Start your Chios Greece travel plan with a drive through the unique Mastic Villages in North Aegean. The road takes you to Pyrgi where the houses are covered in hand carved black and white patterns. It feels like driving through a giant geometric puzzle. The scent of mastic resin is thick and sweet in the air as you pass the orchards. These medieval villages were built like fortresses to hide from the pirates of the sea. You can walk the stone tunnels that connect the houses above the streets.
The island of Lesvos offers long, scenic drives through volcanic hills and salt pans. You find petrified forests and natural hot springs right near the shore. The roads are quiet and the pace of life is easy and slow. You find yourself stopping for local ouzo and fresh sardines in every tiny port you pass. The silver olive trees cover the hills like a soft blanket. It is the perfect place to turn off the GPS and just wander.
Lemnos is the land of rolling sand dunes and wild deer. You can actually drive your car across a small desert in the middle of the Aegean Sea. The beaches are wide and the wind is perfect for watching the colorful kitesurfers. It is a hidden gem for any road explorer looking to get away from the crowds and find peace. You will feel like you have the whole island to yourself on many of these roads.
North Aegean highlights
- Mesta Medieval Village Drive to this castle village on Chios where the houses form a strong outer wall against pirates. The streets are like stone tunnels and it is easy to get lost in a fun and safe way. It is perfectly preserved and feels like stepping back into the middle ages.
- Petrified Forest of Lesvos Explore a landscape of stone trees that are millions of years old and turned to rock. The drive through the volcanic hills of the west is rugged and very unique for a Greek island. It feels like another planet with its red soil and strange stone shapes.
- Manolates Mountain Village Follow the winding road through the green forests of Samos to reach this famous artist town. The views of the sea and the Turkish coast are amazing from the main village square. The air is fresh and smells of pine and local flowers all day.
- Heraion of Samos Visit the massive ruins of the Temple of Hera sitting right near the southern shore of the island. Only one giant column still stands to show how big and grand the temple once was in the past. The drive along the coast is very easy and offers great views of the sea.
- Anavatos Ghost Village Drive to this stone town built on a high rock to hide from invaders and the old wars. It is now empty and quiet but the stone houses and views are still grand and very powerful. It is a dark and moving place that tells a story of the island history.
- Molyvos Castle This town on Lesvos is made of dark volcanic stone and has a grand castle sitting on the top. The streets are covered in purple flowers and lead down to a cozy and warm fishing port. The drive along the coast to get there is very beautiful and relaxing.
- Lemnos Sand Dunes You can drive your car to a real desert with golden dunes in the middle of a Greek island. It is a very strange and cool sight to see and is the only desert in all of Europe. The beaches nearby are wild and empty and perfect for a quiet day.
- Poliochni Ruins Visit what is said to be the oldest organized city in all of Europe on the island of Lemnos. The site is quiet and overlooks the blue sea toward the east and the rising morning sun. The history here is very deep and goes back many thousands of years.
- Agiasos Mountain Town Drive into the green heart of Lesvos to find this town famous for its wood carving and art. The streets are steep and the houses have colorful wooden balconies that hang over the cobbles. The local coffee is great and served in the traditional way.
- Ikaria Thermal Springs Follow the coastal road to find natural hot water flowing directly into the sea from the rocks. The island is famous for the long lives of its people and its wild and free nature. The roads are steep and offer views of a very rugged and green landscape.
The local Four
History of North Aegean
The island of Chios held a world monopoly on mastic resin for over a thousand years. Your Chios Greece travel takes you to the Mastichochoria, which are twenty-four fortified villages built in the 14th century to protect the crop. These villages were designed as mazes with no windows on the ground floor to prevent pirates from climbing inside. Mastic was so valuable that the Ottoman Sultan gave the islanders special tax exemptions and local autonomy.
The island of Samos was a center of ancient engineering and the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras. In the 6th century BC, the engineer Eupalinos dug a one-kilometer tunnel through a mountain to provide water to the city. This was the first tunnel in history to be started from both ends and meet accurately in the middle. Samos was also home to the Heraion, which was the largest temple in the Greek world during its time.
Lesvos was the home of the poet Sappho and the philosopher Theophrastus, who is considered the father of botany. The island was ruled by the Genoese Gattilusi family from 1355 to 1462, who built the massive castle of Molyvos on the site of an ancient acropolis. In 1822, the Chios Massacre during the Greek Revolution led to a global outcry that helped turn European opinion in favor of Greek freedom. The province is a land of secret resins, ancient math and medieval naval power.