Here Chios Charitomeni / Happy Greek Pascha

Chios the Island of Christoforos Kolompos. The Island of Mastic, the Island of Aristotle Onassis, The Island of the Great Shipowners
On the fifth largest island of our country, the experience of the days of Easter will be truly unforgettable! Chios is located in the eastern Aegean and its city is built on the eastern side of the island, just opposite Ionia. But for most of the planet’s world, Chios is known for its aristocratic past, its courageous navy, its successful shipowners, but also because it claims the title of Homer’s birthplace. The unique summer festivals of the island prepare you for a spectacular Easter, full of tension and entertainment. If you’ve been to any of these, you’ll know how the islanders are celebrating. So, visiting Chios during the Easter period, you will have the opportunity to get to know the tradition and local customs of the island, with the help of its hospitable inhabitants. Highlight of the festivities is the famous rocket war on the night of the Resurrection. With a special brilliance, the most characteristic custom is that of the rocket war in the village of Vrontados. The village, which is preparing all year round to host the island’s oldest naval tradition and one of the most impressive customs in Greece, has the opportunity to turn all the “lights” towards it. During this celebration, thousands of rockets are fired on the night of the Resurrection and do day and night, with the sole purpose of the dome and emblem of St. Mark, as well as the clock of the Virgin Mary. The explosive mixture they use is charcoal, nitro and sulfur. It is worth noting that the Chian rocket war is a unique spectacle around the world. This custom “holds up well” from the years of Ottoman rule until today, between the parishioners of Panagia Erithiani and Agios Markos. Nevertheless, the years of German occupation and the first years of dictatorship had come to a halt. Improvised rockets are set up on wooden bases and the whistling of a horn gives the signal for the start of “hostilities”. This is followed by a “ceasefire” to bring the faithful to the Church, and as soon as “Christ is Risen” is heard, a rain of burning rockets erupts between the parishes. The winner of the “war” between the opposing churches is announced a few minutes after the Resurrection and the unit of measurement is the most successful shots in the bell tower of the “opponent”. However, the municipality of Chios and the police have made various remarks to stop the rocket war, as it is said to be one of the most dangerous customs in the world. In any case, the Resurrection in Chios, with or without rockets, is impressive. We hope that for another year Father Christoforos will convey the message of the First Resurrection of Christ and come out in his characteristic way from the Beautiful Gate of the Holy Temple of the Annunciation of Chios, spreading laurel leaves to the faithful.

Easter in Chios means rocket war, a custom that dates back to the Turkish occupation and is a “war” between two parishes of Vrontados, the parish of Agios Markos and the parish of Panagia Ereithani. From what they say, it started with the children of the two parishes who were playing stone warfare with slingshots. Then the older ones started to get involved, with the result that the slingshots were replaced by the cannons. In the beginning, on the night of the Resurrection, with the cannons brought by the sailors from ships that were decommissioned, they threw cannons from the courtyard of one church to the other, to celebrate the Resurrection and with their loud bang they tried to break the windows of the “opponent”. »Church, but using only gunpowder. With the exception of the years of German occupation, which for economic reasons was in danger of ceasing in the first years of the dictatorship, due to a ban, the custom continues to this day, attracting many visitors due to its uniqueness and spectacular spectacle.

Pyrgi, the village of Chios that looks like embroidery One of the largest and most impressive villages of Chios, the village of Pyrgi looks like it came from another era. And it is, since it is preserved as it was built and has been declared a protected monument. Narrow, stone streets, the temple of the Holy Apostles, dating from the 13th century, a number of other churches but mainly the geometric decoration of the outer walls of the houses, make the Tower truly unique.

The houses, glued together, are connected to each other by impressive arches, while the outer wall of the most “remote” buildings is a medieval precinct. The feeling that the village was built to provide protection to its inhabitants is pervasive as the visitor walks in its picturesque streets. This is what the defense tower “seals”, in the center of the village, which functioned as a shelter in case of an attack. It is worth standing at the church of the Holy Apostles, an excellently preserved Byzantine monument. As impressive as its exterior is, so impressive are its interiors, with frescoes, by Antonios Domestichos of Crete. They date from 1665, with a very strong folk element but also characteristics from the style of the Cretan School. The facades of the houses are the trademark of the village, with the famous “scratches” creating special geometric shapes and giving Pyrgi its unique character. The impressive technique, which the carvings are done by hand, includes black sand that is bleached and then scraped. This is how the famous black patterns are created on a white background, simple or complex, which is kept alive to this day.

The Tour in Mastichochoria starts from the city of Chios, either from the port or from the airport in the direction of the southern part of the island. In order not to leave any Mastichochori “complaining”, we will show you the route through which you will pass almost all these famous villages of Chios.
So, after leaving the city in a southerly direction, you will pass through the fragrant Kampos of Chios and outside the villages of Thymiana and Nechori. After Nechori D. You are on the Land of Mastic! Precisely because of the excellent and sought-after product, the villagers have been building settlements at a safe distance from nearby beaches for centuries, thus reducing the risk of their valuable production being looted by pirate raids. Most of Mastichochoria are 2-3 km from the sea and each one has the natural “Epineio” as it is called, that is, a beautiful nearby beach! Over the years and the elimination of piracy, many of the convents became settlements, mainly as summer resorts. Below in our virtual tour we will mention the port of each village so that you know where you can meet the crystal clear and clear blue waters of the Aegean and enjoy the background of the endless blue local specialties which you must accompany with the famous Chios.

The first Mastichochori that we meet on our way is Kallimasia and a natural port is Agios Emilianos. Always in a southerly direction, we pass outside Kattarakis, the only coastal village of Mastichochori. Next stop Nenita with two beautiful natural praises, Vokaria and Gridia. Then our road leads to Flatsia and Vouno, with a natural port on the beach of Ai Giannis. Shortly afterwards, Koini and then Patrika, with a natural port, the pristine beach of Lilika. Direction to Kalamoti, the port of which one of the most popular beaches of South Chios, Komi. Then we go to Armolia and always with a south course we meet the famous Pyrgi, with the scratched and the wonderful alleys. Pyrgi is the largest Mastichochori and of course its trade is Emporios, Vroulidia and Karinda. In Emporio, in addition to the wonderful natural harbor, you must visit one of the five most beautiful beaches in Greece, the volcanic Mavra Volia, as well as the Cave with the wonderful natural formations that were recently discovered. We continue the route, arriving at the beautiful castle village of Olympus with the natural port of Kato Fana and further south we meet the best preserved castle village, the village of Mesta with the natural port of Pasalimani. We arrived at the southernmost point of Chios. Returning from the west side of the island and in a northerly direction we meet the villages of Elata, Vessa and Lithi with the port of the homonymous beautiful beach. Closing the circle, we head east, where we will meet Agios Giorgis.

We left the villages of Tholopotami, Myrmingi, ‘Exo Didyma, Mesa Didyma and Pagida, which are located in the center of the southern part of the island. To get there, leaving the city of Chios, instead of following the above route, we ask how: “Will we go up Anemonas?”, All Chians will guide you, this is the inner road which either crosses or passes from these five villages. For seafarers, captains who want to visit Chios and Mastichochoria, with their boat, we suggest you see the information of www.portbook.gr, where a serious effort is made to record for the first time on the Internet, all Greek ports , which can provide accommodation on any type of boat.