Mesta

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

The Chios Mastic Villages (Mastichochoria)

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A house facade decorated with black-and-white xysta patterns in Pyrgi, Chios

The mastic villages of Chios, known as the Mastichochoria, are a cluster of medieval fortified settlements in the south of the island. Built to cultivate and protect mastic, the fragrant resin produced nowhere else on earth. With their maze-like alleys, defensive walls and, at Pyrgi, extraordinary black-and-white patterned facades, they are among the most distinctive … Read more