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MUNICIPALITY OF MYTILENE
The construction
operations of the waste treatment system, not only contribute to the improvement
of the quality of the citizens' life but they also contribute to the discovery
of archaeological treasures found in the centre of Mytilini during the
operations. These archaeological treasures are exhibited either at modern
museums or at specially equipped open - air spaces that are impressive and have
a unique historical va TAXIARXES-KAGIANI The village is situated on the east side of the mountain Amali. The big rock that stands above the village and the magnificent church of Taxiarhes are responsible for the village' s enchanting landscape. The church's characteristic is its Byzantine Cross-Shaped Rhythm. Its construction has taken place between 1903 and 1958. At its place there was a smaller one at which the icon of Taxiarhes - on the south wall of the church-, now placed in a shrine, was a fresco of the 17th century. In the market place there is an old fountain dated back to 1753 and restored in 1875. We should not forget to talk about the remarkable underground springs with tiled galleries supported by arches. We will find them a little bit further from the village (going towards Mytilini), close to the chapel of St Thekla. Next to this ravine, is situated the post-byzantine church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the "Potamousa". From the other side of the village (going towards the village of Loutra), on the rock of St Bartholomew there is a cave belonging to the neolithic era. AGIA MARINA After the village of Taxiarhes, we will find the village of Agia Marina, with a magnificent view over the airport, the sea and the sunrise. In the lower part of the village, there is the Basilica of St Marina, with three aisles, built in 1797. The church has a magnificent wooden sculptured reredos and an episcopal throne dated back to 1839. Architectural component parts, such as breast-works and pillars, have been taken from the byzantine temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary (situated on the top of the mountain Amali), and have been added to the Basilica of St Marina. The Byzantine Temple, we mentioned above, offers to the visitor an excellent view through the pine trees. In the village of Agia Marina we can visit the mansion of the Vernardaki Family. A monumental fountain dated back to 1818 will also attract our attention. On the coast of Neapolis, next to the "Lesvos beach" Hotel, the Argalon Paleo-Christian Basilica has been excavated (with a baptistery, while the central aisle was decorated with mosaic-works). The whole structure dates back to the 5th century. Above the airport, the springs of the Lagada River, whose water was being stored in a built well and a water tower, had been supplying Mytilini with water. At the moment, the ten water mills that, from the past century until 1941, had been pumping up water from the same spring are still well maintained. LOUTRA
The village of Loutra is situated on
the south side of the town of Mytilini and is gifted with a wonderful view over
the sunset and the Gulf of Gera. It is a beautiful village among an endless
olive grove. At its entrance, ruins of the Roman era have been found. The church
of St George (construction 1815, extension 1840) has an underground reservoir
where water from a spring is stored (holy water). The village' s picturesque
character is due to the paved streets, to the plane trees and to the traditional
cafes. At the port of Loutra, next to the old shipyard that still works, we can
enjoy all kinds of fish delicacies at the traditional taverns. We can also find
there the hotel Zaira, a renovated oli PANAGIOUDA
Panagiouda is a small seaside village with a small port and many cafes and taverns. Panagiouda is the village, where the inhabitants of the village of Afalonas moved, after the earthquake of 1867. We had a larger increase in population in 1928, when refugees came from Minor Asia bringing with them their own local color. The Byzantine Church in the centre of Panagiouda, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1896. On the seashore there are a lot of old industrial buildings (olive press, soap factory, tannery and shipyards) revealing the inhabitants' activities in the past. The old village is situated on the hill Vounari. The big ottoman fountain, on the street dates back to 1807. A little bit further, to the north, there is the old small village of Kalamari with palm-trees on the beach. At the chapels of St George and St Constantine there are ancient ruins, while on the other side of the road, at the "Katho" position, there are ancient ruins of an extended ancient town. MORIA Moria is a big and a very beautiful
village. In a document that Gatelouzi from Geneva have wr PAMFILA
The village of Pamphila is situated
on the hill Vounari and is reported in the code 1565, while it is believed that
it is named after the poetess Pamphili, who is contemporary with Sapho. Along
the street that goes through the village and at its central square we will find
very beautiful cafes. At the entrance of the village there are the High -School
- College/Lyceum and the old Pri On the hills Atiganos and Anemomylos, there were found archaeological treasures/positions/towns, which belong to the early Copper Era (copper dominion). Beautiful fountains (one of them bearing an ottoman inscription) decorate the village. But the monument that imposes to the whole village its structure and its architecture is the Church of St Varvara. The Church
is a three aisled Basilica where the dome is 12 meters high and three meters
long. The construction of the marble reredos (dated back to 1878) is a creation
of the sculptor Ioanni Halepa (who came from the island of Tinos and who was the
son of the famous sculptor, Giannouli).
