Maritime Shipping
The Tradition ...
The people of Chios are intimately related to the deep, blue Aegean sea
that surrounds the island. The origin of this co-existence is lost in
the dust of centuries. The limited island and its poor natural resources
could never imprison the bodies of its inhabitants, but it had always
confined their minds and hearts. Sailors from the beginning of ages,
Chiotes (people that originate from Chios) were always returning back
home after months, years or decades of absence, carrying to their
homeplace valuable experiences, wealth and an open-minded, cosmopolitan
lifestyle.
Their abilities in ship-building, nautical skills and sailing
experience played a major role in the formation of a wealthy, strong
Greek commercial (and military when required) fleet which, in recent
years turned out to be the largest of the world. The price they had to
pay was and is measured in human lives, more than any other place in
Greece, of people who unequally fought with the anger of nature in oceans
and seas in every corner of the world...
