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CUSTOMER COMMENTS
Chios Island
Chios is the fifth largest island of the Greek islands (842 sq. km.) with a 213 km coastline and a population of approximately 50,000 inhabitants who live in the capital as well as within the the 64 villages.
The island is situated in the furthest eastern portion of the Aegean Sea, just a few nautical miles off the Turkish shore of Asia Minor.
Chios has been subjected to a stream of cultures over the course of time. Eight thousand years of continual human survival have left their imprint on the island's landscape, its stone villages, stalactite caverns and mountainous terrain. Nonetheless, it has managed to maintain its identity
Kambos in Chios
One of the most beautiful areas of the island is Kambos, a green valley 3 Km south of Chora covered with citrus orchards. Kambos ("Plain") is a flat land that stretches, along the east coast of the island of Chios, about 10 Km long and 2 Km wide. The low mountains that surround it from the west are the source of its underground waters; what makes Kambos an endless garden with flowers and citrus trees, very close to the capital of Chios. Kambos represents a unique, both residential and agricultural site.
Kambos has a history that goes back to Byzantium. Byzantines were followed by the island’s conquerors, the Genoans and the Turks, the 1822 massacre and the terrible 1881 earthquake, events that influenced life in Kambos. However, despite all these disasters, conquests and changes, Kambos kept its character unspoiled from the 14th century until our days.
Many mansions have been restored and are used either as residences or as lodges. The residence character of the Kambos mansions still survives in a great extend and some of them (around ten) have been transformed into lodges while almost all the orchards are being cultivated.
In the 14th century, the Genoese selected this area to build their mansions, as did the local aristocrats in later years (the Rallis, Argenti, Petrokokinos, Kalvocoressi and other families), thus creating a new socio-economic level. High walls of Thymiana stone protected the mansions from dust, winds and the cold. In the past, the orchards were watered by huge water wheels turned by animals, while today the irrigation is done by modern means.
Elaborate cisterns decorated with marble reliefs and spouts, figure centrally in the courtyards. Shady paths, gardens of flowers, and creeping vines of jasmine create a unique atmosphere.
Homes of two and three stories rise imposingly over the tops of the trees, affording panoramic views and serving as a means of overseeing the estates. Interior and exterior stairs joined to the buildings, served functional purposes. Arched doors and windows, arcades with small marble pillars, balconies held up by small arches, huge entrance gates with coats-of-arms and various reliefs, pebbled courtyards and frescoed ceilings offer a uniqueness in the architectural style of the area, a result of the regional conditions.