Located in the eastern Aegean Sea, very close to the coast of Anatolia, Chios has a rich architectural heritage shaped by different cultures and administrations over the centuries. Byzantine, Genoese and Ottoman influences can be seen across the island. What makes Chios particularly interesting architecturally, however, is the distinctive layout of its traditional villages and the historic streets where everyday life continues today.
In Chios Town and other settlements on the island, old mansions built of local stone, gardens enclosed by high walls, pebble-paved courtyards and fountains attract attention. In some houses bearing traces of the Genoese period, architecture expressed not only the need for shelter but also economic power and social status. Courtyards and citrus gardens hidden behind high walls created private living spaces adapted to the island's climate and largely concealed from the street.
One of Chios's most remarkable architectural legacies is the group of mastic-producing villages in the south, known as the Mastichochoria. These settlements developed around the production and protection of mastic, one of the island's most important products for centuries. Shaped by defensive concerns in the Middle Ages, their houses were built close together, forming narrow streets and arched passages. In some villages the outer walls of the houses function almost like fortifications. Walking through them, I felt I was inside a connected architectural whole rather than among separate buildings.
Mesta is one of the most striking examples of this defensive settlement pattern. The medieval village resembles a small fortress, with adjoining stone houses, narrow winding lanes, vaulted passages and an inward-looking layout. The outer walls of its houses form a protective boundary, while the streets lead towards the central square and the Church of the Taxiarchs. Developed in part to provide security against pirate raids, this architectural arrangement remains largely legible today.
Walking through Mesta's stone streets, I was struck by the atmosphere created by high walls, vaulted passages and unexpected corners. Unlike the black-and-white geometric façades of Pyrgi, the visual power of Mesta comes chiefly from the natural colour of stone, the confined spaces and the contrast between light and shadow. Its interconnected houses and streets make a centuries-old approach to defence visible within a village that is still inhabited. For a photographer, Mesta is a place that invites consideration of how to photograph an entire settlement, not merely individual buildings.
Pyrgi, one of the island's most distinctive villages, is known especially for the black-and-white geometric decorations on its house façades. In the technique called xysta, the upper layer of plaster is scraped away in carefully arranged patterns, revealing the darker layer beneath. Triangles, diamonds, bands and repeated geometric shapes cover the walls; some designs also include plant motifs. This treatment transforms an ordinary wall into a surface almost as intricately patterned as woven fabric.
Walking through Pyrgi, I noticed the strong relationship between the buildings' forms and their façade decorations. The geometric patterns running along narrow streets combine with doors, windows and arches to create an ever-changing visual rhythm. As the angle of sunlight shifts, the effect of the black-and-white surfaces changes and shadows sharpen their geometry. Where Mesta is defined by plain stone and defensive architecture, Pyrgi makes geometric decoration its dominant visual feature. These neighbouring villages show how different architectural identities can develop under similar historical and geographical conditions.
The architectural character of Chios extends beyond its houses. Byzantine churches, monasteries and small chapels are also important parts of the island's historic fabric. Nea Moni Monastery, in particular, preserves outstanding examples of Byzantine mosaic art. Churches and bell towers built in later periods combine local stone craftsmanship with different architectural styles. Together with the traditional houses and villages, these religious buildings reveal the island's layered history.
While photographing Chios in 2016, what interested me most was the way this inherited architecture remained part of everyday life. Historic houses were not simply old buildings to be preserved; they were places where people continued to live, where doors opened and closed, where streets were walked, and where past and present existed side by side. I therefore tried to capture not only architectural details but also the coherence of the settlements and the atmosphere of their streets.
Looking at these photographs today, I see the traditional architecture of Chios as the outcome of a long relationship between geography, history, production and human life. Stone buildings from the Genoese period, the defensive village of Mesta, Pyrgi's geometric façades and daily life in narrow streets are all parts of the island's distinctive identity. My photographs bear witness to this architectural world as it appeared in 2016.