Chios

Chios is an Aegean island whose southern villages, collectively known as the Mastichochoria, are the world's only source of natural mastic — a resin produced by the Pistacia lentiscus tree with culinary, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications. The medieval Genoese-era villages of the Mastichochoria, including Pyrgi and Mesta, are characterised by elaborate geometric grey-and-white sgraffito facades and a fortified layout designed for communal defence. Nea Moni, an eleventh-century Byzantine monastery in the island's interior, contains a UNESCO-listed mosaic programme of exceptional quality.