Castle of Loulouda

The Castle of Loulouda was an impressive fortification atop a very high, steep rock at 600 m elevation, north of the village of Kokkari. The last fortification phase seems to belong to the Middle Byzantine period, but rock‑cuttings for house foundations and some ancient vessels show that the fortress was inhabited from ancient times and rebuilt by the Byzantines in the 7th–8th centuries, when Saracen raids began in the Aegean. Stepped roads carved into the rock led to dwellings organized on cut terraces that also exploited the roofs of the houses below. At that time, such forts were used during enemy raids and as lookouts from which ships were monitored. Sources mention that the castle had 150 houses and was probably inhabited in the 14th century by residents of a coastal village at today’s Kokkari, which they abandoned due to pirate raids. The last inhabitants left in 1476, when the island was depopulated, relocating to Chios and Asia Minor.