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Discover the history of the Mastic villages on a guided tour of Chios. Visit the villages of Pyrgi, Mesta, Armolia, and Olympi and learn about the history of the area.

Highlights

Discover the history of the Mastic villages, which date back to the Middle Ages
See the village of Pyrgi, known for its unique architecture and decorative facades
Visit the village of Mesta, the most well-preserved of the medieval villages
Explore the village of Armolia, famous for its clay and pottery production

Discover the southern part of Chios, Masticochoria, on a guided tour. Be pleasantly surprised at every step, to be satisfied with images, smells, and tastes in the villages that produce the island's treasure.

Learn about the history of Mastic villages, which begins in the Middle Ages, in the years of the conquest of Chios by the Genoese (1346 until 1566), when the villages of southern Chios, where mastic is produced, were organized as fortress settlements, aiming to defend against the invaders who plagued the Aegean.

Unseen from the sea, the 24 villages that make up the medieval settlement complex were built to house the families of mastic growers and lords who exploited the income. Of all the Mastic villages, those that are still preserved in the best condition after the catastrophic earthquake of 1881 are Mesta, Olympi, and Pyrgi.

Stop at Armolia, famous for its clay, followed by Pyrgi, the "painted village" in which the most important attraction is the tower houses themselves with the "scratches", the decorative elements on the facade with geometric shapes in black and white.

Next, visit Mesta, the most well-preserved of the medieval villages. Its ornate architecture dates back to the Byzantine period and the village itself is built like a castle. The houses, small and made of stone, built next to each other, form a strong protective wall on the outer perimeter of the settlement.

Walk in the small alleys of the village, under the arches that form the balconies, looks like a journey back to the 14th century as little has changed since then in the village that has been designed and built like a labyrinth. Residents could enter and leave the village only through a door which is now located at Kato Porta.

In the center of Mesta rises the defensive tower, a type of Acropolis which the inhabitants had as a shelter in case of attack. The oldest monument (except the village itself) is the church of Paleos Taxiarchis with the wood-carved iconostasis that is considered an elaborate example of Chian wood carving.

Includes

  • Car
  • Driver
  • Tour guide

Not Icluding

  • Lunch
  • MUSEUM ENTRANCE FEES