A quiet hillside above Souda Bay

Casa Aura sits on the edge of Megala Chorafia, a hillside village that looks down over Souda Bay on one side and inland towards the White Mountains on the other. The house is new, low and unfussy — smooth sand-coloured plaster, full-height glazing, and courtyard walls built from the same rough limestone the village has always used.

Inside, two bedrooms open onto their own outdoor spaces, and a single bright living room runs from the kitchen to the sliding doors. Outside, a private pool holds the edge of the terrace, warm enough to swim all year and lit from within after dark.

It is a house for slow days: coffee on the terrace, an afternoon in the water, dinner outside while the valley lights come on below.