shorex Chios

After meeting your guide at the port you begin with a scenic drive along the the coast of the island. Then you drive inland crossing the Kambos plain which is one of the most beautiful places on the island. Many of the large medieval houses have water wheels, wooden bridges and old trees, creating a scene of rural peace which is unique on the Greek islands .

ARMOLIA

     Armolia is a medieval village but nowadays is almost re-built. A few remaining arches above the narrow roads in the Center, give you an idea of its original sight. There are still a few remains of old houses, but in compensation for the changes all the new houses have gardens full of flowers. It is located about 20Km SW of the city of Chios. The Armolousians have a long tradition in making and decorating ceramics such as: pitchers, vases, jars, bowls and cups so there is a marvelous collection of local ceramics, and you can still see the simple potter’s wheel turning.

     One of the most impressive iconostasis on the island, dated in 1744, can be found in the church of Panagia, adjacent to the village’s central church of Aghios Demetrios.  A visit to Vretou Monastery which stands high on a hill above the village is a reward for the walker. On a hill west to the village stands the Byzantine castle of Apolichnon. Here the Genoese had established the administrative mansion of the southern mastic villages (mastichohoria), an remarkable medieval monument which is still preserved.

PYRGI

     The entire village of Pyrgi - 25 Km south of the town of Chios - is one of the areas which still stands as it was built. The narrow roads, the innumerable churches, and amongst them the 13th century Byzantine church of St. Apostles in combination with the unique black and white geometrical decor of the outer walls of the houses. -The "xysta" -are the things which enchant the visitor. It has been designated a listed monument. It keeps its houses tied tightly together in what seems like a closed and compact form. The streets are cobbled and narrow. This type of fortress, a four-cornered structure, was built for protection against the frequent attacks by pirates and Turks, as well as for better cultivation of the mastic bush. It lies in small, treeless valleys far from the sea. The gray houses had doors and windows that faced only the interior of the wall, that is, inside the village. The outer walls contained adjoining parapets with small towers at the corners and only one gate. The inhabitants could enter and leave the village only through a door which can be found today at the location Kato Porta.

     At the center of Pyrgi rises the defense tower, where the inhabitants took refuge in the case of attack, using a movable bridge. The streets are narrow , stone-paved, and are connected to the central tower square. At frequent intervals there are transverse archways supporting the structures, as well as vaults and arches supporting the rooms. The functional character of the houses was geared to defense, and thus the inhabitants were able to move about the roofs without being seen. The four-sided shape of these houses, their thick structure, the defence system, the small areas for general use, and their relation to the treeless, natural surroundings, convince us that Pyrgi was built on a fixed plan which may have been imposed by the Genoese. At Pyrgi and Lithi, one sees scraped designs called Xysta on the facades of the houses. This is a technique of hand-engraving geometric motifs in black and white on plaster. It is based on plastering-sand being applied to the wall, carefully painted white, then scraped with the designs. These Xysta, reminiscent of the Italian Sgraffito, a form of decoration which stems from Genoa, has made the Pyrgi unique

     An excellent, worth visiting monument is the church of the St. Apostles, a small reproduction of the catholicon (main church) of Nea Moni. It is a very well preserved Byzantine monument, richly decorated outside with brick patterns (denticulated bands, phialostomia, brick arches). The interior is covered with wall paintings made by Antonios Domestichos, Kenygos, from Crete, in 1665. An inscription over the main entrance of the church informs us that monk Symeon, who later became the metropolitan bishop of Chios, erected the church "from its foundations" in 1564. This probably refers to a renovation of the monument, since its architectural and morphological features point to the conclusion that it was erected in the middle of the 14th century. Traditional feasts are organized many times through the year, besides the standard feast on the 15th of August, a religious holiday.

     This picturesque village is at a distance of 5 kilometres from the beach of  Mavra Vollia, with its deep blue waters and the remains of an extinct volcano, and Emporio with prehistoric, classical and early Christian ruins. 

MESTA

     Mesta, is a perfectly preserved village-castle of the Byzantine period (14th and 15th centuries). It has been designated a listed monument and it is found 35 Km southwest of the town. The Castle-village, takes you back centuries, with its very few changes. It keeps its houses tied tightly together in what seems like a closed and compact form. The streets are cobbled and narrow. This type of fortress, a four-cornered structure, was built for protection against the frequent attacks by pirates and Turks, as well as for better cultivation of the mastic bush. It lies in small, treeless valleys far from the sea. The gray houses had doors and windows that faced only the interior of the wall, that is, inside the village. The outer walls contained adjoining parapets with small towers at the corners and gates at two or three points. At the center of every medieval village rises the defense tower, a form of Acropolis, where the inhabitants took refuge in the case of attack, using a movable bridge.

     The streets are narrow, stone-paved, and are connected to the central tower square. At frequent intervals there are transverse archways supporting the structures, as well as vaults and arches supporting the rooms. The functional character of the houses was geared to defence, and thus the inhabitants were able to move about the roofs without being seen. The four-sided shape of these houses, their thick structure, the defense system, the gray walls, the small areas for general use, and their relation to the treeless, natural surroundings, convince us that the medieval villages of Chios were built on a fixed plan which may have been imposed by the Genoese.

An excellent, worth visiting monument is the church of the Older Taxiarchi, a vaulted one-aisled basilica, that became two-aisled in 1794 with the wood carved iconostasis, a fine piece of Chian wood-sculpture.

     Traditional feasts are organized many times through the year, besides the standard feast on Shrove Monday, when the traditional custom of Agas (a Turkish official) who burlesques the trials of the Turkish judges as they were done in the Turkish period, takes place. Other feasts are organized on the 15th of August and the 8th of November, which are religious holidays. The harbour of Mesta is at a distance of 4 kilometres from the village.

Duration 5 hours or 4 hours excluding the scenic drive crossing in Kambos. Book your exclusive guided tour with chiostours.gr.

PORT: CHIOS