Greece opens the world's first underwater museum.

With just a shipwreck lying at a depth of over 20 meters near the Peristera coast, off the island of Alonissos, Greece, it has been planned and transformed into the world's first underwater museum, open to tourists.

This unique museum will officially open for tours for amateur divers from August 3rd to October 2nd, 2020. Additionally, for visitors who don't know how to dive, Greece is offering virtual reality tours in the town on the island of Alonissos.

Earlier, on August 1st, the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, along with other officials, attended the museum's inauguration ceremony. Maria Agalou, President of the Alonissos City Council, shared that: "This shipwreck lies at a depth of 21-28 meters near the Peristera coast and contains between 3,000 and 4,000 ancient jars."

At the same time, the Chairman of the Alonissos City Council also emphasized that thousands of ancient two-handled amphorae on "display" at this special museum are located at a depth of more than 20 meters. They were discovered in 1985 and most are still intact.

Local authorities also provided additional information, stating that the ship sank in a storm around 425 BC while transporting thousands of wine jars during a journey between Chalkidiki in northern Greece and the island of Skopelos.

Local authorities say they are currently planning to open four more shipwreck viewing sites in the amateur diver area, aiming to create a diving park to attract more tourists and salvage the post-Covid-19 tourism season.

My Tong