Greece
Size: 51,146 square miles
Population: 10,042,000
Capital: Athens
| Santorini is one of the islands of the Cyclades. Today it is shaped like a fishhook. Centuries ago it was called Thera, and was shaped like a neat round cone. But that cone was formed by a volcano, and sometime before 1450 B.C., Thera erupted. The cliffs surrounding Fira, the capital, show levels of volcanic debris laid down after each eruption, providing a gentle reminder that earthquakes and volcanic activity continue to be a reality here. Santorini is on the same fault line as Vesuvia.
  Some
of the most noticeable sites around the island are the numerous blue-domed
churches.
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