A Boy from one of the Frescos found in the Big House in Akrotiri - he is boxing
At a time when pile dwellers lived on the shores of Swiss lakes, other societies were a few steps further ahead. By 2'000 BC, the Pyramids were already 500 years old. The Code of Hammurabi would be written 200 years later. Babylon was a sophisticated society with a written language; so was Egypt with its hieroglyphs. Grapes and olives were cultivated for over 5'000 years, domesticated animals lived with human beings for even longer. Long distance trade was common. People of Egypt, Mesopotamia and India knew of each other.
Model of the 10% of Akrotiri which are already excavated - the work was funded by Russian money which is now frozen for obvious reasons
A small island at the southern end of the Aegean was part of this international network and shared its sophisticated lifestyle. Akrotiri, the Bronze Age village, is now being excavated for a good 50 years and changed our way of thinking about the ancient world. Buried under 40 meters of ash after the Thera volcano exploded around 1'650 BC, the town is remarkably well preserved and allows us an unexpected look into life during Bronze Age. So far, only 10% or 35 houses are excavated. Nobody knows how big the town was but several thousand people may have lived there, close to the shore of former Thera.
Storage and Cooking Room in Akrotiri with most of the Storage Pots still intact
In Akrotiri we find everything that we take for granted in today's cities. Multi-story buildings, public places, paved streets, ceramic tubes of an early aqueduct, a waste draining system. In the homes we find remains of tables and beds, large pots for storing food and earthen cookers. The town is incredibly modern and the people were of our size. They must have enjoyed excellent food that kept them healthy and happy. The walls of several buildings are decorated with everyday scenes of men fishing, women gathering saffron and mariners travelling to far away countries with large rivers and animals which never lived on Santroini.
The famous Monkey Fresco which shows Lemurs from Northern India
The most impressive finding is the monkey fresco found in one Akrotiri's houses. For years it was assumed that the monkeys in the painting are of African origin, maybe Baboons, Vervets or Grivet monkeys. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that they probably are Gray Langurs from Northern India. These findings imply that the painter has seen these animals alive and thus travelled to India. We know from other archeological findings that people in Akrotiri had access to lapis lazuli and tin from Afghanistan and northern India. But there was never any proof that Akrotinians had ever reached this region. Paintings could not travel at that time. But people could. Seems Akrotiri was even more international than we assumed before.
On a surface of just 76 km2, there are 18 vineyards. 9 indigenous varieties of grapes are cultivated here but the white Assyrtiko grape dominates. Residues were found in Akrotiri!
After this interesting visit we went to a small, local family winery which makes excellent Assyrtiko. The wines grow very close to the soil and the grapes develop inside a "basket" formed by the wine's trunk. They get their water from the morning dew and do not need to
be irrigated. The Assyrtiko is fresh, has a good level of acidity and is best drunk young. We bought six bottles and one bottle of Vino Santo, made from grapes which are harvested just before winter. It reminded us of a blend between sherry and port. Quite delicious.
The Hatzidakis Vinery was founded in 1997 - the wine
is produced and stored in an old cave - we wondered
who carved it from the rock
The day closed with a visit to Oia, the most northern village of Santorini's main island. We went there just for the photo shots. It was an opportunity we did not want to miss - yesterday we saw Oia from the sea - today we walked with many other tourists on top of the cliff. What was once the poorest part of the village is now its most prestigious. Boutique Hotels have discovered the spot and we would not want to know the rates which they are able to charge.
We were not surprised that Oia is the Sun Set Capital of the World. It is simply stunning. In the Evening, the narrow streets are so crowded that you can hardly move
It is now back to the boat - we will send the afternoon hanging out south of Santorini. Tomorrow will be a long day of sailing. We have to make it to Milos to get away from the storm which seems to get stronger by the day. But on the east cost of the Peloponnese and in the Gulf of Navplion we should be save.
Hanging out with the Cray Rock - tomorrow is a full day of sailing