PHOTO ESSAY: On Greece's Tinos island, families own and lovingly care for 1,000 chapels

TINOS, Greece (AP) — A glance in any direction on the Greek island of Tinos reveals at least a dozen chapels, recognizable as tiny houses of worship by their miniature belltowers and simple crosses.

There are some 1,000 — more than one per 10 residents — and they're owned and cared for by ordinary families, mostly Orthodox Christians but also Catholics, in a rare tradition rooted in centuries of history that they're adamant about passing down the generations.

Eleftheria Levanti regularly prays that her children and grandchildren will enjoy the protection of the saints honored at her family's three chapels. In a poem she's written, she compares them to "pigeons that have stopped to rest. These are our small chapels, the houses of God built by his children to praise him.”

Across the wind-swept island, some chapels are squeezed between giant granite boulders where goats scamper or on top of schist rockfaces plunging into the sea. Others perch among olive groves, vines or beehives, and others still share walls with houses in the many villages. On a high plateau, one Orthodox and one Catholic chapel sit back-to-back, their doors facing opposite sides.

Some chapels have chandeliers, an intricate marble iconostasis or dozens of icons, while others have no electricity, only a stand for candles by the main icon in the stony interior.

At least once a year, the families gather to brush them up — a fresh coat of paint for the whitewashed walls, waterproofing the roof, retouching the blue accents on doors, windows and belltower tops, and polishing the liturgical implements.

Then dozens to hundreds of community members gather to worship and to celebrate during the feast day of the saint or honorific of the Virgin Mary that the chapel is devoted to.

Even those who don't consider themselves religious are proud of their chapels and engaged in their upkeep.

“I like to come here because it’s quiet; it’s a peaceful place to relax," said Giannis Kafantaris, 26, who took a book to Panagia Theoskepasti, the chapel his family co-owns, on a recent September afternoon. “I want to keep it going.”

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

A goat stands on a rock as the sun shines on a family chapel on the island of Tinos, Greece, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Ioanna Louvari, 96, talks with another elderly woman during a liturgy at the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel on the island of Tinos, Greece, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

An icon of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child is displayed inside Agios Giorgos (St. George), a 200-year-old chapel near the village of Volax on Tinos island, Greece, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Dragana Grozdanovic, whose son was married in a family chapel in Tinos, lights a candle in Agios Giorgos (St. George), a 200-year-old chapel near the village of Volax on Tinos island, Greece, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The moon rises behind the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel during its panigiri day on the island of Tinos, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Zerar Delatolas fastens Greek flags to a pole outside the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel during its annual panigiri, on the island of Tinos, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Konstantinos Vasilopoulos lights a candle at the Panagia Faneromeni family-owned chapel near the village of Triantaros, on the island of Tinos, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greek Orthodox priest Antonios Stathopoulos swings a censer during a liturgy at the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel on the island of Tinos, Greece, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Tourists from the United States enjoy an organized picnic outside Agios Giorgos (St. George), a 200-year-old chapel near the village of Volax on Tinos island, Greece, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

An Orthodox priest swings a censer during a liturgy at the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel on the island of Tinos, Greece, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Worshippers arrive at the family-owned Agios Sostis chapel for for a liturgy service on the island of Tinos, Greece, Monday Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Bernadette Foskolos cleans her Agios Athanasios family-owned chapel at the village of Steni, on the island of Tinos, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Naim Domi, 50, an Albanian worker who has lived in Greece for 17 years, paints the Panagia Faneromeni co-family-owned chapel, near the village of Pyrgos, on the island of Tinos, Greece, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Family-owned chapels stand on the Aegean Sea island of Tinos, Greece, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Bernadette Foskolos cleans her Agios Athanasios family-owned chapel at the village of Steni, on Tinos island, Greece, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Giannis Kafantaris, 26, reads a book outside Panagia Theoskespasti, the chapel his family co-owns near the village of Falatados, on the Aegean island of Tinos, Greece, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Naim Domi, 50, an Albanian worker who has lived in Greece for 17 years, paints the rooftop of the Panagia Faneromeni family-owned chapel overlooking the Aegean Sea near the village of Pyrgos, on the island of Tinos, Greece, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Coach Steve Kerr spoke with Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga during the morning shootaround Thursday about the player's situation being out of the rotation for more than a month now with expectations he will be traded before the deadline next month.

“We talked this morning and that’s all private,” Kerr said. “I will keep coaching him, he’ll be part of the team, he’ll be here. It is what it is.”

Kerr discounted any issues between them as being reason Kuminga has reportedly requested a trade from the team after not being used in the last 14 games since Dec. 18 and 17 of 18 — though he has been listed as injured for nine games this season.

“Our relationship is fine,” Kerr said before Golden State's 126-113 win over the New York Knicks. “There's not a whole lot I can say about the other stuff. It is what it is, difficult situation for everybody and part of this league, part of the job. We just keep moving forward.”

Kuminga has been training much of the time on his own, shooting on the Warriors’ practice floor out of the eyes of fans at Chase Center. He wears a black hood over his head on the end of the bench during games. Perhaps Kuminga and the Warriors weren't a great fit from Day 1 — not that it's his fault — and he might be eager to leave and start fresh elsewhere. If so, the Golden State brass might want to make sure he doesn't get hurt before trying to trade him.

Yet nobody has taken issue with his work ethic, at least not publicly. Kuminga, selected seventh overall in the 2021 draft, has been known to stay long after games shooting on the arena's main floor.

“It’s not a distraction at all. It’s a very unique situation but our job is just to keep playing, keep winning, it’ll resolve itself one way or the other,” Stephen Curry said.

The 23-year-old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has appeared in just 18 games total with 13 starts, averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

On Sept. 30, he agreed to a two-year contract that could be worth up to $46.5 million if the team were to exercise its option for 2026-27. Kuminga had had a $7.9 million qualifying offer in hand since June 29 but was also weighing other options and he missed media day.

He has long had the support and confidence of teammates — like Jimmy Butler saying he has been having Kuminga over and continuing to encourage him.

“We love JK in this locker room, that's not going to change,” Butler said postgame. “If he happens to not be in here, we'll still rock with JK. I speak for everybody. We love the guy. I wish him the best here, I wish him the best wherever. It doesn't change. We don't listen to the noise, I hope he don't listen to the noise he keep coming here with a smile doing what he's supposed to do and being the ultimate pro.”

Kuminga missed much of last season with a right ankle injury. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes over 47 games with 10 starts. He also scored 15.3 points per game over eight playoff games while shooting 48.4% from the floor and making 40% of his 3-point attempts. That included a career-best 30-point performance in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kerr said the uncertainty around Kuminga's future “won't be a distraction.”

“Jonathan's a great young guy, his teammates like him,” Kerr said. "He's handling himself well.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, middle, sits near the team bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks in San Francisco, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) and Utah Jazz center Oscar Tshiebwe (34) swap jerseys after the Warriors defeat the Jazz during an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)