In 2019, partly as a consequence of the Brexit referendum, I relocated to a Greek island in The Aegean.

Tinos is characterised, amongst many other things, by two not unassociated factors.

The island is famous for the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, Our Lady of Tinos, the most important Marian shrine in Greece dedicated to the annunciation of the Virgin Mary and considered one of the most holy and sacred places in the country. The church therefore holds great sway in the life and affairs of Tinos and on any future direction the island decides to follow.

Additionally, the island has no airport to accommodate the type of international flights and overseas holidaymakers that have marked, many feel highly negatively, other islands in the Cyclades chain, most notably perhaps, Mykonos, its near neighbour. The idea was considered a few years ago, but rejected, and any possible future initiatives for any sort of airport seem similarly doomed, as much by the unsuitable geography of Tinos as by the strength and influence of the church.

The Church of Panagia Evangelistria, consecrated in 1830, is centred around an icon which it is believed was found after a nun, Pelagia, was told by the Virgin Mary in a dream or vision where the icon was buried on the island and believers consider the icon to be miraculous. It is nearly entirely enclosed in precious metal and various jewels and devotees make offerings of large amounts of gold and silver to fulfil their vows to the 'Megalochare' or She of Great Grace,' another name for the church, and thought to be a guardian of those who travel on the sea and a healer of the sick and frail.

Each year on the 15th August, the Dormition (peaceful death) of the Mother of God, is celebrated by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches and Tinos becomes the centre of a pilgrimage with many attendees expressing their devotion by crawling on their hands and knees the 800 meters from the ferry port to the church, similar in this regard to Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal.

Tinos is also known for its windmills, dovecotes and 60 or so inhabited villages scattered across the island, its blue water beaches, wild landscapes and the Etesian (Meltemi) northerly winds that blow strongly across The Aegean Sea during the late Spring and Summer months. It has been famous for centuries for its marble and marble carving.

Over the years the island has been ruled by the Persians, the Venetians and the Ottoman Empire and became part of Greece following the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

Such facts tell only part of the story of Tinos. Over the last four and a half years and through the isolation of the pandemic and the limitations on outsiders travelling to the island, I have ventured extensively around Tinos discovering its less well-known corners and recording what I found there.

In the era of so-called post-truth, 'Alternative Facts' is as true as the island's other actual or perceived realities.