|
Tourist Guide
The following text is a
republication from the Tourist guide
of the Lesvos Prefecture.
General information
 Lesvos
belongs to the islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea. Its area is 1,638
sq.km and together with the islands of Lemnos, Ayios Efstratios and
the islets around them, it belongs to the Prefecture of Lesvos. Its
coastline forms two bays in the south- Geras and Kallonis- and a
plethora of creeks and capes. The main plains are the plains of
Kalloni, Ippeos, Perama and Eressos and the highest mountains are
Lepetymnos, Olympos and Psilodoudouno. The eastern and central part
of the island is cloaked in olive groves, pine forests, and chestnut,
oak, beech and plane trees. Generally the flora and fauna of the
island are extremely rich. The climate of Lesvos is mild and healthy:
the winter is warm and the sun shines throughout the year. The
population is about 100,000 and Mytilene is the capital city of the
island and the administrative center of the Prefecture of Lesvow,
the seat of the Ministry of the Aegean Sea, of the District of the
North Aegean and of the University of the Aegean. The island is
divided in 13 Municipalities. The local economy is based on the
agricultural production with an emphasis on olive oil production (of
exceptionally high quality), cattle-raising (mainly dairy products)
and fishing. Distillery is developed and its main product is the
world famous ouzo. Many of the island’s inhabitants are
professionally engaged in tourism.
History
|
The
ruins of the Roman Aqueduct at Moria |
Archaeological
excavations brought to light evidence that Lesvos has been inhabited
since the late Neolithic times. During the Archaic period (7th-
6th century B.C.), the population increased and the
island flourished both commercially and culturally. After a period
of instability, when the island took part in Greek wars and was
occupied by various peoples, in the year 88 B.C. it was conquered by
the Romans. During the Byzantine period, the island was frequently
attacked and looted by Saracens, Venetians and Catalans.
|
The castle
of Mytilene |
In
1354 the Genovese Francisco Gateluzo married the sister of the
Emperor John V.
Palaeologos and received the island as dowry. The Gateluzi ruled for
107 years. In 1462 the
Ottomans conquered the island. The Ottoman occupation (1462-1912)
was a period of hardship. But in the 19th century
commerce and industry developed giving birth to a strong bourgeoisie
that turned Mytilene into a cosmopolitan port with a flourishing
cultural production. In 1912 Lesvos was liberated by the Greek fleet
and was ceded to Greece by the Treaties of London and Athens in
1914. During the period 1950-1960 financial problems forced many
Lesvians to emigrate, mainly to Western Europe and America.
Intellectual production
Throughout
its long history, Lesvos has to show for a plethora of intellectuals.
The most famous among the ones who lived and worked on the island
are: Arion (625 B.C.), a charismatic lyrical poet and musician,
Alcaeus (600 B.C.), one of the best known lyrical poets of ancient
Greece and Sapho (620 B.C.), the most famous ancient Greek poetess
whose poems, distinguished for their stylistic elegance, passions
and depth of feeling. Later, during the 20th century,
Argyris Eftaliotis, Stratis Myrivilis, Elias Venezis, F. Kontoglou,
A. Panselinos, the poet
and Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis, the famous folk painter
Theophilos Chatzimichael, the inspired editor of art-books Stratis
Eleftheriadis-Teriad are some of the people who contributed to
intellectual and cultural production of the island.
Mytilene
 |
The Church
of Agios Therapon stands out near the waterfront at Mytilene |
Mytilene
is one of the oldest towns in the Aegean Sea. It was founded back in
the beginning of the 10th century B.C. and ruins from all
its periods- archaic, classic, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine-
have been found almost everywhere in and around it. The town of
Mytilene spreads amphitheatrically along the southeastern part of
the island and has a population of about 30,000 inhabitants. It has
two ports, the northern and the southern one. The southern port
substituted the old northern port- known as Epano Skala- at the end
of the 19th century. Around the area of the port there
are various neoclassic buildings that house civil services and
almost all the local authorities as well as imposing churches and
schools. In the town there are two Archaeological Museums, the
Museum of Byzantine Art, the Folk Art Museum, Yeni Tzami (an old
mosque) and around it the Ancient Theatre at the hill of Ayia
Kyriaki and the Castle to the right of the port.
