Two Visits to Nea Moni of Chios

I stayed in Greece over 2 months in October and November 2020 in my attempt to live in corona-free zones. When I planned this back in September, Greece was indeed one of the least infected countries in Europe, although as soon as I got there, the infection rate skyrocketed.

After visiting Daphni in Athens a day after visiting Bassae, I flew to the island of Chios, the birth place of Homer, to stay there for one month. I was aware that one of the three sites that comprise this WHS was on some island in the Aegean, but after visiting Daphni I didn't pay much attention. So when I realized that Nea Moni was indeed on the island of Chios, I was surprised and said I had to go visit. 

It was ridiculously difficult to visit Nea Moni, located deep in the mountains, with public transportation, not just because of the scarcity of it, but also because of Nea Moni's sporadic opening hours. Not only they close in the middle of the day, but also they were not even following the official opening hours listed by the Ministry of Culture.

At my first attempt to visit Nea Moni the Chios tourist office, which was surprisingly open at this time of pandemic, gave me the same opening hours as the ministry of Culture. The bus dropped me off on the main road at 15:40, from where I had to walk 2 km to Nea Moni. There was no sign of opening at 16:30, the official re-opening hour.  I almost panicked because there was no signal on my mobile and I was counting on someone at Nea Moni to call a taxi for me from their landline phone. After banging the gate for several minutes, I noticed that the door of the only car parked by the gate was unlocked.  So I opened the door and honked the horn for another several minutes to no avail. I shut the door hard. In despair I started walking back to the city of Chios, 15 km away, so that I wouldn’t miss the last bus from the city back to my flat. Hitching a car is more difficult during the pandemic, but after walking about 4 km I stopped a car going in the opposite direction on the main road whose driver had phone signals and who called a taxi for me from there to the city.

My second attempt to visit Nea Moni didn’t come until my last day on the Island of Chios because I kept telling myself to forget about Nea Moni. But my conscientiousness made me change my mind on the last day.  I had determined by then that the only way to visit Nea Moni was by taxi both ways (or a rental car). But then what if Nea Moni is closed again when you get there by taxi? That would be a total waste of time and money. They were not answering phone no matter how many times I called. So how do I make sure it is open when I get there? 

The Chios tourist office this time suggested that I go talk to someone at the Metropolis of Chios, a few hundred meters from the tourist office, because the Metropolis regulates all the official Orthodox Christian activities on the island of Chios, including the opening hours of Nea Moni. Even though that sounded like an incredibly extraneous thing to do to visit a WHS, that’s exactly what I ended up doing. When I got there and talked a man, he said if I get to Nea Moni in 30 min at 12:30, a janitor will open the gate for me. 

I had two points of contact in the city of Chios. One was the tourist office, and the other was an amazingly helpful woman at the long-distance bus station for the island of Chios. She arranged a taxi for me with a special rate of 30 Euros for both ways plus 30 min. of wait time at Nea Moni. I was surprised that the taxi driver was the same man who gave me the ride on my first day in Chios from the airport to my flat.

Nea Moni is basically a gated compound.  It is a working monastery but has only one nun who actually lives there today, or so I was told. I only saw the janitor and not the nun / hermit, who probably doesn't want to see anybody or to answer phone. I respect her decision. When there are services, the Metropolis sends more personnel. 

The interior of the main church was certainly similar in character to the one at Daphni. Both have the similar degree of deterioration.  But what remains was like a shining pearl in the darkness, or so I thought.  There was a little brochure in English available at the church, describing its history, which I assume Mr. Booth also picked up 5 year earlier.

The museum was closed, even though I was told at the Metropolis that it was open. I asked the janitor to open the museum, but he did not have the key.

One of the most impressive things about Nea Moni was that even though it is located deep in the mountains, it has a clear view of the Aegean Sea through the opening between the mountains. 

Before exiting the janitor led me to an ossuary by the gate where the sculls of Christian monks who were massacred by the Ottoman Turks during the War of Independence in the early 19th century have been kept. But this ossuary was not so atmospheric. 

Upon exit I noticed that there was a 10 km trail that connects Nea Moni and the city of Chios, which I'm sure monks and pilgrims used for centuries. I wouldn't take this trail on the way to come to Nea Moni because the disappointment at a closed Nea Moni would be too great, but it may be a good option on the way back, as it should be only downhill from there. In my case the taxi was waiting. 

Lastly, although the island of Chios is not an international destination, I recommend it highly. I believe you can see here how the Greek people really live.  Even when you are looking for a beach vacation in summer, it's all set here: Nice beaches, totally clear water (as almost everywhere in the Aegean), lower price, and a vibrant city / night life in the city of Chios, even during the pandemic.  I would recommend it in September or even October, though, as the beach season in Greece continues all the way till the end of October. But my personal favorite on the island may be this fantastic seafood restaurant called "To Kechrimbari" in the city of Chios, run by a middle-aged husband-wife team.