Let’s go to Chios City!
For us volunteers in the south of Chios this is a normal activity on Saturdays, and we like to go there from time to time. But on one Saturday at the beginning of February 2018 we started a new experiment: Would it be possible for us to hike to Chios? How long would we need and what would we see on the way?
In the early afternoon we started our trip. Our first stop was a very idyllic viewpoint near to Kallimasia. There we had a beautiful view of Katarraktis and the sea, and we enjoyed this place very much. Maybe one morning we will come back there and watch the sunrise. But we couldn’t stay there for many hours because we had already a long way in front of us. So we continued our trip uphill and downhill, through quiet nature.
After some time we arrived in Kampos. This beautiful village is located in the south of Chios City and has a very long history. In the 14th century the first houses in Kampos were built by rich businessmen and Byzantine dignitaries. Apart from wonderful villas they compiled big gardens with citrus trees. In the 17th and 18th centuries the international trade blossomed. Kampos was full of material, social and cultural wealth and the area was an important trading centre. But in the next century different catastrophes like the Turkish massacre in 1822 or the big earthquake in 1881 destroyed a lot of the beautiful buildings and many treasures were lost. In the 20th century a lot of houses were replaced. But after the Second World War the situation was not optimal. Numerous buildings were in a bad state of repair and a deterioration of the natural environment made difficulties in the production of citrus fruits and today different programs are helping to save the beauty of Kampos.
When we visited the village we were impressed by a lot of old houses out of red bricks and tall stonewalls. Many of them were surrounded by big gardens full of orange, maderine and lemon trees. For us it was very nice to walk through the nearly empty and quiet streets and enjoy the idyll and power of this village.
Furthermore, in Kampos is the Citrus museum. After following the signposts we arrived at a cute house with a very big yard full of orange trees. In the museum we learned more about the different kinds of citrus fruits, heard about their production and watched pictures and objects of the heyday of Kampos. Afterwards we had a short look into the museum shop with marmalade from Chios and we relaxed a while with a hot chocolate.
In the light of the setting sun we said goodbye to Kampos and got closer to the city. Our last kilometres we walked along the seaside and the airport. After around five hours and with hurting feet we passed the harbour in the centre of Chios. Even thought this view is very familiar to us, on this evening it felt very special to see the lights of the shops and restaurants and the many people walking around us.
Now we know, it is possible to walk to Chios City and it is a very interesting, nice and also a bit exhausting way.
To see all the pictures go into our gallery!
