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Villages of Samos Island - 2

Mavratzaioi Village

On the 19th km of the road Samos-Pythagoreio-Karlovasi, you'll find the detour that leads to the village of Mavratzaioi and after 4 more km you'll see it. The distance from Pythagoreio is 10 km. It was initially named Gaitanides from the name of a Shepard named Gaitanos who resided there in the end of the 18th century.

Shortly later a person called Mavratzas and his family joined him and the village was named after them along with the small torrent that is located nearby. This village was famous in the earlier days for the production of pottery and along with Karlovasi it was covering all the needs of Samos in such pots. Today there's only one craftsman that works on the village producing pottery mainly for tourists.

On the 8th km from Pythagoreio, on the main road, you'll find the settlement called "Gionides" that belongs to the village and was named as such because the name of its first inhabitant was "Gionis". From this settlement there's an alternative route towards the village of Mavratzaioi. Most of the inhabitants are farmers producing mainly olive oil.

On the 1st kn of the detour, you'll find the monastery of the Holly Cross (Timios Stavros), one of the most beautiful, richer and older on Samos. Its building began at 1592 and it was completed in 1606. The settlements of Gionides with 35 residents and the monastery of Holly Cross (Timios Stavros) with 2 residents belong to the village of Mavratzaioi.

Vathi Village - Samos Island Vathi Village

It is located to the southeast and very close to the city of Samos. These two communities have almost united in our days after continuously expanding through the ages. It has been built on an altitude of 80 meters above sea level and at the end of Samos bay that probably gave its name to the village as well. It is very close to the sea, built on uneven and downhill ground.

Its houses are built close one to the other, separated by narrow mazy streets, a characteristic more intense than in any other Samian village. According to Emmanuel Criticides, its building started immediately after 1550 by Samians and later by Peloponnesian refugees that arrived and built the district "Moraitochori" in rugged country to the west of the main village and hidden by hills. To the east and a little to the north, at the southeast end of the Vlamari valley and on an altitude of 120 meters the monastery of Agia Zoni is located.
The monk Meletios has built it in 1695 and it contains many frescos, a wood carved icon screen and many ecclesiastic utensils. To the northeast of Agia Zoni, on the mountain of Rabaidoni, is the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi on an altitude of approximately 300 meters and a wonderful view to the Asia Minor coast and the straits of Micali. Vathi Village - Samos Island
The monk Dorotheus built it in 1756 and it contains many frescos, a wonderful wood carved icon screen, many ecclesiastic utensils and old books. Most of the inhabitants of Vathi are occupied in tourism and agriculture with vines and olives being the primary products of the village. In the old days tobacco was also widely cultivated.
Vathi Village - Samos Island The settlements of: Agia Zoni with 71 residents, Agia Marcella with 9, Agia Triada with 22, Agios Athanasios with 36, Varelas with 48, Drosia with 29, Zervou with 48, Zoodochos Pigi with 11, Camara with 171, Kedros with 73, Koumarionas with 48, Mesocampos with 41, Moraitochori with 24, Nicola with 60, Panayitsa with 30, Platanos with 22, Tourkomylonas with 42 and Floca with 65 residents all belong to the district of Vathi.
Apart for Agia Zoni, Camara and Zervou, which are settlement that mainly belonged to the old tobacco growers, all the rest are new settlements.
Paliokastro Village

Five Km southeast of Samos town, Paliocastro is located. It is surrounded by hills and invisible from the sea. Its name is attributed to an old castle that lies near by (old = Palio, Castle = Castro).

The village was built in the beginning of the 17th century. Most of the inhabitants of Paliocastro are occupied in tourism and agriculture with olives being the primary product of the village. In the old days tobacco was also widely cultivated. To the east and south of Paliocastro are the beautiful beaches of Kerveli, Posidonio and Psili Ammos. They are picturesque beaches with tranquil and beep blue water and lay in the straits that separate Samos from Asia Minor, Europe from Asia. In this area is also the Krokos cape that is the closest point, only 1200 meters!

The settlements of: Argyro with 11 residents, Klima with 6, Poseidonia with 37, Charavgi with 28 and psili Ammos with 45 residents belong to the Paliocastro district. The last 3 are by the sea and swiftly developing because of the tourism in the area.

