Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
MASTIC MASTICATION
The
mastic bush
(
Pistacia lentisca
) is found across much of Aegean Greece but only in
southern Híos - pruned to an umbrella shape to facilitate harvesting - does it produce
aromatic resin of any quality or quantity, scraped from incisions made on the trunk during
summer. For centuries it was used as a base for paints, cosmetics and the chewable jelly beans
that became an addictive staple in Ottoman harems. Indeed, the interruption of the flow of
mastic from Híos to Istanbul by the revolt of spring 1822 was a main cause of the brutal
Ottoman reaction. The wealth engendered by the mastic trade supported twenty
mastihohoriá
(mastic villages) from the time the Genoese set up a monopoly in the substance
during the fourteenth century, but the demise of imperial Turkey and the development of
petroleum-based products knocked the bottom out of the mastic market.
Now it's just a curiosity, to be chewed - try the sweetened Elma-brand gum - or drunk
as
mastíha
liqueur. It has had medicinal applications since ancient times; contemporary
advocates claim that mastic boosts the immune system and thins the blood. High-end
cosmetics, toothpaste and mouthwash are now sold at the Mastiha Shop in Híos Town
(see p.624).
Pyrgí
PYRGÍ
, 25km south of Híos Town, is the most colourful of the
mastihohoriá
, its houses
elaborately embossed with
xystá
, patterns cut into whitewash to reveal a layer of black
volcanic sand underneath; in autumn, strings of sun-drying tomatoes add a further
splash of colour. On the northeast corner of the central square the twelfth-century
Byzantine church of
Áyii Apóstoli
(erratic hours), embellished with much later frescoes,
is tucked under an arcade.
Olýmbi and around
OLÝMBI
, 7km west of Pyrgí along the same bus route, is one of the less visited mastic
villages but not devoid of interest. The characteristic
tower-keep
, which at Pyrgí stands
half-inhabited away from the modernized main square, here looms bang in the middle
of the platía.
The Sykiás Olýmbon cave
Tues-Sun: June-Aug 10am-8pm; Sept 11am-6pm • Admission every 30min • €5
From Olýmbi, a paved road leads 6km to the well-signed cave of
Sykiás Olýmbon
. For
years it was just a hole in the ground where villagers disposed of dead animals, but
from 1985 on speleologists explored it properly. The cavern, with a constant
temperature of 18°C, evolved in two phases between 150 million and 50 million years
ago, and has a maximum depth of 57m (though tours only visit the top 30m). Its
formations, with fanciful names like Chinese Forest, Medusa and Organ Pipes, are
among the most beautiful in the Mediterranean.
Mestá
Sombre, monochrome
MESTÁ
, 4km west of Olýmbi, is considered the finest of the
villages; despite more snack-bars and trinket shops than strictly necessary, it remains
just the right side of twee. From its main square, dominated by the
church of the
Taxiárhis
with its two icons of the Archangel - one dressed in Byzantine robes, the
other in Genoese armour - a maze of dim lanes with anti-seismic tunnels leads of in
all directions. Most streets end in blind alleys, except those leading to the six portals;
the northeast one still has its original iron gate.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING THE MASTIHOHORIÁ
Tourist facilities are relatively sparse in the mastic villages. Apart from the establishments listed below, you will find a
smattering of cafés, the odd tiny taverna and some signs for private rooms, usually available on spec.
