Santorini, Greece is part of the rim of a massive volcano which exploded in 1500 BC. The cliffs surrounding the flooded crater rise 1,000 feet above the water's edge with the white clustered towns perched precariously atop.	There are three ways to ascend the 1,000 foot cliff to town, cable car, donkey or by foot. I recommend you stay away from the donkies	Santorini has developed into a summer holiday resort. Its stunning beauty, which is mainly a function of its extraordinary landscape, attract thousands of tourists from all over the world.
	Visually, Sanbtorini is the most extraordinary sight in the Aegean.
To see, for the very first time, the graceful Parthenon, on the Acropolis, high overlooking Athens, is quite a thrill.	It was here that a remarkable assembly of artistic, philosophical, and political geniuses occurred: Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and Pericles--and before them Homer.	Here is the embodiment in marble of what was perhaps the greatest civilization of all time. Athens was the true birthbplace of Western civilization.