+30 6977 68 68 67 atu@apostolos-tours.com

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.

Day 4

Depart from Chios for the Visit to the Archaeological Museum. Departure to Sardes. Visit to the Artemis temple and the remains of the city. Continuation of the trip to Ionia to reach Ephesus, the current Selçuk. Accommodation in Pamukale.

Day 5

Visit Hierapolis, perhaps the homeland of Epitecto, especially its theater, its necropolis and its characteristic pools formed in white limestone.

Day 6

Breakfast. Visit to the MUSEUM of Civilizacines of Asia Minor. Then; Departure to Procopi, Liegada and visit to the V alle de Go reme the most beautiful monastic complex in the open air
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Free time to eat. Visit the Kizilcukur area, with its Handmade Fashions Factory … Transfer to the hotel.
Dinner and accommodation.

Day 7

Departure at the time and place indicated with destination Airport of the Capadokia apital departure to. Flight
Istanbul
breakfast. Panoramic tour around Estamboul. Visit to the famous Mosque-Museum of Saint Sophia; The impressive Topkapi Palace with the treasures of the Sultans; The Blue Mosque; he
Byzantine Hippodrome with the obelisk Dikilitas; The beautiful German Fountain; Donated by the Kaiser Cuilermo II. Then visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other places of the Orthodox Church.
Later, I will walk through the Bosphorus (OPTIONAL) and return to the hotel. Dinner. Anatolian Music and Dance Show (OPTIONAL) Dinner and accommodation

Day 8

Istanbul – Islands of the Principes.
Breakfast. Tempo head for shopping, visit the Kapi Carsisi (the Cran Bazar, with hundreds of stores of products of gold, silver, bronze, leather, unique works of art … Optional, at noon,
We will transfer by boat from the port to the islands of the Principes. The whole is composed of 9 islands and 2 islets; They are called the islands, but foreigners know them as
The Islsa Rojas or like the Islands of the Principes, In the antigueded they call Demonesoi, that in them habia. In the Byzantine era they were the place of retreat and exile of the priests, nodles,
And Byzantine princes. In those which are inhabited and can be visited, the circulation of vehicles (except municipal vehicles) is prohibited, the trips are carried out on bicycles or cars of,
horses. back to the hotel.

Day 9

Depart from Estanmpul leave for Troya In front of the island Lesdos, conicida in the act like Behramkale .Visitaal archaeological site Trips until Troy. Visit to the Excavation .Continuacion of the trips the Dardanelos the boats,
Helisponto Calipoli – Accommodation in

Day 10

Departure to Pergamon. Visit to the acropolis and the sanctuary of Asclepius. In the afternoon, continuation through Eolian lands to. Mytilini. Accommodation .

Day 11

He petrified forest of Lesbos is a petrified forest on Lesbos in Greece. It has been designated as a protected natural monument. The petrified forest of Lesbos was formed from the fossilized remains of plants, which can be found in many localities on the western part of Lesbos Island.[1] The area enclosed by the villages of Eressos, Antissa and Sigri is very dense in fossilized tree trunks and forms the Petrified Forest of Lesbos, which is managed by the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest. Isolated plant fossils can be found in many other parts of the island, including the villages of Molyvos, Polichnitos, Plomari and Akrasi. Petrified forest of Lesbos is a major geosite of “Lesvos Geopark. back to airport leave to Athens airport with transfers to hotel on de city Athens over nights.

Day 12

After the breakfast we depart for the city center of Athens to visit The Acropolis of Athens, the Acropolis museum, The Panathenaic Stadium, The Temple of Zeus, The monument of the Unknown Soldier, Panepistimio, Academy of Athens, The National Library of Greece and Omonoia (a neighborhood in downtown Athens). The visit also includes lunch and a walk in the narrow streets of Old town of Athens. Do not forget to enjoy your coffee in Thissio (a lovely neighbourhood right in under the Acropolis. With many outdoor cafeterias, this is a favourite coffee spot for locals and visitors). We also recommend you to see the sunset from Lycabettus Hill (the hill is the highest point in the city that surrounds it and provides the ideal setting for a couple in love). In order for you to spend a pleasant and unforgettable evening, we also recommend a lunch in a Greek taverna that has folk art form Greece as well as nice menu.

Days 13

After a nice and long trip we leave for our homeland for our homes, for our loved ones transfer.

The program includes: 4* /3*Star Hotel breakfast, Dinner outside the drink

Graduated Guide(KAPADOKIA 2 OVER NICHTS) WITH PROGRAM ORIENTAL

City Tour with bus in the center of Athens. All transfers to and from the hotels. class.

Not included, anything that is not

bus with air conditioning. Transfers and city tour on the Island of Rhodes

Tickets from Chios Tsesmes Aivali Mytilene for the ships economy class

Tradional tavern with music program in capadokia and istanmpul

Tickets to feryboot to island Pricipe.

Athena Greek night in Plaka, with food and Greek program with traditional costumes and songs and dances

Not included, anything that is not .

Tickets to museums and archeological sites are not included.

Tickets are paid directly with credit cards at the entrances. All airline tickets are from the US and Greece.

In Cappadocia you can see it from very high. With Balloon is extra. you can report it to the office.

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Read more...

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close