Teaser: Chios, Greece

Sunday, 11 October 2015
İzmİr, Turkey
Temps: Hi 81F (27C) / Lo 61F (16C)

After three weeks of active-sightseeing in Rome and 12 days of equally active port calls on the Mediterranean cruise that brought us from Italy to Turkey, I was quite happy to take it easy during my first week of visiting family in İzmir.  But that changed Thursday night when we headed to Çeşme for an overnight stay before a short two-day jaunt to Greece the next day.

Across a narrow strait from Çeşme is the Greek island of Chios — the Turks know it as Sakız … a reference to the mastic trees that dot the landscape.  It’s just a short ferry-ride away … 15-20 minutes if you take the catamaran instead of the car ferry.  Though we’ve spent many-a-summer in Çeşme, this was a first-time visit to Chios for all of us — one that we enjoyed very much.

The Medieval village of Pyrgi is known for buildings decorated using the graffito technique.

Lunch time finds us in the Port of Mesta.

Everywhere you turn in the Medieval village of Mesta you encounter narrow,
maze-like cobblestone streets winding between buildings made of stone.

Nea Moni [New Monastery] is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to the 11th Century.

Avgonyma from a distance … its first inhabitants can be traced back to the 11th century.

At the base of the deserted hilltop village of Anavatos we find a charming decorative planter.

Inside the old Chios Fortress is a recently-restored 17th century Ottoman Hamam [bathhouse].

The weather, which cooperated for our two-day visit, turns cloudy and
starts spitting rain as we bid Chios Town farewell from the ferry.

Of course there was food involved during this outing …

Loukoumades in Chios Town	Breakfast Feast in Çeşme

Chios proved to be quite delightful.  It would be nice to rent a place for a week and explore the parts of the island we didn’t get to this time.  Perhaps next year …

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