Like a sprinkling of white dust on the waves, the Cyclades make up a nome (like a UK county) at the heart of the islands of the Aegean. The capital is Ermoupoli on Siros. These arid islands are beautiful in the purest sense, their whitewashed angular villages set against ochre cliffs and mountains. Santorini is the most striking island, while Mikonos and Folegandros have the archipelago’s finest villages.