When I did my Masters degree in Ancient Greek around 30 years ago, I wrote a short thesis on the history of Chios during the Peloponnesian War (5th century BC) as one of my papers. So I couldn’t come to this part of the world without visiting the island, to gain, first-hand, a sense of its past and its present. There weren’t a huge number of tourist sights for me to see but that was okay. I was mainly wanting to get a feel for the place.
I started the day by arranging to hire a car tomorrow to tour the southern part of the island. Then I visited the Chios archaeological museum. It was interesting to read about the archaeological sites on the island, and to see the variety of artefacts they had in this local museum (no photos allowed).
In the afternoon I got on a local bus that was heading out to some local villages. The villages weren’t highly picturesque, but I was going to see some more ‘touristy’ places the following day. It was simply interesting to see what the local area was like. Here is a picture of the village of Dafnonas, taken from a nearby village, Ziphias.
As I went back to Chios Rooms I took a photo of the building from the harbour front a little way away (the window of my room is on the upper floor of the building, fourth from the left).
The next day I hired a car early in the morning and set off to tour the southern part of the island of Chios. My first destination was a World Heritage site, the Nea Moni monastery that was built in the 11th century. Nea Moni is in the central mountain range between the western and eastern side of Chios (Chios Town is in the southeast). As I climbed up into the mountains I could see the Turkish coast not far away.
The proximity of the island of Chios to Asia Minor and Turkey has had a pronounced effect on its history. While conditions under the rule of the Ottoman Turks were not always bad in Chios, in 1822 there was an uprising against Ottoman rule in the Greek mainland, and a similar uprising was initiated in the islands off the Turkish coast. The Turkish response was brutal. An estimated 70,000 Chians were either killed or sold into slavery in that year. Over 100,000 others fled. According to the sign at Nea Moni, before the massacres of that year, Chios had a population of 180,000 people. After them there were only 1,800 people left on the island.
A memorial to a particular episode of this year is kept in a chapel just inside the gate at Nea Moni. On Good Friday of 1822, 600 monks and 3,500 women and children seeking refuge were all slaughtered at Nea Moni. The skulls of some of those who were killed is kept in a glass cabinet inside this chapel. It is a very sobering sight. (Photos of the gory details available on request. Here is a picture of the gate and the little chapel where the bones were stored.)
Nea Moni is most famous for its 11th century mosaics, undertaken by craftsmen from Constantinople. While the mosaics were severely damaged in an earthquake in 1885, many are still in a sufficient state of repair to be memorable.
The monastery is now home to a small number of nuns. Sunday serviced are held, and I was hoping to come back with Don Rodger (the manager of Chios Rooms) and his family to worship the following day. As I left, the church was being decorated for a baptism.
I went over the mountain range and caught sight of Avgonyma, a village on the eastern side. Avgonyma means “a clutch of eggs”, which is not a bad description of what the village looks like, sitting on the mountain side above the sea.
Further down the mountain I turned right to the village of Anabatos. In 1822, 300 people jumped off the cliff here to avoid being massacred by the Turks.
Anabatos is now pretty much a ghost town, with only a few permanent residents. It was an overcast and gloomy day, and this matched the sombre theme of all these deaths. One thing that raised my spirits was that as I arrived at Anabatos, I saw a priest and some people come out of a little chapel where they had been having a service. A rather hungry donkey nearby looked up hopefully for some food, and a woman fed the donkey with unconsecrated bread, which he munched gratefully. It was touching to see the woman’s kind act.
When I got to the western side of Chios I turned south and drove through the masticochoria - the mastic country. Mastic is a resinous gum that comes from a type of pistachio tree and is used in a wide variety of products.
For some reason, the only place that these trees produce this gum is in the masticochoria in the south of Chios. This product was prized in ancient times and by the Turks as well. It is still actively used today. (There are mastic shops in Chios - but I was surprised to find one in Athens as well.)
One of the chief towns in the masticochoria is Pyrgi, which is distinctive for the decoration of the buildings. I made the mistake of driving into the town with its very narrow streets, and someone had to shift some of the seats from a taverna there for me even to get through. I found the way out and parked on the outskirts. Then I went for a walk and took several photos.
The first place I saw was the local Council Office, which was closed as it was a Saturday. From there I went down one of the narrow streets (I was very happy with this photo) and into the town square.
Note the Obelix Cafe in the square!
I thought Pyrgi was beautiful, but as I was planning to have lunch in the next town, I didn't stay for long. I managed to put together enough Greek to ask a local woman the way to Mesta, and set off for there.
Mesta is a medieval town that was built with walls and in a maze pattern as some protection against the pirates of the area. I remembered my way into the town square from the outside (left-right-left-right) as I wanted to get out again! It is difficult to give a good impression of the maze as I was not flying above the town. Here are some of the views along the little streets.
The following day I went with Don, his wife Dina and their son Alexander, and two Swedish women to a service at Nea Moni. It was good to go back to Nea Moni as a worshipper rather than simply a tourist. There were probably around 80 people at worship including quite a few children, and after the service there was a good feeling of community as people lingered to enjoy coffee and cake and to talk. The monastery felt more alive than it did the day before.
I then had a relaxed day as I prepared to get the plane to Athens the next day. I very much enjoyed my stay at Chios Rooms including the connection I made with Don Rodger.
For some reason, the only place that these trees produce this gum is in the masticochoria in the south of Chios. This product was prized in ancient times and by the Turks as well. It is still actively used today. (There are mastic shops in Chios - but I was surprised to find one in Athens as well.)
One of the chief towns in the masticochoria is Pyrgi, which is distinctive for the decoration of the buildings. I made the mistake of driving into the town with its very narrow streets, and someone had to shift some of the seats from a taverna there for me even to get through. I found the way out and parked on the outskirts. Then I went for a walk and took several photos.
The first place I saw was the local Council Office, which was closed as it was a Saturday. From there I went down one of the narrow streets (I was very happy with this photo) and into the town square.
Note the Obelix Cafe in the square!
I thought Pyrgi was beautiful, but as I was planning to have lunch in the next town, I didn't stay for long. I managed to put together enough Greek to ask a local woman the way to Mesta, and set off for there.
Mesta is a medieval town that was built with walls and in a maze pattern as some protection against the pirates of the area. I remembered my way into the town square from the outside (left-right-left-right) as I wanted to get out again! It is difficult to give a good impression of the maze as I was not flying above the town. Here are some of the views along the little streets.
After lunch I rambled on towards Chios, calling in at Emporio, an ancient archaeological site by the sea, and then going on through the "campos" or countryside south of Chios, which has been planted in citrus groves since Genoese times and is obviously a very up-market area. It seemed beautiful, although a proper view of it was restricted by the high walls of the houses.
I was really happy with this opportunity to "nosey around" the southern part of the island. It gave me a much clearer impression of the landscape and towns of southern and central Chios.
The following day I went with Don, his wife Dina and their son Alexander, and two Swedish women to a service at Nea Moni. It was good to go back to Nea Moni as a worshipper rather than simply a tourist. There were probably around 80 people at worship including quite a few children, and after the service there was a good feeling of community as people lingered to enjoy coffee and cake and to talk. The monastery felt more alive than it did the day before.
I then had a relaxed day as I prepared to get the plane to Athens the next day. I very much enjoyed my stay at Chios Rooms including the connection I made with Don Rodger.
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