Resins

Steven Tagle joins Thanos Davelis to look at how climate change is impacting local communities in Greece, specifically the mastic producers on the Aegean island of Chios, who have been battered by high temperatures, unseasonable rains, and past wildfires, and break down how are they innovating to better prepare and cope for the impacts of climate change.

Christmas is the holiday of spiritual and material gifts, Romanian Orthodox Church Patriarch Daniel said in the sermon of the Holy Liturgy officiated at the Patriarchal Cathedral, on the occasion of the Birth of the Lord. "We see that these gifts which the Wise Men brought to Baby Jesus have awaken in the conscience of the Church our duty to bring gifts to God.

Each year millions of visitors from all over the planet travel to Greece in order to enjoy the sun and the sea in the multitude of the Aegean Sea islands. In the mountainous areas of those islands, lovely villages command the landscape and ooze culture and tradition not to mention the lovely natural surroundings.

The Piraeus Bank Cultural Foundation (PIOP) has organized an exhibition of artworks by Giorgos Zymarakis, titled "Inspiration Chios," at the Mastic Museum in the village of Pyrgi on the eastern Aegean island. Reminscent of the naive style, these paintings take viewers back to the island as it was during the artist's childhood. The museum is open Wednesdays to Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Chios Mastic Museum reveals how cultivation of the Pistacia lentiscus chia tree has shaped the island's economy, architecture and customs while also showcasing its different uses. Unique to Chios, the tree is the source of gum mastic, a key source of wealth for the island since Byzantine times, when the trees were owned exclusively by the emperor.

Crafted on the small island of Chios, Greece, FOS Mastiha is taking the world by storm. And the clear spirit made from the mastic resin of the “crying trees” of Chios, the herbal digestif is found to be ideal for mixed drinks. Miami spirits producer Ambrosia group launched the drink in its new form, designed to be used in cocktails.

Mastic, or masticha (Pistacia lentiscus), the “gold of Chios”, the eastern Aegean island, has found a new home in high-flying Dubai.

Local entrepreneur Mansoor Al Bastaki is the owner of a Mastihashop outlet and cafe in the UAE emirate, which since February offers a range of skincare products and confectionery featuring the iconic ingredient.

The know-how of cultivating mastic, the aromatic resin of an evergreen that grows on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, has been included by UNESCO on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.