Chora is situated inland, 6 km from Kamariotissa. Amphitheatrically built, far from the sea, amongst the slopes of Saos which are covered by the characteristic Thasian pine trees (Pinus bruttia). Chora is the island’s capital and was so built by the inhabitants so as to avoid the raids by the pirates who pillaged the island. The visitor is truly captivated by the extraordinary picture created by the medieval ruins (the Tower a relic of the Gattilusi occupation of 1300-1400, is situated at the entrance to Chora) the lovely, small, paved lanes and alleyways and architecture of the small, two-storey houses, which are tightly packed one beside the other with their tiled rooves and a few old terraces made of earth. The residences are ordered in a manner which makes sure that one does not "block" the other’s sunlight. The old building at Chora of Samothrace can be divied into three categories according to use. These are: those buildings used purely for habitation, samples of the local, traditional type, where the house is unispaced and the building is almost cubical. The Stone-built professional buildings, single or two-storeyed, workshops, groceries, bakeries, cofee shops, which constitute the paved backbone of Chora. The buildings for combined usage are the most recent. The shop is on the ground floor, with the home on the second floor. Here, all sorts of multi-coloured flowers blossom on the windowsills and housewives compete with eath other at to who will have the most beautiful flowers. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgfin Mary in Chora is well worth visiting for its old icons and the mummified heads of the "Five Martyrs of Samothrace". The respectful inhabitants of the island built the church in 1875. A few years ago a folklore Museum was established in Chora which contains various artifacts constituting the island’s cultural heritage. It is worth noting that in 1978 the settlement at Chora was pronounced a traditional one by the government.