The first of May is an international bank holiday, and we volunteers had the chance to spend the whole day in the south-west of Chios Island. Together with our mentors we visited different villages and heard more about the history of Chios.
Our first station was Pyrgi. Because nearly everybody of us visited this place before, we took just a short walk through the elaborate houses and continued soon our trip in western direction.
Out of the car we saw a lot of green mastic and olive trees. Our goal was Mesta, one of the famous Mastic Villages of Chios. The village was build during the Byzantine period in the 12th century. Mesta is very popular for its narrow streets and the stone houses, which are close to each other. Our mentor showed us, that the architecture was the perfect way to protect against pirates. The small streets were good for ambushes though the inhabitants and the close houses made it possible to escape just by running from roof to roof. Mesta is not only a village but rather a castle. Afterwards we had time to discover the village by our own. We enjoyed the natural look of the buildings and the colourful flowers next to the doors and windows. Also, we visited the Church of Taxiarchi in the centre of the village. During our walk Mesta gave us sometimes the impression of a labyrinth. Good that sings are showing the ways out.
Afterwards we went to the coast where the port of Mesta is located. It is the biggest port of the island but not used nowadays. By following the street to the north we saw some high towers standing close to the sea. These were watchtowers and in case of a pirate attack they gave light signals. Because it was already lunchtime, and we all were very hungry we stopped at Lithi beach to have a picknick. Lithi is one of the sandy beaches of Chios, and we were resting at the harbour and enjoyed our home made wraps, sandwiches and spanakopita.
Now we were looking forward to our last stop of the day. Anavatos is a village located in the centre and mountains of Chios. It is build at the top of a hill. All houses are made out of stone and from far away they are not visible. Because of this, Anavatos was the last place of refuge in case of an enemy robbery. Today Anavatos is reachable with streets and hiking paths but in the past the people had to climb through the forest. It is believed that the foundation of Anavatos had a military purpose, the control of the west coast of Chios. Because of this a huge wall was surrounding the village and the houses were closely attached to each other. The village name “Anavatos” means unassailable. Today the village is nearly deserted. The most inhabitants were killed during the Turkish massacre in 1822 and the big earthquake of 1881 destroyed many houses. By walking to the top of the village we had a look into the ruins and could image the power of the past. At the top of the hill we had a unique view over the mountains of Chios. Originally the centre of the island was covered with forest, but different fires in the last years destroyed a lot of it. But nevertheless the mountain area of Chios hides a lot of natural treasures like the wild orchids of the island. Before we went home our mentor showed us the beginning of a hiking path between Anavatos and Lithi where some of this unique plants should grow.
To see all the pictures go into our gallery!
