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Oia, (Ia and pronounced
Eah) and
Santorini have a long history connected with the Aegean Sea, our
local wines,
international trade, the simple tomato and of course, the focal
point
of Santorini - the volcano and it's sea-filled caldera or crater.
Santorini's earliest
sailors from the 1700's BC are beautifully immortalized
in the colorful Akrotiri wall paintings depicting these Minoan
voyagers.
The numerous ruins of 14th and 15th century
castles
and village fortifications on the island, tell us of the invading
pirate sailors.
Italian sounding names, even that of "Santa Irina"
herself, recall the frequently
interrupted reign of Venice over the island.
But by walking through the marble and
volcanic stone paths of Oia,
you will find the memories of more recent sailors and their sea
captains.
The unique, white cave houses, dug into the cliffs of volcanic
pumice and rocks,
were home to the village's sailing crews.
The prosperous sea captains and ship owners, also skillful
international traders,
built cliff-top mansions influenced by the architecture they
found on their exotic voyages.
Their 18th and 19th century homes were financed by the shipping
and trading
of the popular Santorini wine to Russia, Russian wheat to France
and
treasured French products onward to Mediterranean and Greek
merchants.
Tomatoes, although not traded extensively
abroad as the Santorini wines,
were and still remain, unique by growing in the rich volcanic
soil without rain. Receiving moisture only by the heavy night dew or morning fog.
Served fresh, sun dried or in the island's traditional tomato
fritters 'tomato keftedes',
they have a powerful flavour despite their small size.
Constantly in view, the Santorini volcano's several heads pop up
from the Aegean Sea
in the center of our crescent island. Black, and now thankfully
silent, the volcano has
dramatically shaped the land and sea here for thousands of years.
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