Pyrgi, Chios, Greece

Travelling to Chios, the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean sea, will definitely be an unforgettable experience. Chios is just a few kilometers away from Minor Asia and it's famous for the mastic trees (which are unique in the world), the shipping quality and its beautiful villages.

Mastic trees

Mastic

Pyrgi is the biggest and one of the most famous villages of Chios. Situated on the south of the island, Pyrgi was named after the big and tall tower, around which was built the present village and many small and large settlements. Today, Pyrgi has approximately 1,044 residents and relies on the production of mastic, oil, almonds and cereals.

Pyrgi, Chios

Street in Pyrgi

However, what makes Pyrgi such an interesting place to visit is the decoration style of the houses. The houses in the center of the village have several external linear incised patterns which are unique in Greece. The designs consist of squares, diamonds, triangles, many of them have bouquets in a vase, storks, tree branches and leaves. Even the church, the bank, the ATM machine, the post office and other buildings, housing public services, are decorated in the same way.

External patterns

Pylos, Navarino Bay, Greece

Pylos, Greece

Pylos (or Neokastro) is a small town of Messinia, with 2,345 inhabitants. Located on the southwestern tip of the Peloponnese, the Ionian coast, it's one of the most unspoiled and breathtaking seaside landscapes in the Mediterranean sea. It is built in the natural bay of Navarino, that is covered from the island Sfaktiria, operating as a natural breakwater, making Pylos' port one of the safest anchorages of the Mediterranean.

Sfaktiria island

Pylos was mentioned by Homer as the Kingdom of Nestor, which, in antiquity, it was almost constantly under the dominion of Sparta. Later on, during the Greek War of Independence against the Ottomans, in Navarino Bay was fought the naval Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827, where the Ottoman armada was completely destroyed by an Allied force of British, French and Russian vessels.

Map of the area

Nowadays, Pylos is an important shipping center and is experiencing a significant tourism development, taking advantage of the beautiful coastline and other tourism investments being made in the area, mainly because of the recently opened luxurious resort of Costa Navarino. 

Not far from Pylos, someone can enjoy the beach of Voidokilia, one of the best beaches of the world according to the Times. In the shape of Greek letter omega (Ω), the beach of Voidokilia is a place of particular natural beauty and it is part of the Natura 2000 protected areas. 

Voidokilia beach

Gialova Lagoon

 Just above the Voidokilia beach, stands the Paliokastro (Old Castle), built in 1287 in a fortified position, controlling the north entrance to the Navarino Bay.  The castle sits atop an imposing 200-m rock formation on the northern edge of the bay. When the Ottomans gained control of the region they constructed Niokastro (New Castle) on the southern end of the bay controlling the main (south) entrance to the Navarino Bay, causing the old one to lose it's importance.

Paliokastro (Old Castle)

Niokastro (New Castle)

 Pylos is easily accessible by car and regional buses, from the close big city of Kalamata. In addition, the recently transformed military airport of Kalamata, now also operates civil flights, attracting a lot of tourists from abroad, wanting to discover the unspoiled lands of Messinia.

Limeni, Mani, Greece



Limeni Village

In the middle of the three legs, in the southern part of the Peloponnese, stands the peninsula where mt. Taygetos smoothly fades into the sea. Taygetos, is the highest mountain of Peloponnese, with an altitude of 2,407 m. This is the Mani, a place barren and arid, with tough and rugged landscape, medieval villages with unique architecture, beautiful traditional towers and people proud and irritable, with uncompromising character and great respect to family honor.

Takis Restaurant, Limeni Village

Limeni is a village on the Mani Peninsula, Greece. Limeni is situated on Limeni Bay which is a mile or two north of Areopoli, the capital of the Deep Mani, and is considered to be the most beautiful of all Mani's villages.
Limeni was the home town of the most important clan in Mani, the Mavromichalis, that played an important role in the greek liberation struggle of 1821 against the Ottomans. The Mavromichalis castle has been restored by the local council to what it looked like 200 years ago, and is now used as a museum.

Limeni Village at dusk

 Limeni, which is almost entirely built from stone and wood, attracts a lot of tourists during the summer months and it's also one of the local's favourite destination.

Sunset in Limeni