Palaiohori

Palaiohori is in the island’s southern part, in the wider Plomari region at an altitude of 307 m and 54 km away from Mytilini. This is probably the oldest town in these parts, which may explain its name (“palaios”=old + “horio”=village). Initially, it was built at present-day Melinda; however, pirates displaced its residents to the Apethamenes location and then onwards to Prionas. Prionas was an inaccessible area, isolated and hardly a convenient place to transport olives from the surrounding areas. It was also far away from the sea, the sole transport road for trade. Then the inhabitants moved to Valania and were once again vulnerable to pirate raids and had to move once again to Merina this time, in 1817. The village homes are attached to one another, built in a fortress-like array in order to bolster defense from external attacks. The second floor of these buildings are usually built with light timber or masonry structures clad with wood planks around the entire outline of the building or protruding as a bay window (“sahnisini’).