MONI AGIOU MINA, Monastery, CHIOS

  The Reverend Neofitos Koumanos and his son, Reverend Minas, built the Monastery between 1572 and 1595 under the Patriarch Jeremiah II. The Monastery was built on the top of a hill, just outside the village of Nehori. It was intended to be an abbey for monks, however, in 1932, it was converted into a Monastery and is currently home to 25 nuns that occupy their time with religious painting, crafts and sewing ecclesiastical garments. The Monastery has become famous and is well known worldwide. It is directly linked with Chios’ recent history and more specifically with the Massacre of Chios in 1822 when the Turks slaughtered and burned 3,000 Chians who had flocked to the Monastery from surrounding villages to be saved. Today, the atrocities of the Massacre are still evident in the blood stained marble floor of the church. The Mausoleum, located in the courtyard of the Monastery, displays the bones of many victims of the Massacre.