Anavatos, Chios

Anavatos is a castle town in Chios, about 16km from the island’s capital. It’s built on a rock 450m high, which is not accessible from the east or west, but only from the north. This ruined and abandoned village of Chios is indeed a natural fortress. There are 400 houses inside the walls, which are narrow and constructed with local stone with flat wooden roofs, low doors, little windows and wooden porches. It is a real fortress, in order to protect the locals from invaders. The village is now almost abandoned, with very few permanent inhabitants, however the well preserved paved streets and beautiful houses of this castle town in Anavatos is without a doubt the most important sight of Chios.