Day 01
South Chios Mastic Villages Tour
- Our destination is the southern part of Chios, Mastichochoria, where you will be pleasantly surprised at every step and delighted by the images, smells, and tastes of the villages that produce the island's treasure.
- The history of the Mastic villages begins in the Middle Ages, during the Genoese conquest of Chios (1346-1566). The villages of southern Chios, where mastic is produced, were organized as fortress settlements, aiming to defend against the invaders who plagued the Aegean.
- Unseen from the sea, the 24 villages that make up this medieval settlement complex were built to house the families of mastic growers and the lords who profited from their income.
- Of all the Mastic villages, those preserved in the best condition after the catastrophic earthquake of 1881 are Mesta, Olympi, and Pyrgi.
- Our first stop is Armolia, famous for its clay, followed by Pyrgi, the "painted village," where the most important attraction is the tower houses themselves, decorated with "scratches" - black-and-white geometric patterns on their facades.
- The locals loved this exterior decoration technique and, for this reason, have kept it alive to this day. Next, continue to Mesta, the best-preserved of the medieval villages. Its ornate architecture dates back to the Byzantine period, and the village itself is built like a castle.
- The small stone houses, built close together, form a strong protective wall around the outer perimeter of the settlement.
- Walking through the village's narrow alleys and under the arches that support the balconies feels like a journey back to the 14th century, as little has changed in this labyrinth-like settlement.
- Residents could enter and leave the village only through a single gate, now located at Kato Porta. In the center of Mesta rises the defensive tower, a type of Acropolis that served as a shelter for the inhabitants in case of attack.
- The oldest monument, apart from the village itself, is the church of Paleos Taxiarchis, with its wood-carved iconostasis, considered an elaborate example of Chian wood carving.
