What a coincidence that I visited the Akrotiri ruins only a few weeks ago. It was truly remarkable. Unlike Pompeii, the people of ancient Thera appear to have been familiar enough with volcanoes to know to evacuate well ahead of the eruption. No remains of valuables, pets, or humans have been discovered at the site. Still, much about the life and culture of these people is able to be learned from their architecture, visual culture, and more. The remains of Linear A tablets and frescos have strongly associated it with Minoan civilization (though the guide we had at the site was careful to not to simply call the people “Minoans”).

The museum of prehistoric Thera is also worth a visit if you make it there! It is fairly small but contains some incredibly well-preserved artifacts. The frescoes are stunning.

I found Fira (nearby "large" town on Santorini, very close to the sites) miserably crowded, but seeing Thera was very cool. This is all about 1500 years older than Pompeii, so a very different experience IMO.

Everyone goes for the blue domes.

The real historic sites can be seen via

  - taking a boat tour to the dead volcano "Caldera"
  - visiting the Prehistoric ruins at Akrotiri (south side of the island)

The weirdest thing about this island is that everything is built on a caldera rim, much higher than sea level. Extremely unusual for an island.

https://ashishb.net/travel/greece/santorini/

Been here two times. It's an amazing site, and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira was incredible. The standout for me was the frescoes from the houses — they are breathtaking. The details on the fishermen are stunning.

And there is a gold ibex: "The figurine was discovered in 1999 CE in mint condition having been originally placed inside a wooden box within a clay chest. It is hollow and was made using the lost-wax technique. The legs, neck and tail were soldered on and finishing touches were added using a small hammer, indentations from which remain visible." It's something I think about weekly.

Worth going to Santorini just for the site and the museum.

p.s only roughly 5% of the site has been excavated, so lots more to learn

In case you're thinking of going, note the excavated surface of Akrotiri is about 40 times smaller than what's visible at Pompeii.

No relation of the British territory on the south of the island of Cyprus, for anyone else who wondered.

As Wikipedia says:

> Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι, pronounced Greek: [akroˈtiri]) means "cape, promontory". As a result, many different seaside places bear this name.

There is a truly unbelievable beauty and rich history hidden underneath the touristy views of Santorini cluttering your social media feeds every summer.

It's a little sad and funny to think that if the people of Akrotiri hadn't escaped with their possessions then we'd know a lot more about them.

I've always wondered what happens to Europe if an event like this happens today.