The capital of Samothrace, Chora, has been declared a traditional settlement. Chora, still resisting the abandonment of old houses and “tourist development”, is hidden in a rocky slope of Mount Saos, because of the fear of pirates in earlier times, while it is still “guarded” to the present by the Tower of Palamidis Gatelouzos. Chiseled stone and wood give simple architectural forms to the houses and shops of Chora, that scale upward and combine harmoniously with the wild island nature. The old water-proof terraced roofs called “aitsenies”, made of rammed-down Samothracian earth, were replaced by tiled roofs spreading amphitheatrically, thus allowing all houses to open up to the sun and the sea. Cobblestones lead to the square with a wonderful view and local dishes, and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, built in 1875, where they keep the heads of the five Neomartyrs of Samothrace, who suffered martyrdom in 1835 in Makri.