This text is part of the article “And the Living is A-Z”, published in Greece-Is Athens, Summer 2018 Edition. By Paulina Björk Kapsalis, Maria Coveou, Nena Dimitriou, Alex King, Maria Korachai, Pagona Lipsati & Alexandra Tzavella.

Climbing vines, potted plants and brightly painted shutters all add charm to the small white houses down alleys with no names. It’s almost unreal, like some small-scale model of a Cycladic island. You half-expect information plaques and video presentations, but what you get instead are the most unpretentious of dwellings – albeit with incredible views of the city.

Built on the slopes of the Acropolis by construction workers who came to Athens from Anafi in the early 19th century to help build the new capital, these homes were made to resemble the houses the islanders had left behind. Today, even though Anafiotika might be the most photographed residential neighborhood in Athens, many tourists never make it here at all – and the residents prefer it that way. So, if you do come, please explore with respect, don’t stick your head in any open windows, and mute your camera shutter.