Mesta Medieval Village

Mesta Medieval Village is the best preserved of the villages of South Chios, a settlement built to defend itself that looks more like a small fortress than an ordinary Greek village. It was founded in the Middle Ages and developed under Genoese rule, between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, when pirate raids were a constant danger and the mastic trade made the area rich enough to be worth attacking. The outer houses were built shoulder to shoulder to form a continuous wall, with no windows facing outward on the ground floor, and a few narrow gates, closed at night, were the only way in.

Inside, the village is a maze. Lanes are narrow and roofed over in places by arches or by the upper floors of houses, which join above the street. Many streets end in dead ends or turn abruptly, so that an invader could be trapped or lost. Houses are built of stone, often in shades of grey and ochre, with small windows and stairways. Today the central lanes are for pedestrians only, and visitors leave cars at the edge of the village. It is easy to get lost, but the village is small, and every lane eventually leads back to the main square.

At the centre stands the large church of the Great Taxiarchis, the Archangel Michael, with a tall bell tower and an interior of painted walls and carved wood. A second Taxiarchis church, smaller and older, stands nearby, and other small chapels are tucked into the lanes. Churches are usually open in the daytime. The square in front of the main church has cafes and tavernas under plane trees, where you can eat local dishes, drink coffee and taste sweets made with mastic.

Mesta belongs to the Mastichochoria, the Mastic Villages, and the trade has shaped its life. On the road to the village and in the fields around it you pass the low, silver-green mastic trees, and the white powder spread around their roots is a sign that the resin harvest is under way in summer. Local shops sell mastic gum, liqueur, sweets and soap. The village is also close to the sea, and the beach at Mesta, a short drive away, is a pleasant place for a swim.

Mesta lies in the south-west of the island, roughly an hour's drive from Chios Town. Spring and autumn are the pleasant times, and summer is hot, though the shaded lanes are cooler. Shoes with grip help on the worn stones, and visiting early or late avoids the tour buses. Combine it with Pyrgi, the village of painted houses, and with the Mastic Museum for a full day.