“Eternal summer guilds them yet / But all, except their sun, is set” ends the opening stanza of Lord Byron’s poem “The Isles of Greece.” Written some 200 years ago, it is a heady mix of admiration for the ancient islands and a lament for their faded glory written in the leadup to the Greek War of Independence. Today the Greek islands are more likely to welcome tourists and sunseekers than revolutionaries from the British aristocracy. Raquel Guiu’s photographs showcasing Milos, Mykonos, and Santorini do not show faded glory but rather a different way of living on the same land. Her snapshots from Greece contrast densely packed, ancient white buildings in coastal towns with the untouched rocks and water of the coastline. Through her lens, we see that the bustle of the cities, once teeming with traders and soldiers, has migrated to the coast, where modern visitors lounge and swim in the endless summer.

Cycladic architecture draws people from all over the world to the dense cliffside towns of Santorini.

Tourists and locals alike take in the sunset on Milos, while one of Santorini’s estimated 1,256 churches keeps watch over the sea.

Tourists and locals alike take in the sunset on Milos, while one of Santorini’s estimated 1,256 churches keeps watch over the sea.

Roughly 100 kilometres separate Milos and Mykonos, two of the Cyclades Islands that surround the rumoured birthplace of Apollo.

SHARE