If Pyrgi is Chios's most visually dramatic village, Mesta is its most atmospheric. Built entirely as a defensive structure in the 14th century by the Genoese, Mesta is less a village than a fortress — a single stone organism in which the outer ring of houses forms an unbroken defensive wall, with only one original gateway for entry.
Walking into Mesta feels like stepping directly into the medieval period. The stone-vaulted alleys are so narrow that neighbors can almost shake hands from their upper windows. The houses are built so close together that locals legend holds you could once cross the entire village by climbing over the rooftops — a deliberate design to allow villagers to escape pirates by moving horizontally across the roofline.
Like all the Mastichochoria, Mesta was built to protect its most precious resource: mastic. The Genoese who controlled Chios from 1346 to 1566 understood the extraordinary value of mastic resin — it was traded across the Mediterranean and Middle East for more than its weight in gold — and built these fortified villages as living vaults for the mastic-growing families inside.
Today Mesta is one of the best-preserved medieval settlements in all of Greece. Several of the old mansions have been converted into guesthouses, and the village has a handful of excellent tavernas serving traditional Chian food. Order the mastoutsiko — a local wine unique to the village — and souma, the fig distillate that is Chios's beloved secret spirit.
What to Do
- Walk every alley — the village is small enough to explore completely in an hour
- Visit the two Byzantine churches at the center of the village
- Stay overnight in one of the medieval mansion guesthouses
- Eat dinner at a traditional taverna and try mastoutsiko and souma
- Drive 5km to Mavra Volia beach for a morning swim