Pyrgi. The village Pyrgi is located about twenty kilometres southwest of Chios Town, on the Greek island of Chios. Typical in this village are the walls decorated in a special way. All kinds of grey and white geometric shapes are manually scratched with a fork on the walls. The Greeks call this style "Xista." It is said that this technique was brought by the Genoese in the Middle Ages in Chios.
Pyrgi is a nice village with charming, narrow stone paved alleys. In the centre of the village is the village square. This is the place where all kinds of shops, cafes and kafenions are located and where it’s always busy.
Pyrgi is one of the mastic villages located in the area where resin is produced. This resin is used for example in the cosmetic industry. Pyrgi has a rich history, because this village was built as a fortress with houses all around, so that pirates could not go inside. There was only one main gate to get into the village. The houses were connected with various arches and bridges. At the corners of the village were towers. In the centre was a higher tower, hence the name Pyrgi, which in Greek means "tower". Here the inhabitants took refuge when intruders were still in the centre. By a kind of movable bridge they could exclude the "bad guys". Pyrgi is one of the villages on Chios which you should definitely visit!
Text: Yorgos and Wendy Nikolidakis - Revised by Maxine van Hoften Gee