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MEGAS LIMNIONAS |
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The road continues and soon we reach another
beach area, Megas Limnionas. It takes its name from the word limni (bay) which is protected from the North Winds. It was used for loading and unloading cargo goods to and from the nearby islands and from Asia Minor. During the Middle Ages when pirates rampaged the Greek shores, one Friday before Lent they landed here to plunder the village of Thymiana nearby. The villagers, meanwhile, had been notified by the watch towers. They lay in ambush at Stenaka and routed them. |
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In commemoration of this victory, the
famous Mostra of Thymiana is held each year on the Friday and Sunday before
Lent. In 1822 it was in Megas Limnionas that Lycourgos and his men landed from Samos in the hopes of stirring the revolution for the island's freedom from Turks. (Unfortunately, the mission failed; Chios was not liberated until 1912). Here, too, and all across these shores, thousands of Greek refugees arrived from Asia Minor as a result of the Turkish holocaust there in 1922. Today the visitor is won over by the natural beauty of the landscape and the clear blue sea. Here, too, there are charming taverns, rooms to let and various shops to accommodate all visitors. |