Chios sights

Mesta, Chios: The Best-Preserved Medieval Village

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A stone-arched alley in the medieval village of Mesta, Chios

Mesta is the finest surviving medieval village on Chios, a complete fortress-village whose plan has scarcely changed in six hundred years. Its houses stand shoulder to shoulder to form an outer wall, its narrow lanes twist and duck beneath stone arches in a deliberate labyrinth, and at its heart sits one of the largest churches … Read more

Anavatos, Chios: The Ghost Village on the Cliff

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The ghost village of Anavatos rising in tiers of grey stone up its cliff in central Chios

Anavatos is the most haunting place on Chios, a medieval village of grey stone stacked up a cliff that falls away almost vertically on three sides. Its houses climb in tiers to a ruined church at the summit, their walls merging so completely with the rock that from a distance the village is hard to … Read more