Anavatos

On 30 March 1822 the Ottoman army ravaged the island of Chios to suppress the inhabitants’ revolt. The Chians, with their women and children, fled either to the island’s distant shores or to the lofty castles of the monasteries. Some made it to Anavatos to shut themselves up in the fortified citadel. About 1,500 Ottomans approached the village. Easter Sunday found them besieged and ready for battle. On Bright Saturday and Thomas Sunday, the Ottomans could wait no longer and attacked twice from the northern side of the wall. The assault failed due to the precipitous terrain on the one hand and the stout resistance of the Chians on the other. Once the stronghold fell, the Turks rushed upon the innocent and, after slaughtering all the fighters, turned on the civilians. The slender young women, resisting, chose to leap into the ravine, thus marking the so‑called “Chian Zalongo.”