Alonissos – A Glimpse into the Past

The historical photographs open an impressive window onto a world that now seems long gone: the old Chora of Alonissos and the once tranquil harbor of Patitiri. They capture the quiet poetry of everyday life—moments that, in retrospect, feel like precious fragments of a time whose rhythm was slower and whose images now appear like an open window into history.
Robert A. McCabe, who worked primarily in Greece from the mid-1950s onward, is known for his striking black-and-white photographs of Greek islands, landscapes, and everyday life before mass tourism arrived. His gaze became that of a chronicler of change—change he himself only understood much later.

“I didn’t know or understand that I was photographing ways of life that would disappear ... donkeys replaced by tractors and cars; running water comes to houses eliminating the ubiquitous ladies carrying jugs of water or going to the river to do laundry…”
Robert McCabe

The Old Village of Chora

The images from Chora depict everyday life in a village that, nestled in the midst of the Aegean, preserved its own rhythm for decades. Women sit in front of the whitewashed houses working on their handicrafts, children play in the winding alleys, while older residents linger in the warm afternoon sun. The scene exudes a quiet serenity that instantly transports the viewer into a bygone way of life.
In Chora, a form of existence seems to be reflected—one closely connected to nature, whose harmonious balance feels almost mythical today.

Patitiri


Patitiri, now the gateway to Alonissos, only found its purpose after the earthquake of 1965. The regularly arriving ferries became the island’s lifeline, connecting Alonissos with the neighboring islands and the mainland—while also bringing with them the bustling restlessness that has always characterized harbors.
Between the arrivals of the ships, the fishermen’s kaikia shaped the appearance of the port. In the early morning hours they would head out to sea, returning in the afternoon with their catch and spreading their nets out to dry. Meanwhile, people waited on the quay with anticipation for relatives arriving from the mainland, exchanged news, and shared stories. The life of the island followed the rhythm of the ships.