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Oia (Greek: ??a, IPA: 'i?a) is a community on the islands of Thira (Santorini) and Therasia, in the Cyclades, Greece. The population was 1,230 inhabitants at the 2001 census, and the land area is 19.449 km².
Along the cliff of Oia, houses have been delved into the porous volcanic rock (left over from a large volcanic explosion many years ago that sunk the center of the island). Parts of these houses are visible and the scenery that results from it is generally perceived as being typically Greek. The town is noted for its picturesque architecture, unique for its blend of relatively large (for the town's space) medieval Venetian houses (dubbed "kapetanea" gr: "?apeta??a" - as they belonged to the captains) with small incave village homes, called "yposkafa" (gr: "?p?s?afa", caved-in) which were the housing form of the rest of the town's population. This is a reminiscent of the age of Venetian rule over the island. Other attributes of this era are the large Catholic population as well as the medieval fortifications to protect from pirates. To this day laws protect the natural and architectural beauty of the town from modern manifestations, such as public electrical wires.
Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubiform houses of its 2 principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to cliffs above an underwater caldera (crater). They overlook the sea, small islands to the west and beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.
Akrotiri, a Bronze Age settlement preserved under ash from the eruption, provides a frozen-in-time glimpse into Minoan life. The ruins of Ancient Thera lie on a dramatic bluff that drops to the sea on 3 sides. Fira, the island's commercial heart, has the Archaeological Museum of Thera and boutique shops. It also has a lively bar scene and tavernas serving local grilled seafood and dry white wine, made from the Assyrtiko grape. Oia is famous for sunsets over its old fortress [Santorini Google Travel]
Santorini has the largest volcanic caldera in the world, this happened around 1500BC, which just carried the entire interior of the Island way up into the atmosphere as ash. This had a major effect on the climate of earth,which went through a change for years afterwards.
When you arrive at Athinios Port it is quite amazing how high this Island is, it is literally perched on top, and the local buses and taxes that take you up zig zag up and quite close the edge. When ships arrived at the old port the cruise passengers would be transported by donkeys, now there is also a cable car you can take from the old port.