Greek Easter in Chios

For Greek Easter last year a sizable Fulbright group got together to go to Chios, Greece- an island which is 45 minutes away from Cesme, Turkey by ferry. Cesme is like Bodrum lite. There are beautiful sailboats, a fortress, and a vague insinuation of tourism, but generally speaking not much is going on. There are fairly frequent buses from Izmir to Cesme, although some of them don't stop at the main otogar/buyuk otogar in Izmir, so ask around. Chios is perhaps not the most beautiful of Greek islands, but it does boast windmills and sakiz (a sort of tasty tree resin flavoring which is hard to describe if you haven't tasted it).

What, I haven't convinced you to buy your tickets yet? Well, there is one incredibly important reason to go to Chios: the Greek Easter Rocket Battle. The origins and history of this battle are foggy, but the important thing to know about it is that every year, on Orthodox Easter, thousands upon thousands of homemade rockets are fired between two “warring” churches for hours on end. You, the spectator, stand in the middle of it all and try not to get set aflame by a rogue rocket. As our cab driver explained in an adorable Greek accent, “You go up-a the hill, you see the church on the left...it's gonna be dangerous you a-gonna see.” Once you arrive in the churchyard, rockets begin to ping off the chicken wire which protects the courtyard. Rockets make hail-like tapping sounds on the roof of the bombarded church. Rockets get lodged in trees and shrubs still spurting sparks. Rockets light up the night sky in truly stunning arcs of flying fire hazards. “A good year for this festival,” commented one of my friends, “is when like only 10 people are hurt, and none seriously.” The whole evening is fun, dangerous, and spiritual, all at once. What more can you ask for?

Please enjoy these blurry pictures, or better yet, try using “the Google” to find videos of this.