Stories of Santorini…Part 2: Architecture & Ruins

Listening now…

 

If you did not catch Part 1, hop over there first!

 

I am going to have to just accept the fact that there is no possible way I can share all of my journey and photos with you guys- there are just too many and too much to say!

For Part 2 of this journey I wanted to talk about the beautiful architecture of Santorini Greece.

I touched on this a little bit in the first part…the blue domed churches and the blue and white buildings make up the majority of the architecture you see here.

 

 

Combined with what the locals told us in person, after I came home I read up more on the architecture of Greece. Read more about it here!

Safety is a huge concern of the Greek and a big reason much of their architecture is the way it is today. Key elements include protecting themselves from pirates back in the day as well as building into the left over volcanic rock that makes up the majority of the island that has been disrupted by volcanoes over the years. A local told us that Santorini used to be 1 connected circle until all of the natural disasters occurred!

 

 

The Cliff side Caldera of Santorini…

 

Entire villages are built right into the island’s Volcanic cliff sides, or the “caldera.”

I am convinced our hotel had the absolute best view possible and you can really see how cliff side everything is…

 

There’s the cliff side of Fira…

And the beauty of the caldera of Ammoudi Bay…

 

 

The domed churches…

( with all their “bells” and whistles)

 

 

 

 

Many of the churches featured these tiny bell towers as well which are just too beautiful… the sounds of the church bells as you are walking through Greece truly add to the feeling!

 

 

Pastel painted towns…

 

Certain towns, such as Oia, have more pastel colored buildings and homes than other towns do.

 

 

I don’t want to get too into the beach towns yet because that is a separate part I will do, but Kamari beach and the surrounding town is a town you will see a lot more than just the blues and whites . Each of the restaurants and bars had their own color theme so all you see as you walk down the strip is a different bright color associated with that business.

 

The colors of Kamari!

You see a lot of cobblestone steps too…

 

Historical architecture and ruins…

 

 

You see many old windmills

 

 

And ruins of what used to be…

Obviously I love abandoned ruins  so being in Greece was a dream for me. My favorite towns we visited were Pyrgos and Exo Gonia because of the amazing history you can see as you walk the streets of these places with their ruins…

 

Greece has many castle ruins you can visit and we took a trip over to the Venetian castle in the village of Akrotiri.

 

Visiting the Venetian castle ruins…

The view from the top of the castle

And here are some favorites of mine from the town of Pyrgos:

Pyrgos is also where we ate at our favorite restaurant of our whole trip, Metaxy Mas- but that is for my food post! 😉

An abandoned Greek music venue…

 

We came across an abandoned taverna/restaurant…

 

Old kitchen

 

 

We passed this old building frequently on our outings on the quad and on one of our last days I decided to stop and take pictures of it this dog was tied up….I hope he is okay!

You frequently see shells of buildings that seemed to be starting construction and stopping it abruptly. We think this is due to the economic troubles currently in Greece that many people started building homes, hotels, etc and then could no longer afford it.

 

We think this may have been the start of a hotel…

Doorway to heaven?

 

Archeological site at Akrotiri:

 

We visited the Akrotiri archaeological site

 

 

Greek courtyards and homes…

 

I made sure to be a complete creep and peek into the Greek home courtyards too to get a feel for that as well. They are all so adorable with their little outdoor spaces complete with vines, greenery and flowers as well as their laundry hung outside on the line in the breeze…

 

 

I hope you enjoyed journeying around Santorini with me on this part 2!

 

Stay tuned for upcoming parts including Greek food, shopping, beaches, etc… XOXOX