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Chíos
Χίος · North Aegean
The mastic island — medieval villages with geometric painted façades and a fortified core.
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About Chíos
Chíos grows something found nowhere else: mastic, the aromatic resin of trees that only thrive in its south. The fortune it built shows in the mastichochória — medieval villages laid out as defensive mazes, one…
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Highlights
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Food & drink
Mastic (mastíha)
The island’s signature resin, grown only here, flavours sweets, drinks and chewing gum.
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Town & villages
Pyrgí
A village whose houses are covered in xystá — carved grey-and-white geometric patterns.
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Town & villages
Mestá
A fortified medieval village built as an inward maze to keep pirates out.
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Don’t miss
Néa Moní
An 11th-century monastery with golden mosaics — a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Don’t miss
Anávatos
A near-abandoned stone village clinging to a cliff, the "Mystras of the Aegean".
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See it for real
Photos from Wikimedia Commons — tap for source & licence.
Character
nightlife
peace & quiet
beaches
hiking & nature
food & wine
history & culture
romance
easy to reach
bohemian
polished
unusual
no car needed
greenery
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