P496 - Greece - Firá, Santorini

Firá, Santorini, Greece

Firá is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island, Santorini. It is a traditional settlement. "Firá", actually, is a different pronunciation of "Thira", the ancient name of the island itself.

Fira is a town of white-washed houses built on the edge of the 400 m high caldera on the western edge of the semi-circular island of Thera. The two main museums of interest are the Santorini Archeological Museum, 30 m east of the cable car entrance, and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera at the southeast corner of the White Orthodox Cathedral (with the Greek name meaning Metamorphosis), built on the site of the Ypapanti Church, destroyed in the 1956 earthquake.

Access to Fira is mainly by roads on its eastern side, climbing from its port via the Z-shaped footpath on foot or on donkeys, or by riding the steep cable car from its lower terminal by the port. The central square of Fira is called Plateia Theotokopoulou, with a bus and taxi station, banks and pharmacies.

The narrow paths, lined with all kinds of souvenir shops, jewelry shops, and restaurants linking the upper cable car terminal and the central square, are packed with tourists during the Summer seasons.

The view from Fira is magnificent, with a nice panoramic view of the 18 km long caldera from southern Cape Akrotiri to northern Cape Ag. Nikolaos, plus the volcanic island Nea Kameni at the center with Thirassia Island in the distant west on blue Aegean water. Big cruise ships can usually be seen anchoring in the small harbor between Nea Kameni and Fira.


费拉是希腊爱琴海岛屿圣托里尼岛的首府。这是一个传统的居民点。费拉其实是该岛古代名称锡拉的不同发音。

费拉是一座白色房屋的小镇，修建在半圆形的锡拉岛西部边缘400米高的火山边缘。镇上主要有两个博物馆。一个是圣托里尼考古博物馆，在缆车入口以东30米，锡拉史前博物馆位于白色东正教大教堂的东南角，修建在毁于1956年地震的 Ypapanti 教堂遗址上。

前往费拉主要是经由其东侧的道路，从港口步行或骑驴经过Z字形的小径攀登而上，或直接从港口搭乘缆车。费拉的中心广场称为Plateia Theotokopoulou, 有巴士及的士站，银行和药店。

狭窄的小路，两边是各种纪念品店、珠宝店、餐厅，连接缆车站和中心广场，在夏季满是游客。

费拉的景色相当壮观，能看到18公里长火山的漂亮全景，从南端的阿克罗蒂里角到北端的尼古拉角，加上中间的火山岛尼亚卡美尼，西部的忒拉西亚岛，以及蓝色的爱琴海海水。时常可以看到大游轮停泊在尼亚卡美尼和费拉之间的小港口。


References sources : wikipedia