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Theoklitos: A Hidden Café in Piraeus
Piraeus → Attica → Sterea Ellada
A hidden café near the flea market of Piraeus becomes, for a few hours each week, a small stage for song, dance and everyday community.
Read the storySkip to contentMY GREECE ATLAS BETACURATED BY GEORGE TATAKISThe mobile app 
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Stories
Essays, encounters and cultural context. Follow the stories behind the photographs.
43 storiesDiscoveries from Athens outward
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Pyrgi and the Art of Xysta
Pyrgi → Chios → Northern Aegean → Aegean
In Pyrgi, the façades themselves tell the story: geometric black-and-white xysta patterns turn the village into one of the most distinctive visual worlds in Chios.
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Anavatos and Smaragda Papastylianou
Anavatos → Chios → Northern Aegean → Aegean
In the nearly abandoned settlement of Anavatos, the ruined stone village and the presence of Smaragda Papastylianou create a story of memory, endurance and silence.
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The Canava of Santorini
Santorini → Cyclades → South Aegean → Aegean
A meeting in Emporio with Nikolaos Drossos, a traditional Santorini winemaker whose life remained tied to the land, the canava, and the island’s new wine.
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Nikos Papalexakis, the Lyre Maker of Rethymnon
Rethymno → Crete
Inside a small workshop in Rethymnon, Nikos Papalexakis keeps the craft of the Cretan lyre alive through wood, sound and patient hands.
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Kapani Market on New Year’s Eve
Thessaloniki → Central Macedonia
On New Year’s Eve in Thessaloniki, Kapani Market fills with food, drink, brass music and the festive pulse of the city.
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A Kalymnian House
Kalymnos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
An overnight stay in a Kalymnian home becomes a story of food, memory, a former vessel accountant and an elderly captain still caring for her boat.
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Antonis and the Sponge Warehouse
Kalymnos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A chance meeting at the harbour of Kalymnos leads to a retired sponge diver, his boat, and the old warehouse he thought was not worth photographing.
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Nikitas and the Sponge Diver on the Wall
Kalymnos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
At Omilos near the harbour of Pothia, a tavern wall, a tattoo of Saint George and the image of a sponge diver hold a small piece of Kalymnos in plain sight.
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The Diving Suit at Therma
Kalymnos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
At a diving school on Therma beach, an old Kalymnian diving suit turns a working encounter into one of the island’s most powerful images.
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A Cretan Wedding in Anogia
Anogia → Crete
In Anogia, a traditional wedding unfolds through family gatherings, music, lamb preparation, rooftop dancing and the intense ritual of the groom’s arrival.
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Psarantonis at Nikos Xylouris’ House
Anogia → Crete
A portrait encounter with Psarantonis inside the former home of his brother Nikos Xylouris becomes a meditation on music, family memory and Cretan legacy.
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Small Encounters in Anogia
Anogia → Crete
Beyond the major rituals of Anogia, small meetings in shops and cafés reveal the village through humour, hospitality and everyday presence.
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Stefanos Ploussis’ Wooden World
Anogia → Crete
In Anogia, Stefanos Ploussis’ workshop brings together traditional instruments, wood shavings and surreal carved forms.
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The Mountains Above Anogia
Anogia → Crete
Above Anogia, the mountains of Psiloritis bring together myth, shepherd life, stone huts and the observatory of Skinakas.
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Hermione the Weaver of Anogia
Anogia → Crete
In her small shop in Anogia, Hermione receives visitors with raki and cheese, then returns to the loom where weaving remains both craft and livelihood.
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Zafirenia’s Lantern
Anogia → Crete
In Anogia, Zafirenia welcomed George Tatakis into her home with raki, food and stories — including a lantern linked to Nikos Kazantzakis and a memorable visit from Robert Powell.
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The Human Experience at Knossos
Knossos → Crete
At Knossos, the ancient site becomes a stage for contemporary faces: tourists, silence, curiosity and wonder before the remains of Minoan Crete.
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In the Kitchens of Platani
Kos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A visit to the Muslim community of Platani, where Ayshe and her friends prepared hundreds of stuffed zucchini blossoms for a celebration.
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Winter Days in Kastoria and Prespes
Kastoria → Western Macedonia
Between events in northern Greece, quiet winter days reveal Kastoria, Prespes and the stillness of lakeside life.
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The Buffalo Farmer of Lake Kerkini
Kerkini → Central Macedonia
Near Lake Kerkini, a buffalo farmer opens a window onto a rural world shaped by animals, water and winter light.
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Christmas Brass Bands in Florina’s Cafés
Florina → Western Macedonia
In Florina during the Christmas season, small brass bands move from café to café, filling warm interiors with Balkan rhythms.
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A Baptism at Agios Minas, Karpathos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
At the remote church of Agios Minas, a baptism becomes a day of cooking, chanting, family gathering and celebration.
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A Traditional Engagement in Olympos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
In Olympos, a traditional engagement unfolds through dressing, waiting, family presence and the quiet intensity before the groom arrives.
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A Traditional Wedding in Olympos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A rare traditional wedding in Olympos unfolds through dowry, dressing, jewellery, escorting and the collective life of the village.
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A Village of Cafés, Mills and Small Encounters
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
Beyond the great rituals of Olympos, the village reveals itself through cafés, mills, alleys, food and ordinary encounters.
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An Afternoon with Yannis Philippakis in Olympos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A chance encounter with Yannis Philippakis of Foals becomes a quiet portrait of ancestry, music and place in Olympos, Karpathos.
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Everyday Life in Avlona
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
In the small agricultural settlement of Avlona, daily life continues quietly among fields, taverns, donkeys and a handful of permanent residents.
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Herding Goats Above Olympos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A visit to a family goat farm near Olympos becomes a close look at feeding, herding and rural life in the mountains of Karpathos.
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The Olive Harvest of Olympos
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
In November, the olive harvest around Olympos brings people back to the land, among trees, cloths, coffee and pruned branches.
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Kalliope’s Wood-Fired Bakery
Olympos → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
In Olympos, Kalliope’s bakery and home reveal the village’s intimate world of wood-fired ovens, bread, coffee and hospitality.
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Fishing with Pavlos in Diafani
Diafani → Karpathos → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
An evening and early morning at sea with Pavlos and his father Yorgos reveal the fragile reality of small-scale fishing in Diafani.
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Kastellorizo and Kaş: Two Shores Facing Each Other
Megisti → Kastellorizo → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
From Kastellorizo, the Turkish coast is not a distant horizon but part of everyday geography, with boats and supplies moving regularly between Megisti and nearby Kaş.
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Megisti and the Quiet Streets of Kastellorizo
Megisti → Kastellorizo → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
Before the Easter crowds arrived, Megisti felt almost private: an Italian-influenced harbour town of narrow streets, old churches, quiet yards and children at play.
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Stavros, His House and Easter Lunch in Kastellorizo
Megisti → Kastellorizo → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
A chance meeting in Kastellorizo led from family photographs and glasses of Souma to a boat ride around the harbour and Easter lunch at a local home.
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The Fishermen of Kastellorizo
Megisti → Kastellorizo → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
On Kastellorizo, the day’s catch still moves directly from local fishermen into the kitchens and tavernas of the island.
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Mandraki, the Other Port of Kastellorizo
Mandraki → Kastellorizo → Dodecanese → South Aegean → Aegean
Beyond Megisti’s famous waterfront lies Mandraki, Kastellorizo’s smaller second harbour, where the coastline, cemetery and small chapels create a quieter edge of the island.
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