Mytilinioi Village

Three km to the north of Chora, on the road that connects Pythagoreion - Chora - Mytilinioi - Samos, you'll find the village of Mytilinioi at the west end of the homonymous valley. The village is surrounded by hills that make it invisible by the sea.

Mytilinioi Village - Samos Island It's one of the biggest and most vibrant villages of Samos. Its name derives from its first inhabitants who came from the neighboring island of Mytilene. In the village you'll also find the Paleontological and Folklore Museum with rare speciments of animal fossils that were found in the area. Excavations for that purpose were initially performed in 1887 and 1888, but many of the findings are in museums out of Samos adorning foreign collections.
Signs of ancient fortification and other remands were found around the village, signs that this area was inhabited since ancient times.
The village, at its height, was the first in tobacco production in Samos generating more the 1280 tons annually. Three km to the east is the monastery of Holy Trinity (Agia Triada). It's one of the most recent on the island as it was built in 1924. The settlements of Kamara with 4 residents, Agia Triada with 4, Potami with 79 and Rizovrachos with 10 residents also belong to the village of Mytilinioi. Mytilinioi Village - Samos Island
Chora Village - Samos Island Chora Village

Three km northwest of Pythagoreio lies the village of Chora, at the northeast part of the homonymous plain. Until 1854, Chora was the capital of the island and this is the reason of its name since almost all island capitals bare this name. The residents of Chora are occupied in tourism and agriculture. In the earlier days the main cultivation was tobacco.

The airport of Samos is also in the general area of Chora. The settlement of Potokaki with 49 residents belongs to the region of Chora. It's built by the seaside and it's a very well developed touristic settlement.
Myloi Village

It was the first village that was built by Samians that remained isolated on the mountains during the phase of the island's desolation. It was the island's capital for approximately fifty years and was named Myloi (mills) from the many watermills that operated in the area as a result of the abundant water resources of the region and the waters of the river Imbrasus. It's located on the west end of the Chora plain, close to the east bank of Imbrasus River and within a verdurous environment full of orchards. It's 8 km away from Pythagoreio.

Pagondas Village

Southwest of Myloi, on the eastern slopes of Karvounis mountain you'll find the village of Pagondas, 12 km away from Pythagoreio. Following this road you'll go to the village of Spathareei and further up to Pyrgos where you'll meet the main road. There are two explanations or the origins of its name. One mentions that it comes from the ancient word "pagon - da" meaning "land of the springs" and the second one that it derives from the homonymous village in Euboea where its first inhabitants are reported to be descended from.

The residents are mostly farmers producing mainly olive oil. The village is oriented towards the southeast facing the straights of Mykali and the Asia Minor coast. Iraion is a settlement of Pagondas. It is by the sea, to the south of the village and it's a well developed tourist destination. The name Iraion comes from the near-by temple of goddess Hera. It was one of the biggest temples of antiquity with a length of 108,73m, width of 54,8m and it was supported by 133 columns. Today only one of them stands. Starting from the temple, the ancient "sacred road" continued towards Pythagoreio. Iraion has 496 residents and along with the settlement of Kolona which has 35 residents belongs to Pagondas.

Koumaradaioi Village

This village is located on the 25th km from Samos town or the 12th from Pythagoreio. As Ep. Stamatiades mentions its name derives from the many arbutus trees that grow in the area. Nikolas Dimitriou disagrees and supports the idea that its name also derives from the surname of the village's first inhabitant.

South of the village, and 2 km on the road that unites it with the village of Myloi you'll find the monastery dedicated to Holly Mary (Megali Panagia). It was built in 1593 and is one of the most remarkable in Samos. There's one monk residing at the monastery.

Neohori Village

Or Nichori, even Nichoraki as the Samians call it. It is located North of Skoureika and East of Koumeika, built on rough terrain. The name of the village means literally "New Village" but it's quite strange since it's one of the first villages of the island. It's not mentioned by Georgirini at 1677, but it's mentioned by the French traveler Tournefort in 1702. It is one of the smallest villages of Samos and according to Ep.Stamatiades it was once called Zouraika which probably derives from the surname of Zouras.

 

 
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