A book about Anafi

I’ve been thinking for quite a while now to write a book about Anafi. I’m not a long-time visitor of the island, nor I have roots there. But from the very first time I visited Anafi, I felt something changing in me: it was as if the idea of a paradise here on earth got instantly reshaped. It was not only about beauty and tranquility anymore; instead, it was more about originality and uniqueness.

It was halfway through my first stay on the island when I decided to create a book about Anafi. I remember that period: it was a hectic summer, and I needed a break. Around the end of August 2017, I decided to plan an escape from Athens. I remember finding a map, and I started checking the Greek islands I always wanted to visit. It was a short, compact list. On top of this list, it was, of course, Anafi.

And then I wondered: should I really visit Anafi after such a hectic summer? Or should I better save it for one of the coming summers? I mean, shall we visit the places we always wanted to see when things are totally wrong, or should we visit them when we are in a better mood?

I have no idea what the correct answer is, but I decided at once to visit Anafi. To this day, I still don’t know what I thought I’d find in this remote island in the Aegean sea.

Shaping the book about Anafi

As I already mentioned at the beginning, I started thinking of writing a book about Anafi already from the first days of my first journey. I would walk the Chora of Anafi (the main settlement) day and night, and I’d spend hours at the beaches. It’s not that you have so many things to do in Anafi; it’s all about the joy of being there.

This joy was an unprecedented one for me. The locals are the warmest people I ever met in the Cyclades. They are full of kindness and smiles. I had to write about the people of Anafi, and I had to save some of the stories I heard. Walking through the whitewashed streets of Chora feels like walking through the loneliness of centuries. It’s usually quiet, but all of sudden you hear two ladies whispering, you hear a bunch of older men talking about the plots they own.

And then, it’s the landscape itself. Anafi is a barren land which still manages to produce most of the things the inhabitants need. Less than 200 people are living permanently in Anafi and surviving against countless winters is almost an act of heroism. The arid landscape of Anafi sees only rarely some rain. According to some locals, there was not a proper rain for nearly three years. Hills, dry hills and even more infertile hills are all you see in Anafi. Small steep roads are running through the endless slopes, and the lonely cars are resembling ants rolling once in a while on the hot asphalt.

But the sea is everywhere. No matter where you stand in Anafi, the sea surrounds everything. Surrounded and surrendered, that’s how I always felt in Anafi. The infinite blue, the blonde sand, the pebbles, and some old tamarisks offering shadow. I’d stay there all day long, and whenever it got warm, I’d dive into the sea. Klisidi, Livoskopos, Agioi Anargyroi, Roukounas, Megas Potamos: the names of Anafi’s beaches that I still feel in awe just by listening to their name.

Collecting material

And that’s how I started shaping that book about Anafi. I’d always have a pen and a paper with me. Don’t imagine something fancy though: sometimes a receipt, other times a half-cut paper, never a proper notebook. I’d write everything down, and I’d keep them together with a paperclip. Papers, words, and a single paperclip keeping together my summers in Anafi.

Of course, I had a camera with me — actually, more than one. In my first journey, it was a Sony a58 and compact Fujifilm X30. By the end of the year, both cameras, as if they fulfilled their purpose, died. They became damaged and useless. The next year I had my beloved Ricoh GR ii and a Sony a6300. I’d shoot photos continuously, almost in the pace of breathing. I have more than 2,000 photos from Anafi, some of them really bad, others kind of good.

But the decision was made: if I ever wrote a book about Anafi, I’d include only the best ones.

The book about Anafi

Two summers later, and after having enough material for an initial project, I thought of creating the book about Anafi. And then the question arose: how should it really look like?

I had two texts about Anafi and several side notes. The first text was more of an elegy for Anafi, while the second one was more of a dynamic encounter. The stories, the places, the tall girls, the older men, everything deserved a place in the book. I decided to keep the list of the things to do in Anafi out of the book. No matter how handy it might come for the first time traveler to Anafi, the truth is that I preferred a book based on experience. In other words, I thought that the things to do deserved definitely a place on my blog but not in the book.

And, of course, I included photos — lots of pictures, but unfortunately none of my polaroids. Although I wanted to add some, they looked bad after I scanned them. Maybe in the future, I’ll find a way to make a book with polaroids. For the time being, I preferred the high-quality images, that look much better and give a full impression of Anafi.

Last but not least, I had to think of the title. For a place like Anafi, which is frugal and stark, I thought that a flamboyant title would add unnecessary weight. I decided to keep it plain and descriptive, exactly like Anafi. It was the best choice, I guess: Two journeys to Anafi (in Greek: δύο ταξίδια στην Ανάφη).

Publishing the book

I still feel uncomfortable calling it a book. The truth is that it’s more of a zine, an amateur effort to create a tribute to a place I love with all my heart. So, book, zine, or whatever you might call it, the thing is that I had to publish it somehow.

After searching online for quite a while, I came across Blurb. This is an online print-on-demand platform, which practically means that I had to create everything by myself and then Blurb will print the copies. I couldn’t afford to have a stock of the books about Anafi. The only way I could materialize this project was to make it available to the public and whoever wanted to buy a copy they could order it straight from Blurb. (Visit Blurb’s website and learn more if you would like to create a book with Blurb too).

Creating a book with Blurb is actually relatively easy, but it takes lots of time. Plus, the book printing process is not cheap at all. In other words, one can never hope for making a profit out of it, but that’s okay with me: I created the Two journeys to Anafi out of love.

Two journeys to Anafi

You can now purchase the book about Anafi by following the links on this post.

Some info about the book:

• Two journeys to Anafi is a zine/book that has a total of 40 pages.
• It has a matte paper on the cover and premium quality paper in the pages.
• It is written in two languages: English and Greek.
• There are several photos and also two texts: one is written in 2017, the other in 2018. Both texts appear, of course, in both languages.
• Each copy costs 9,60 € or 12,39 $. The price doesn’t include shipping; Blurb will calculate it for you on checkout.
• By following the link to the book, you can also see a short preview.
• All photos are mine, taken with the four cameras I mentioned above.
• There is also a limited number of signed copies. You can check the availability of the book in my online shop.

Final words regarding the book about Anafi

Writing the small book about Anafi kept my summers on the island alive. It was through photos and words that I could keep the memories intact. Apart from that, the Two journeys to Anafi (in Greek: δύο ταξίδια στην Ανάφη) mark the beginning of my relationship with the island.

I plan to visit as often as possible Anafi. For the ones that you’ve been following this blog from the beginning, you know that I’ve written several texts like the travelogue of 2018 that appears partly in the book too, or the comprehensive guide with the best things to do in Anafi. Also, there was a small fictional post, where I imagined that the director Wim Wenders visited Anafi. Last but not least, I wrote an entry about Anafiotika, the micro-neighborhood in Athens that has a strong connection with Anafi itself.

So, make sure to check out the Two journeys to Anafi. It’s a small book about one of the less known Greek islands. Do tell me in the comments below what you think if you purchased one. Happy reading 🙂

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More about Anafi: Divine Anafi, Anafiotika & Things to do in Anafi

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Last Updated on May 16, 2020 by George Pavlopoulos