South Aegean Region, Administrative region in southeastern Greece
The South Aegean Region is an administrative division of Greece comprising roughly fifty inhabited islands scattered across the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups. The territory spreads across several thousand square kilometers of Mediterranean waters and unites these islands under a single governance structure.
The region took its modern form through administrative reforms in the 1980s and was further restructured by the Kallikratis reform of 2010. These changes shaped the governance boundaries that exist today.
The islands feature whitewashed houses, narrow streets, and small squares where daily life unfolds. This architecture and the way people maintain their homes reflect centuries of Mediterranean island living.
Larger islands like Rhodes, Santorini, and Mykonos have airports with connections to European cities, while ferries link all the islands together. Most visitors reach smaller islands most easily by ferry from the larger ones.
Ermoupoli on Syros Island was once a major trading port for the region, and its center remains filled with neoclassical buildings today. The town preserves this architectural richness from its past as a maritime trade hub.
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