Situated on a hill, Aghios Georgios Sykoussis offers views across the fertile Kambochora area and towards the coast of Asia Minor. The panorama is a striking point of reference for the character of the place. Mastic production is also one of the livelihoods of its residents. The landscape and local work thus offer two distinct ways to get to know the place: its setting and views, and a form of production that contributes to the local livelihood.
A Testament from 1518
A precise historical reference point is the testament of the hieromonk Sophronios Sepsis, dated 4 November 1518. In it, he recorded that he had found Aghios Georgios Sykoussis abandoned and desolate. He also reported that he had built houses at his own expense and restored the monastery and its damaged buildings. These statements are attributed to the testament: they link the contemporary description of the place with Sophronios’ account of its restoration.
A Building with Changing Uses
Near the north side of the church is an elongated, vaulted building with a semicircular apse. It was originally the monastery’s refectory, or dining hall; later, it was converted into a chapel dedicated to Saint John. The former refectory was used as a school in the 20th century and now serves as a parish hall. The sequence—monastery room, chapel, school and parish hall—makes the changing use of this single building easy to follow.
Festal Days in Village Life
Aghios Georgios Sykoussis celebrates the feast days of the Prophet Elias on 20 July, Saint Panteleimon on 27 July and Saint Fanourios on 27 August. The two July dates are a week apart; the August date follows about a month later. These dates give a specific timeframe for the local feast days mentioned, without implying that there is an event programme.
Chios as a Broader Cultural Context
On Chios, the Chios Mastic Museum explores the subject of mastic at a museum level. Its permanent exhibition presents traditional knowledge about mastic cultivation; the outdoor exhibition brings visitors into contact with the mastic plant and its natural habitat. The museum is located in Pyrgi and opened to the public in 2016. Alongside mastic production as a local livelihood, the plant, its habitat and knowledge about its cultivation are also themes on Chios.
Another cultural reference point on Chios is Nea Moni. The monastery was built between 1042 and 1056 and is considered an undisputed masterpiece of Byzantine art. Its mosaics are part of one of the three collections from the Middle Byzantine period preserved in Greece. This historical account places the monastery’s construction and mosaic art at its centre.
The architectural forms of other places on Chios offer their own distinctive features. Mesta is a medieval village preserved as a monument: its closely built houses form a protective perimeter wall and give the settlement a castle-like layout. In Pyrgi, the black-and-white geometric decorations on the house façades are called “Xysta”; because of its detailed decorative motifs on buildings, the village is often called the “painted village”. Together with the monastery building and the feast days in Aghios Georgios Sykoussis, this look at Chios shows different facets of its cultural heritage.
Discover more destinations: Mestá, Paralia Agias Fotinis, Nenita, Patrika, Chios, Kardamyla, Vrontados, Avgónyma
Back to the main travel overview: Chios.
