Chios Island Diaries,  Chios - Greece  2016

Chios is an island in the Aegean Sea of ​​Greece. The island, which is part of the country's North Aegean region, is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. It is famous for its mastic trees and the mastic gum obtained from these trees. Its tourist attractions include medieval villages and the 11th-century Nea Moni Monastery. The name of the regional unit that includes this island and several smaller islands nearby, and the city that is the largest settlement and administrative center of the island, is also Chios. The name Hora is also used for the city. Before 1822, the population of the island was estimated to be between 43,000 and 110,000. History Genoese period In 1346, Chios and the nearby port of Foca were governed by a Genoese maona. Maona was soon sold to the Giustiniani family, who settled in Chios, and they ruled the island until the Ottoman conquest. Ottoman period Chios Island Union Club Members in the August 1910 Pictorial Kitab magazine Chios remained under Ottoman rule for approximately 347 years from 1566, when it came under Ottoman rule, until 1913, when it was taken over by Greece. Starting from the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the Genoese maintained their independence in terms of administration due to their paying taxes to the Ottomans. It was conquered by Kaptan-i Derya Piyale Pasha on April 15, 1566, shortly before the death of Suleiman the Magnificent. Chios joined the rest of independent Greece after the First Balkan War (1912). The Greek Navy landed on Chios in November 1912 and took control of the island after more than a month of fighting. The Ottoman Empire recognized Greece's annexation of Chios and other Aegean islands by signing the Treaty of London (1913). It was also affected by the population exchange that occurred after the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, when Greek refugees settled in Kastro (formerly a Turkish neighborhood) and in new settlements hastily built south of the town of Chios.(Wikipedia)