Read the article at cnn travel.   John Malathronas, CNN • Updated 30th September 2019 Known as the “painted village,” Pyrgi is undoubtedly one of the most photogenic places in the world. Located on Chios, the fifth largest of Greece’s islands, it’s made up of houses adorned with geometric engravings that use a technique called sgraffito. The process, most...

MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER, National Geographic • Updated 19th November 2019 WALK PYRGI’S NARROW, medieval streets and you’ll see buildings, arches—even the undersides of balconies—etched with intricate, black-on-white, geometric patterns. Strings of cherry tomatoes and drying peppers sway above women who comb through leafy twigs with the concentration of diamond hunters. They’re searching for blobs of hardened...

The ancient spirit is having a true comeback moment in the United States. By Oset Babur | September 13, 2019 With a 3,000 year history dating back to the ancient Greeks, we’d be hard-pressed to call mastiha a new trend. But in the United States, where we often associate the spirit with polarizing flavors like sambuca and...

CHIOS, Greece — Over my 54 years, I’ve pinned my hopes on my parents, my teachers, my romantic partners, God. I’m pinning them now on a shrub. It’s called mastic, it grows in particular abundance on the Greek island of Chios and its resin — the goo exuded when its bark is gashed — has...