Santorini is a crescent shaped volcanic island, that has gotten its shape by the eruption in 1,650 B.C. that was one of the largest eruptions in the last 10,000 years. About 7 cubic miles (30 cubic km) of rhyodacite magma was erupted, and causing the volcano to collapse leaving behind the island of Santorini with a few smaller ones on the other side of the caldera. It is believed that this eruption even caused the end of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete south of Santorini. The town of Fira perches on the inside of the crater on top of the clif. And this door opens to stairs, in the open air, leading down into a taverna or small restaurant named "Archipelagos" on the side of the cliff overlooking the caldera. The restaurant is one of the oldest captain's houses, built in 1860 and restored according to the traditional architecture. Photo by Molly St.Cyr-Reid.