The homeland of mastic gum and shipowners
Automatic dialing code for Naxos, Greece: 22850, Port authority (incl. code): 22850/22300Museums: 22725, 24151, Taxi station: 22444, Tourist offices: 24000, 23330 Police: 22100
The first glimpse of Chios reveals two mountain tops, Profitis Elias and Oros which give the impression of gazing leisurely across the Aegean. All around and down to the beaches, the soil of Chios is rich and thickly planted. So, as well as being sailors (Chios is known as the home of Greece's most important shipowners), the islanders also have a rich land to cultivate, growing choice products, especially the mastic gum tree which is a source of considerable wealth for the island.The history of Chios is very old and the island knew great prosperity in ancient times when it had become one of the twelve member states of the Ionic league. In the year 60 B.C. Chios was recorded as being highly developed in trade and in the arts. It had a famous school of sculpture and "Chios Clay" was renowned as a raw material for the island's well known ceramics.
Today's visitor to Chios will be charmed by its peculiarities seen largely in its architecture, dialect and the witty disposition of its inhabitants.
The capital town Chios, commonly called Hora by the locals, lies on the Eastern shore, very close to the coastline of ancient lonia. The port has a dual character, the old waterfront with its small, gaily distempered houses, numerous fishing smacks and their nets spread out on the mole and the new quays behind which stand modern buildings and busy patisseries.
Chios town has been built over the ruins of the ancient city, very few traces of which remain. From the port, one looks up at the castle inside whose enclosure is the old quarter of the town with its trellised windows and balconies, its Byzantine baths and the elegant church of Agios Georgios. The archaeological Museum, located behind the quay warehouses contains interesting exhibits. There is also a museum of modern Greek sculpture which is worth a visit. Other sites of interest are the churches of Agios Issidoros and Agios Andreas.
A road leading out of town southward, goes to Kambos where there are pleasant mansions in lovely gardens. The road ends at the sandy beach of Karfa (6 km). In the opposite direction, driving northward out of Hora there is the village of Vrondado (4 km). where according to legend, Homer taught from the mount called Daskalopetra.
Further along this road there is the Mersinidou monastery, set amid beautiful surroundings. Beyond it are the attractive villages of Pandoukios and Langada (17 km.), Pano Kardamila and Kato Kardamila or Marmaro (28 km.) in front of which lies one of the best beaches on the island. Finally, there is Nago, very well wooded and with a good beach.
The southern part of the island holds a unique experience in store for the visitor. An asphalt road going in a northwesterly direction, leads to Volissos (40 km.), which is a village with narrow lanes gaily colored houses and a ruined Byzantine castle towering above them. Legend claims this quiet little village as the birthplace of Homer. It forms a good starting point for short outings to Limnia, 2 km. away, which is a quaint little fishermen's village and to the Agia Markella monastery (5 km.) which overlooks an immense beach.
A road leading west out of Hora, through thick pinewoods, goes to Nea Moni, one of the most celebrated Byzantine monuments in Greece. It was built in the 11th century by Constantine Monomachos and its chapel has frescoes and mosaics of a high standard. Avgonima and even more so Anavatos on the hill top, although the latter is no longer inhabited, are two interesting traditional settlements which lie along the main road ahead.
The first landmark is the Agios Minas monastery (10 km.). From here begins the valley where the mastic gum tree or bush peculiar to Chios, is grown. Several of the villages in the area have retained unspoilt their mediaeval appearance. Stone houses, narrow vaulted streets, and churches with excellent frescoes provide a scenery which has developed through the centuries and has withstood the ravages of time. Leaving Armolia behind with its traditional art of ceramics, the visitor enters Pirgi with the quaintly decorated houses and the church of Agion Apostolon, a small architectural gem with fine murals. The port for this village is Emborios in front of which lies a vast, black pebble beach.
Further west lies Kato Fana, a sandy beach where there are traces of a temple of Apollo. It forms the outlet to the sea for the village of Olimbi. Finally, the village of Mesta, which has been included on the list of traditional settlements and the National Tourist Organization has turned them into small guesthouses, is one of the mediaeval settlements in Greece which has suffered the least damage and changes in the course of centuries. The port serving this village is called Passalimani and is, in fact, a small fishermen's village. There are rooms to let here and it is a place where one can enjoy the pure, unsophisticated atmosphere of the district and its sea.
