The Medieval Mastiha Villages

In the south and most fertile part of the island in the only place in the world where mastic grows, there are the 24 mastic villages. Built in the Middle Ages, these villages display exquisite architecture and unique decorative elements, such as the ksistá, “scratched surfaces”, on the facades of the houses in Pyrgi, the biggest of the villages. Ksista are geometric designs scratched on plaster with a technique that is unparalleled in the world. If you are lucky enough, you might catch the plaster workers at work!

South of Pyrgi, there is Mesta, another medieval village, whose stone houses form an impregnable fortress. The village has only one gateway for people to enter and the houses are built so close to one another that locals say the only way to walk around is by climbing over the roofs. Let the locals treat you with “mestoútsiko”, a local wine, and with a drink made of distilled figs and grapes, “soúma”.
Related article: Mastic Villages