The narrow streets in the walled city of Mesta on the Greek island of Chios

Sailing south east from Lesvos we anchored in the beautiful harbour of Mandraki on a very small barren island, called Ouinoussa. The village of Mandraki ascends almost vertical up the steep incline on which it is built. It was once a thriving fishing village and the birth place to some prominent wealthy Greek shipping magnates. However, these days it is more a holiday resort with many of the old homes now being restored to be used as holiday accommodation. It is a very pretty village and we spent two quiet days here before heading down to the island of Chios a short sail away. Chios is home to the worlds only gum-producing mastic trees-mastic produces the resin used in chewing gum. There are many mastic products for sale on the island including Liquers, beauty products and sweets all containing mastic. After a few tastings we have come to the conclusion that it actually doesn't have a lot of flavour. It is often combined with other flavours probably to make it more palatable.
While in Chios we took a bus trip quite a few kilometres inland to visit the villages of Pyrgi and Mesto. Pyrgi is a fascinating village with the facades of most of the houses, decorated with intricate grey and white geometric patterns and motifs. It seems that the cement rendering has been etched out in the desired pattern then filled with a grey paint to contrast against the white rendering. It is very effective, especially as all the houses in the village are decorated in this way. 10kms on, is the fortified medieval village of Mesta with cobbled streets, overhead arches and a maze of streets designed to confuse pirates in days gone by! Although it was a very hot day we found it really cooling to wander around the narrow streets flanked by houses that were a few storeys high but all built from the natural stone and rocks found in the surrounding countryside. We think they had the right idea, in creating a village to suit the climate. The arches and narrow laneways had vines and creepers growing over to provide shade and with the houses metres apart it provided shelter and protection from the sun. The thick stone walls of the buildings meant they were cool in summer and warm in winter - this reinforced our thinking and experience that thermal mass was a desirable feature for energy efficient homes in temperate climates. We are inspired to build again!!