Ferry from Athens (Piraeus) to Mesta (Chios)

Athens (Piraeus) Guide

The port city of Piraeus in Greece lies on the Saronic Gulf in the Attica region of the country and forms part of the Athens urban area, with the centre of Athens located some 12 km from the port. The centre of Piraeus is generally congested with traffic and tends not to be place where tourists would go. The area has many of the facilities you would expect of a non-tourist town: banks, public buildings, pedestrian areas, shopping streets and the like. The area around Zea Marina and Mikrolimano Harbour are perhaps the most attractive part of Piraeus and have a good selection of restaurants, cafes and bars.

Piraeus is Greece's main port and the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. Unsurprisingly, it is the hub of Greece's maritime industries and the base for its merchant navy. Having recently undergone a refurbishment, facilities at the port have improved and include ATM's, bureau de change, restaurants, cafes, bars and a number of travel agencies selling ferry tickets. destinations served by the port include the island of Crete, the Cyclades Islands, the Dodecanese Islands, the eastern parts of Greece and parts of the northern and eastern Aegean Sea.

Mesta Guide

Mesta is a town that is located on the Greek island of Chios that lies in the north east Aegean Sea and is the fifth largest Greek island with a coastline of around 120 km and a population of roughly 54,000. The island is only 3.5 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. Although it is not universally agreed, the island is thought to be one of the likely birth places of Homer and of the ancient mathematicians Hippocrates and Enopides. One of the most picturesque villages on the island is the medieval village of Mesta which has been preserved as a monument. The village has been built like a castle and dates back to the Byzantine period. In order to fortify the village, its houses were built close together in order to form a protective ring around it and the village's current residents still maintain the traditions of a 14th century village. The most important custom that takes place in the village is where the "Agas" trials, a satirical replica of the trials that used to take place under the occupation of Turkey, are presented.