Society

In The Balkans

Focusing on the Balkan Peninsula, Nikos Economopoulos captures a community divided by ethnic, religious and territorial warfare

Nikos Economopoulos

Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Nomads. Kars village, Turkey.1990. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Muslim wedding. Xanthi, Greece. 1991. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans After 45 years of prohibition, Greek minority villagers celebrated the religious feast of Virgin Mary on August 15. Sopiki village, Albania. 1992. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos Man in foreground, young boy standing on stone table. Korce, Albania. 1990. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Political meeting. Yozgat, Turkey. 1990. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans A nun waiting for the bus. Athens, Greece. 1989. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans In a coffee shop named "the tavern of Ali". A Muslim gipsy holds up a chair without losing balance to prove his sobriety. Alexandroupolis, Greece.1991. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Children waiting for the start of the procession during which they will carry the icons. Island of Patmos, Greece.1989. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Demonstration against the President Iliescu. Bucharest, Romania 1991. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans A horse farm. Eskisehir, Turkey. 1988. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Women cooking traditional pastries. Greece. 1989. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Saint Friday, in a orthodox church. Island of Karpathos, Greece. 1989. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos
Nikos Economopoulos | In The Balkans Man riding bike viewed from passing car. Croatia. 1991. © Nikos Economopoulos | Magnum Photos

In this book, Nikos Economopoulos brings his extraordinary vision of the people of the Balkan Peninsula, a fragmented environment shattered by ethnic, religious and territorial warfare.

In spite of the complicated tensions that have endured for centuries, the people of the Balkan Peninsula share a way of life and a history. When the photographer first traveled through different Balkan countries, he realized how easily he could piece together a collective Balkan portrait based on the common cultural threads between them, beyond historical differences. These photographs show how the people of the Balkans carry on with the business of living – with marriages and funerals, farming and street games – sharing an inextinguishable spirit despite the unmistakable air of volatility that surrounds them.

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