Christine Presents: Nearing the Journey's End, Santorini

Kali mera fill mou,

(good morning my friends, Greek)

The Flyingcat took us from Crete to Santorini yesterday morning. In places it was a bumpy ride in other places nice and smooth. We reached the port at the bottom of the cliffs on the western side of the island then hailed a cab. The ride brought us to a small hotel outside of Oia (ee-ah). After checking in we walked a scenic back trail to the town. This church was at the top of trail looking into the sea.

This chapel is dedicated to Profitis Ilias. It may refer to Elijah in the Hebrew Bible considered a Saint by Christians.

Volcano Island or

Nea Kameni

This island is in the middle of the caldera also called New Burnt Island. This island emerged from the sea in 1707. The last small eruption on the island occurred in 1950 and steam and sulphur dioxide are sometimes emitted at the current active crater. This caldera was formed similar to Oregon's Crater Lake.

Once a tidy conical shape the mountain exploded around 1630 BC and what is called the Minoan eruption, one of the largest in human history. It blew out 24 cubic miles of volcanic material, at least four times the amount ejected by Krakatoa. A super heated pyroplastic flow similar to Mt. St. Helens swept down the islands slopes. The emptied out volcano collapsed under its own weight forming the flooded caldera. 

Recipe of the Day: Cheesecake from - http://realgreekrecipes.blogspot.gr

The first cheesecake was created in Ancient Greece, even though the first appearance of the modern cheesecake (see above) was in New York.

Cheese moulds dating from 2000 BC were excavated on the Greek island of Samos and the writer Athenaeus is credited with writing the first Greek cheesecake recipe in 230 AD - the oldest known surviving Greek recipe. The physician Aegimus also wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes.

It is believed to have been served to athletes at the first Olympic Games in 776 BC as it was considered to be a good source of energy. Cheesecake was also used as a wedding cake in ancient times.

The recipe? Pretty basic, but it nevertheless sounds healthy.

"Pound the cheese until it is smooth and pasty - mix the pounded cheese in a brass pan with honey and spring wheat flour - heat the cheese cake 'in one mass' - allow to cool then serve."