ALYFANTA Alyfanta is a small village to the west side of Mytilini. The Church of St George was built in 1912. At the central square of the village we will find its only cafe. To the west, on a hill, there is the chapel of St Nikolaos, the "Alyfantas", beside which there was an ancient quarry. On the same hill we will find the cave of Magara, which is characterized, as a sacred place because of the treasures (pots and coins dated back to the 6th/5th a. C century) that have been found there. AFALONAS The village is situated to the west of the village of Panagiouda. The view from there is wonderful. The village is reported in the code of 1565 and went through a very hard adventure after the earthquake of 1867. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is attributed to the architect Adalis. Very beautiful fountains (one of them dated back to 1837) decorate the village. Unfortunately, from the 14 towers that we had here, only two remained intact from the earthquake as well as few houses with "sahnisinia", special traditional architecture. The high school was situated on the top of the mountain, on the big plateau (Epano Alonia, Afalonas), during the Turkish Rule. It was on the same plateau that the reservists of the "Atlas" organization had fought. A little bit further, in the surroundings of the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary the "Armenopoula" there were found ancient ruins of a big ancient town. To the west, in the surroundings of the chapel of St George (Patia position) and the chapel of St Theraponda, there are ruins of a small ancient town, while at the chapel of St Triada, at an imposing ravine, by the Gulf of Gera, we can assume the existence of a monastery AMUSEMENT-SPORTS
The capital of Lesvos is a big and
lively city. It offers to the visitor all kinds of comforts and amusement. As far as swimming and summer sports
are concerned the visitor has the possibility to swim at the specially
transformed, by the Greek Organism of Tourism, beach of Tsamakia. There are also
many beaches along the coast of Mytilini, t There is also the
pos Several bars, pubs and places with traditional greek entertainment, offer many amusement possibilities to the visitors. We can also go to the cinema both in winter and in summer.
USEFUL INFORMATION Useful Phone Numbers (22510) City Hall: 41505, 28811, 28501, 41844 First Aids: 43777 - 81 Police Station: 22021 Touristic Police: 22776 Traffic Police: 41611 Greek Organism of Tourism: 42511 Port-Office: 28888 Airport: 61490, 61590 P.O.: 28836 Local Bus Service: 46436 Inter-region Bus Service: 28873 Rural office Loutron: 91215 Rural office Pamphilon: 32888 The Archaeological Museum of
Mytilene: 28032 The Archaeological Museum of
Mytilene: 40223 The Byzantine Ecclesiastical
Museum of Mytilene: 28916 The Teriade Museum: 23372 The Theophilos Museum: 41644 |
Mytilene is the capital of Lesvos.
The town of Mytilini was first founded on the small island where the Enetic
castle was later constructed. Herodotus dates the foundation of the town, in his
work " Homer's Life", 130 years after the conquest of Troy, that is to say
around 1053 a. C., if the conquest of Troy took place in 1183, as historians
say. Mytilini reached her highest development around the 7th-6th century
with the philosopher Pittakos and the poets Alkeos and Sapho
istration
of the University of the Aegean Sea.
lue.The
town' s foundations are extended over seven adjoining hills. The centre of the
town is divided into three main parts: Kioski, which is a very beautiful suburb,
the central old neighbourhoods and the west neighbourhoods. The efforts of the
authorities to reconstruct the centre of the town and to adapt the needs of the
Municipality of Mytilene to the demands of the new century are remarkable.
