Chios II: Variety!

Day two of the whirlwind tour of Chios.  Chios turns out to be one of the largest Greek islands after Crete, Evvia, Lesvos, and Rhodes (325 square miles).  Not only is it big, but it has a unique history and tremendous variety in its sites.  The first day, we concentrated on the Masticha villages that were very different as they were built like European medieval walled cities by the Genoese and two beaches. One was a hidden cove, the second was the iconic black beach of Chios which they think came from a volcanic eruption offshore. The pebbles that cover the beach and go out to the sea are black, while the cliffs above are a golden honey color.  Today, we visited Chios town (or "Chora," which means "town" and is the typical name for the main city on any island), the "school of Homer," a nearby beach, then a monastery, a "Cubist" village on the top of a mountain (reminding us of Meteora), and then Lithi beach for swimming and dinner.  We also learned a lot about the history of Chios, which is different than the rest of Greece because of its location near Turkey and its occupation by the Genoese, and above all, its production of the very valuable crop of Masticha.

Phil at Homer's rock.  The students would sit on the steps behind Phil.

The parea at the first paralia

Nea Moni had several interesting features. The first were the mosaics.  The brochure said that there were three monasteries in Greece with particularly wonderful mosaics:  Dafni, Hosios Loukas, and Nea Moni.  We've now seen all three, and in the same summer.  The mosaics are quite wonderful, with a shining gold background and beautiful detail. 

The Baptism of Christ

 The second remarkable feature of this monastery is its origin story.  In the 11th century, there were three monks living in a cave who saw a glowing area on the mountain nearby.  They went to investigate and there was a fire.  The only thing that didn't burn was a myrtle tree on which was hanging an icon of the Virgin Mary.  They went to Constantine IX, the emperor in exile and asked to build a church and told him about a vision they'd had that he'd be emperor again.  He said that if that came true, he'd build them a fabulous church.  It did and he kept his promise.  Nea Moni was one of the richest monasteries in Greece.

The original icon, now encased in silver, with only the virgin's face visible.

Our tour guides enthralling the kids with the stories.

The three monks carrying the miraculous icon.

The outside of the catholicon

 The third interesting feature of this monastery is the small chapel with the display of some of the bones of the villagers who were killed in the massacre of Chios.  Basically Chios was very near Turkey and not so badly treated by the Turks (because of the masticha), and realized that they didn't want to get involved in the war of independence.  The Hydriotes pressured them and started a revolt.  As the Chiotes feared, the Turks were very angry and took a terrible vengeance, trying to massacre everyone on the island.  Women over 40 and children under 3 were killed, women and children over 3 were sold into slavery.  Men (over the age of 12) who didn't immediately convert to Islam were killed. Many ran to the monastery to seek sanctuary and were killed.  The display (which I did not photograph out of respect) was several rows of skulls, many with visible sword wounds, and then some thigh bones at the bottom.  I have seen the bones of martyrs in both Italy and Greece, and have dragged my kids to many an ossuary, so we were not stunned by this, but our friends asked us if that was a typical reaction of Americans.  No!  I can't imagine any church or museum or any place displaying rows of skulls like they were pairs of shoes or something. The anonymity of the rows, the matter-of-fact display in a glass case, the bald (literally!) fact of death, the gruesome history and the evidence of the sword blows... it is all way too direct contact with death and with the awful details.  You can't help but identify with the story, the horror of watching others be struck down knowing you can't escape... It was a fascinating question though... we LOVE gore and death in the movies (something that is not so beloved in Greece) but we are terribly squeamish about the reality of death.  In Greece it seems to be the opposite.

The tomb of the last nun who died a couple of years ago.  Basil plants are common at graves.  Seen as the royal herb, it was said to have grown all over Jesus's tomb.  It is not very often used in cooking, and mostly for foreign dishes. But it is everywhere in Greece, on every balcony and in front of many stores as well, prized for its smell.

After the Turks killed most of the inhabitants, they tried to bring people in to harvest the masticha, and realized they needed the now-lost knowledge of the Greek islanders.  So they now had to convince those who'd escaped to return... a nasty part of the intertwined histories.

Next stop:  Anavatos, one of the mountain villages outside the masticha area.  Probably because of pirates, the villages are in impossible spots.  This one's name means "can't be climbed."  We stopped, climbed around, and then gathered together in the little cafe near the bottom.

One of the mountain villages from afar

Anavatos from afar

Near the top of Anavatos

Some of the ruins with the mountain peak behind

The descent.  This church is being renovated.

Eurydice's favorite descending cubist houses.

Some western style arches

At the bottom of the village (still high up on the mountain!) there was a family who had been collecting and processing a lot of the fruits and herbs and nuts that grow on the mountain.  The original town had (as is so common in Greece) planted every available inch with productive plants.  There were pomegranates, olives, almonds, walnuts, figs, oranges, lemons, and tons of wild herbs (oregano and thyme, in particular).  We stopped to chat and to buy some treats.

The display of pickled, dried, or preserved fruits, nuts, and herbs.

Just about every green thing in this picture produces something edible!

There were 5 or 6 houses that had been renovated after the earthquake of 1881 and were currently lived in during the summers.  We got to see inside one of them, as the owner (an artist) was a friend of one in our parea.  It was a gorgeous house, a lot like a ship in its efficiency, with a hidden sink, a ladder to the the second floor bedroom, and lots of stone niches for displaying the woman's art.  Absolutely gorgeous.  I only took a few pictures outside because it was a private house.

This is the outside, with her cleverly designed tap to the springwater.

To hide the electrical cords, she built rocks on the outside and then planted it.  This is some lamb's ear for Rachael.

Next we went to Lithi beach for a swim and finally dinner!

The beach.  It was windy and near sunset (8pm) so mostly deserted.

It included not only sand, but tavernas with tables on the sand!

Happy baby at the end of the day,wearing momma's hat. This sparked a game where Ellie was me and I was Ellie that lasted until she put me to bed at midnight.

What a lovely day, and what incredible variety of sights to see on this island.  Thanks to our friends who shared with us their day and their wealth of knowledge showing us their wonderful island.