Chloe Reed - Blog Post 2

The past two weeks have been extremely enriching experiences and have created so many amazing memories that I am excited to share with friends and families.   On the second week of the trip, we visited so many gorgeous islands around Greece and it was amazing how much history lies beneath all of the beauty.  I think Santorini was one of the most architecturally beautiful places that we visited.  First of all, the island is in the center of a very active volcano that had collapsed.  This is something that really blew my mind, and it was really cool to see the different colors in the surrounding rocks because of the different reactions of the volcano.  I also thought that it was really interesting as to why most of the buildings have the rounded roofs and the specific white and blue colors.  The roofs are rounded because they are the second most effective method for protecting buildings from the impact of earthquakes, behind wood that there is not a significant amount of access to.  Since the island is an active volcano, earthquakes occur very often, so this is a vital aspect of constructing buildings.  The rounded roofs are more effective than flat roofs because they more evenly distribute the weight of the roof onto the walls, thus making it more stable. 

The white paint on the houses began as being used to provide better cooling to the houses, as white limestone was effective at reflecting the sun.  The blue domes on the churches is believed to match the sky and be a connection to god, while the shades of blue on the houses is meant to match the colors of the surrounding sea and the Greek flag.  Overtime, the use of these colors has become more for the purpose of tourism, as this is something that attracts thousands of tourists each year.  Overall, I was amazed by the beauty, culture, and history that makes up Greece and I am beyond grateful to have had this experience.  I hope I can visit again in the future to learn even more about this gorgeous country.