Kioski, the old aristocratic suburb of Mytilini where we can find the new
Archaeological Museum, is not far away from the Enetic Castle. The Castle was
situated on the isolated, by the channel of Euripus, part of Mytilini and seemed
like a small island. The c
hannel
of Euripus, along which there were a lot of bridges, had been uniting, in the
past, the south port to the north port dividing, this way, Mytilini in two
parts. At Kioski there are still authentic mansions of a traditional Lesbian
architecture. The main street that goes through Kioski leads to the north port,
where we can see the shattered quay and other ruins of the past. In a small
distance from there, there were found ancient ruins and the entrance of the
channel that was mentioned above. Important ruins of ancient and roman
structures are also discovered in the north part of Mytilini. Along the coast
that starts from the Custom House (Teloneio), the visitor has the possibility to
enjoy an interesting stroll, during which he will have the chance to admire the
mansion, where the old Archaeological Museum is established, the beach that
belongs to the Greek Touristic Organism (EOT), the small and clean beach, called
" t' apeili", and above that, on a small hill among the pine trees, the bust of
Sapho, the poetess, worked out artistically and given to the Municipality of
Mytilini by the American artist Erietta Fors.
ve
press. On the picturesque hill, named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, there is an
ancient fortress, while ancient graves were found at the bottom of fuel
reservoirs (it seemed like a seaside ancient small town). A little bit further
from the port of Loutra, at the seaside of Koudouroudia, where there are also
taverns and hotels, apart from the excellent seafood and the wonderful view over
the Gulf of Gera that we can enjoy, we can also go across the Gulf of
Gera by boat to the picturesque port of Gera called Perama (meaning
passage in greek, as it has been for many years a passage for the inhabitants).
To the south of the port of Loutra, on the coast of the bay of Paleopotamos, an
ancient small town has been found. On the seashore of Agios Ermogenis,
named after the small chapel of St Ermogenis situated on the rock, above the
seaside, the visitor has the possibility to enjoy the swimming, the beach and
the delicious delicacies. Along the road that from Haramida leads to the village
of Loutra, a Paleo-Christian Basilica (that belongs to Tsesmedes) has been
excavated. It dates back to the 5th century and it has a beautiful mosaic-work
decorated with birds and vine branches at the middle aisle. To the north of the
village of Loutra, in the middle of the Gulf of Gera, on a small island, there
is the chapel of St Isidoros.
itten
in 1456, Moria is reported, as Morea. The church of St Vassilios is situated on
the exit of the village. It was constructed in 1796, while in 1932 there was an
extension at the construction (a vestibule). The wooden sculptured reredos dates
back to 1781. On the top of the hill, above the village, there is the church of
St Dimitri (1889), which together with the old school (1848) among the pine
trees are a special ornament for the village. Beautiful houses and picturesque
cafes complete the traditional character of the village. The double fountain at
the central square of the village bears an ottoman inscription that dates back
to 1774. In the plain of the village, very beautiful mansions reveal the glory
of the fifty towers that date back to 1890. At the same area there was an
ancient small town whose ruins are dispersed everywhere. We can also find there,
by the road as we come from Mytilini, a gallery, known as "Thermelia", which
dates back to the Roman era. Above the gallery, on the hill, there is an ancient
marble quarry (320 a. C. - 4th century a. C) from where marble was extracted for
the construction of Mytilini. 
mary
School (Vostanio).
In
the past, at the place of St Varvara's Church, there was a smaller church, whose
the reredos still exists and is kept at the seaside chapel of St Nikolaos. The
restored building of the Katsakouleio School (dated back to 1911) is a
characteristic example of the Lesbian architecture. In the village, we can also
find very beautiful towers, like the Vostani tower, dated back to 1856 and the
Salta tower dated back to 1842. At the port of the village of Pamphila, the
deserted factories (Attkinson, Vostani, etc.) reveal the importance of this area
in the past. Here, at the small port, there is also a picturesque tavern,
available to whoever wants to taste delicious delicacies.
excellent delicacies accompanied by the universally famous ouzo of Mytilini
owards
the airport, like the beach of Vigla, of Neapoli, of Kratigos, of Haramida, of
St Ermogenis. Most of the beaches offer many possibilities of sports by the sea,
like canoe, sea-bicycle and windsurfing.
sibility
to go for hunting when the time is right, after the visitor will have come in
touch with the local hunting associations. And of course we can admire wonderful
paths by making a ride on a mountain bike. We should not forget to mention that
the visitor has the possibility to organize excursions and tours all over the
island, either on foot or on bicycle
