An organic food deli in Santorini, Faros Market

05/12/2017

Greece is the paradise for every foodie as food plays a main role in the Greek culture.
Santorini is an island with its main, few products, well known everywhere.
You can’t leave Santorini without having tried tomatoes and fava (yellow split peas).
They are yummy and they are organic and uncommon as they grow without any artificial irrigation, only fed by the humidity and the uniqueness of the volcanic soil.

All over the island you will find farmers selling their own organic products and small shops selling traditional delicacies.
There is one that I love very much and that I recommend you visit when in Santorini, Faros Market.
It’s a special and beautiful place, for different reasons.
It is run by two lovely young ladies, Maria and Markela.
Maria is ‘technically’ my sister as she is the proud daughter of Eva, my second mother.
I know her since we were both very young. When I met her for the first time, she was getting her degree; in the following years I witnessed her becoming a strong woman, marrying and having two cute children that are now my nephews who teach me Greek.
I met Markela only recently, when the shop opened.
She is a sweet girl and I love having my coffee with her, relaxing in the yard outside the shop. She is very fun and always surprised when she meets me around the island and I am driving always a different car: she says that she can’t recognize me!

Faros Market is one of my places in Santorini.
It’s on the way to the Lighthouse, which has such a great attraction on me. I go there when I need to recharge my energy.
And Faros Market is my favorite stop for a Greek coffee and a chat with these two beauties.
It’s very interesting to spend some time there watching Maria and Markela at work.
They proudly talk about their products, the tradition behind them, the magic of Santorini, the way they grow them which is pure natural, organic.
Their enthusiasm for what they are doing is tangible.
They both come by two farming families and they are translating this tradition and heritage into something more contemporary.
Their products, jams, fava, wines, capers, tomatoes, are the ones that their parents were (and still are) growing and transforming into delights.
So they are keeping this practice, I would say this ritual, alive.

Faros Market is also a small winery and you should visit for a wine tasting.
Sipping a glass of Vinsanto, a sweet wine typical of Santorini, from their terrace, while assisting at a stunning natural show, the sunset: this will be one of the best memories of your trip!

There are shops where you go, buy, you are happy with your shopping and you go back to your place satisfied.
There other shops instead where you go, you start talking to people, you start meeting them, you fall in love with what they are doing as you understand that they are doing it with their hearts and that, by doing this, they are opening their life and story to you and you feel that you are very welcome.
Faros Market is one of this places.
It is a place where you want to sit and have a coffee with Maria and Markela. You want to listen how they run the shop, how they prepare their products, how old their children are, how they spend winter time. Last but not least you will buy tasty gifts for your friends and family and the best part is that every gift will have its on story and you will tell them giving them life.

FAROS MARKET
Santorini, Akrotiri – On the way to the Lighthouse
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