Oia Village Architecture - Hyposkapha
The hyposkapha are the houses of the less well-off, usually the crew of the ships. They are carved in the rocky, volcanic cliff, one on top of or inside the other. They are long and narrow, with vaulted roofs. The vaults were constructed with stones, earth, twigs and branches of vines and were cemented with the addition of lime.
At the entrance was the sala and, behind it, was the bedroom. Those two were separated by a wall that had the door and the windows exactly at the same place as on the façade in order to allow the best possible ventilation and lighting. The floor was made of earth and the walls were plastered. The kitchen and the storeroom were also hyposkapha.
The toilet was located outside the house and was vaulted too. All these spaces were accessed through a tiny yard, from where a staircase often began. In the yard, the alitana was also found, that is a small garden where flowers and herbs grew.
Among the white and pink buildings of Oia with the blue, green or grey windows, several churches with blue domes and ornate bell towers are scattered. A labyrinth of paved streets unites everything and leads to the neighborhoods and the sea.
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