Olympoi

31 kilometers south of Chios town and 6 kilometers past Pyrgi lies the medieval village of Olympoi. The continuous line of exterior walls of the outermost houses, which functioned as ramparts, gives the village a fortified character. Here, too, there is a central gate, a defensive tower—now half‑ruined—and narrow lanes spanned by stone vaults that once linked the houses. In the village square stands the small church of Agia Paraskevi with its 18th‑century carved wooden iconostasis. Visitors should also see the Trapeza of Olympoi, a two‑story building with long, narrow halls. On the last Sunday of Carnival, the “Aga” custom is revived in the central square; its roots date between 1830 and 1840.