Chios, Greece

The Greek island Chios is the most beautiful and fertile island in the northeastern Aegean Sea. He is one of seven who pretend to be Homer's homeland. Crescent-shaped, with an area of ​​840 square kilometers and a length of 213 km, Chios is located in the archipelago between Samos and Lesbos, just 15 km off the coast of Asia Minor. In 1474, Christopher Columbus reached the island with his three-masted ship Roxana, and today dozens of families on the island are named Colombos.
Western European tourists prefer Chios because of the clean beaches and ancient villages among citrus groves. Only on this island can the "harvest" of the sweet-smelling resin, called mastiha, be observed, without which the famous Greek ouzo would not exist. Chios is located 8 km from the Turkish coast and falls within the name of Chios. In ancient times, the island of Chios was known for its quality wine and breeding roosters. Today, Chios continues to be a world-famous name - three of Chios's monasteries have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Chios is an extremely interesting place. An island of contrasts. Beautiful old houses peek out of citrus groves, and sparkling white beaches compete in attractiveness with tarry black beaches. For centuries, Ligurian merchants and Turkish shepherds have tried to lay hands on the Greek island of Chios. The apple of discord was plantations with aromatic mastic resin used in confectionery and pharmacy. It was also used to make the world's first chewing gum, adored by women in the harems of Constantinople. The history of this battle for power is sealed in the appearance of the island - their cultures coexist in architecture through elegant Renaissance buildings, narrow medieval streets and Ottoman domes.
There are no such beaches anywhere - cobalt blue sea and black volcanic sand. Chios is the island of Homer and Columbus' first voyage, which reached here in 1474. Chios was ruled by the Genoese merchant aristocracy for two centuries. Thanks to this, it has a unique architecture that is not found anywhere else in Greece. Chios is not a tourist giant, although it is a mountain island with hot summers refreshed by the sea breeze. Chios has a small airport that does not take large charter planes. There are no chic and pompous hotels here. The welcome tourist stays in traditional country houses located in the village of Volissos or in the mountain homes in Cambos, not suffering from the lack of luxury and vanity.
The island of Chios has a rich list of attractions, which begins with the 11th century monastery of Nea Moni and reaches the medieval villages located in the southern part of the island. Tourists enjoy staying in traditional country houses called archontica. The influence of the Byzantine and Venetian culture, and especially of the Genoese, is evident everywhere, as the Genoese ruled the island of Chios from 1346 to 1566.