine and sightseeing.
The inside is as you see.
The Akrotiri ruins are the best preserved ruins found around the Aegean Sea.
The scale of the temple is certainly large, and for something that is 3,500 years old, I thought it was of very high quality.
It was buried pretty deep.
There was also an exhibition documenting the excavation.
We were able to enjoy the ancient romance comfortably in the splendid indoor building.
The Akrotiri site is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Santorini, and relatively easy to reach by public transportation.
それでは再びクルマでの移動。次も古代遺跡に行きます。（続く）