The
Theophilos Museum
 It
is built at the area of Varea, a suburb of Mytilene. It is inside an
olive grove and housed in an austere building. It was built in 1964
with a donation made to the municipality of Mytilene by Stratis
Eleftheriadis- Teriade, the man who made Theophilos and his painting
famous. The themes of Theophilos’ paintings- historical and
romantic- express two elements central in his own nature: a touching
patriotism and a tender flair for the romantic. His art has all the
characteristics of genuine folk creation: vivid colors (often
prepared by himself with natural materials), authenticity,
spontaneity and sincerity of feeling combined with a disregard for
either historical truth or detail. The Museum gives quite
representative a picture of the artist’ s work.
Eleftheriadis-
Teriade Modern Art- Library Museum
 |
The
Eleftheriadis-
Teriade Modern Art- Library Museum |
It
is very near the Theophilos Museum, at the suburb of Mytilene,
Vareia. In the showcases of the museum the visitor can admire the
bound volumes of the “Grand Books”, with original works of
modern artists (Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Shagal, etc.), while most of
their pages hang open on the walls. The Museum itself could be
called an “Open Book”.
Archaeological
Museums (old and new building)
The Museums include:
statuettes, ceramics and jewels belonging to the Prehistoric- Roman
times, mosaic floors and frescoes from the Hellenistic period, finds
from the excavations made by the K’ Ephorate of Prehistoric and
Classical Antiquities in all of Lesvos and exhibits that have been
donated to the Museum by private individuals.
Museum
of Natural History Petrified Forest - Sigri
In
the western part of Lesvos, in the area between Antissa and Erssos,
there is the Petrified Forest, a unique natural monument of great
palaeonotlogical, geological and environmental significance. In 1985
the Greek State aiming at the proper management and protection of
the Petrified Forest declared it a natural monument. In 1994 a
modern Museum was
established, aiming at the systematic and scientific study, research,
promotion and conservation of the Forest. The building that houses
the Museum was constructed with absolute respect to the surrounding
area. Next to the Museum, a Geological park has been established,
where petrified trunks are exhibited in an area easily accessible to
visitors.
The
island’ s landscape
 Lesvos
is beautiful. Olive tree covered hillsides reaching down to the sea
and mountains thick with walnut, chestnut and cherry trees and lush
ravines with plane trees and streams succeed the cool fragrant
gardens of the villages of Gera. It is certain that throughout the
year a tour around Lesvos by car, jeep, motorcycle, bicycle, donkey
or on foot will delight everybody who is even slightly touched by
the beauty of nature. One can walk everywhere around the island.
Lesvos is ideal for walking. And for those who do not care about
discovering the paths and the slopes of the island themselves four
routes have been specifically marked out: Vatera-Gera winding
through olive groves and woods with pines, oaks, chestnut and plane
trees; Petra- Lapsarna along bays, creeks and promontories through
olive groves and orchards; Kapi- Sykamia holm-oak, grey rock, olive
trees, on the one hand the Bay of Kalloni and on the other Asia
Minor; and finally Sigri-Eressos the severe volcanic landscape, rock,
dust, sea and sky, the multifaceted landscape of Lesvos. For the
summer months Lesvos has a wide variety of great beaches to offer.
During summer nights tavernas, lively bars with Greek and foreign
dancing music, live groups and concerts by the sea can satisfy even
the most demanding taste.
Useful
Information
The
island offers a wide range of accommodation, from hotel complexes to
small agro-tourist units. It has a dense road network, regular local
and interregional bus service, Taxi service and car and motorcycle
hire agencies. You can fly from Athens to Mytilene daily and from
Thessaloniki several times a week. Ferries connect the island with
Piraeus and Chios daily and regularly with Thessaloniki, Lemnos,
Kavala, Volos, Samos and Alexandroupolis. Small boats will take you
to Aivali in Turkey.
|
