Mastichochoria ( el, Μαστιχοχώρια, , lit. "the mastic villages" in English) is a former municipality on the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

(Χίος),

North Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the southwestern and extreme southern part of the island. It is the largest municipal unit in land area on Chios at 211.687 km². Its population was 3,672 at the 2001 census. The seat of the municipality was Pyrgi (Πυργί) (pop. 755). The next largest villages are Kalamotí (Καλαμωτń) (569), Armólia (Αρμόλια)(442), Mestá (Μεστά) (337), and Lithío (Λιθί) (397). The small coastal village of Emporeios (Εμποριού)(47) boasts an archaeological site. This area is well known for the production of mastic, from which it derives its name. Mastic is the hardened resin of the mastic tree and is only harvested on Chios, being a major part of the local economy. In the village of Pyrgi, there is even a small Museum of Mastic. Within the European Union, Chios

mastika Mastika or mastiha is a liqueur seasoned with mastic, a resin with a slightly pine or cedar-like flavor gathered from the mastic tree, a small evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region. In Greece, mastiha ( el, μαστίχα) or masti ...

, a mastic-flavoured liqueur has a

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

. The island's mastic production is controlled by a co-operative of medieval villages. The local producers are united under the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association.

Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association

Founded in 1938, the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association ( el, Ένωση Μαστιχοπαραγωγών Χίου), abbreviated ''CGMGA'', is a cooperative organisation and acts as the collective representative organ of twenty primary cooperatives totalling nearly 5000 members in the twenty-four villages of southern Chios. It has the exclusive management of Chios mastika in Greece and abroad. Its international equivalent in French is the ''Union des Producteurs de Gomme Mastic de Chios''. The organisation is mainly involved with the management of the agricultural production, supporting local growers, stimulating research, and providing legal assistance. The CGMGA has a Board of Directors consists of nine members. Three members are permanent: these are the Director of the Agricultural Service, the technical supervisor of the ATE bank and the Commissioner of NCGAC. The other six board positions are elected.

List of mastic villages

Mesta The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migra ...

* Olimpi * Pyrgi * Armolia * Kalamoti * Patrika * Kini * Vouno * Nenita * Katarraktis * Kallimassia * Messa Didima * Ekso Didima * Mirmigi * Tholopotami * Agios Georgios * Vessa * Elata * Lithi * Neochorio מסטיקא - 2

Museum of Mastic

On 11 June 2016, the Chios Mastic Museum opened its doors in Rachi, on the southern part of Chios in the region of the Mastichochoria. It offers a permanent exhibition about mastiha production on the island, explaining its history and cultivation techniques as well as demonstrating its different uses today.

Historical events

In the

Chios Massacre The Chios massacre (in el, Η σφαγή της Χίου, ) was a catastrophe that resulted to the death, enslavement, and refuging of about four-fifths of the total population of Greeks on the island of Chios by Ottoman troops, during the ...

of 1822, during the Ottoman rule of Chios, the people of Mastichochoria were spared as their survival was the foundation of the island's continued prosperity (and the tax proceeds it remitted to Constantinople). . In 2012 the Mastichochoria and its trees were threatened by a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

that broke out in the southern part of the island.

References

External links

Mastichochoria
- official website
pictures from Mastichochoria
in

Panoramio Panoramio was a geo-located tagging, photo sharing mashup active between 2005 and 2016. Photos uploaded to the site were accessible as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps. The site's goal was to allow Google Earth users to learn more about ...

website {{Landmarks of Chios Populated places in Chios Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity bg:Мастихохория (дем)