About Mytilini
LESVOS, MYTILINI (AND ITS NEIGHBOURS) - A BACKGROUND
Mytilini is capital of the island of Lesvos, the third largest of the 227 inhabited Greek islands (Visit Greece, 2014). An excess of 7,500km of the coastline of Greece is taken up by this archipelago, out of the total 16,000km. Lesvos is classified as one of the Northeastern Agean islands, one of the seven groupings that these islands fall into. Lesvos, with a 320km coastline and a total area of 1,632km² has a population of over 86,000 according to the latest census of 2011. With this in mind, Lesvos actually has a fairly low population density, at just below 53 people per square kilometer, in comparison to the national average of 82 (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2012). However a majority of these are based within the capital of Mytilini, so you will get to experience the best of both worlds; an island with a remote feel, yet with a buzzing, lively atmosphere within the small but manageable capital.
Mytilini is built upon seven hills and its culture and history are deeply engrained within the city. Barrett (No Date) notes how Mytilini has perhaps one of the richest cultural backgrounds within Greece, due to its proximity to the coast of Asia Minor, and the influences it has gained from this throughout history. A large number of the Greek population inhabited this area until 1922, when they were evicted by the steadily growing Turkish population (Tzimis, 1996). Many Greeks had both property and businesses in Turkey, and due to the large levels of movement and the resulting multiculturalism of these areas, the city boasts many artefacts, buildings and monuments reflecting the various historical periods. Traditional settlements can be found all over the island; the most notable are: Agiássos, Assómatos, Vatoússa, Eressós, Mantamádos, MÃthymna, Pétra, Plomári, PolihnÃtos, SÃgri and Sykamiá. A brief history of the island is included in the timeline below, courtesy of data from LesvosGreece.gr (2015).
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP TO LESVOS - POINTS OF INTEREST
Lesvos is the most famous island for the production of the famous Greek drink 'Ouzo', and many of the areas across the island claim to produce Ouzo of the best taste and quality. One of the various Ouzo factories on the island will be well worth a visit. Kalonà is reported to be the 'bird watching capital of Europe' (Visit Greece, 2014), rich in a number of native and migrating species. Other notable points of interest are the thermal springs that can be found in ThermÃ, Efthaloú and Yéra, as well as the Geopark in Sigri, home to the National History Museum of the Lesvos Petified Forest. One of the many island-based campuses of the well-regarded University of the Agean is located on the outskirts of Mytilini, further contributing to the diversity of the island's population, and the liveliness of the capital.
One of the main economies of the island of Lesvos is supported through the production of olive oil. It is estimated that around 28% of the total surface area of Lesvos is covered in olive trees, of which there are over 11 million. It may be worth a visit to the Vranas Olive Press Museum for a guided tour of the production process that has become so vital to the island's economy, followed by 'Kaperada' (tasting the olive oil on bread). Olive oil in Lesvos has a distinctive colour and taste, as well as a golden light colour due to the unusually low content of chlorophyll (Greeknet, 2015), so picking up a locally-sourced bottle of oil may be well high on your agenda whilst in Mytilini, after completing the coffee tour of course!
Finally, to the north of the island is the attractive village of Molyvos, home to the street voted to be the most beautiful in the world (Zikakou, 2015) and the self-proclaimed 'capital of cultural tourism' (Barrett, No Date). Molyvos is also home to The Other Agean initiate aiming to promote a new type of tourism on the island to cater for tourists who want to experience and participate rather than passively enjoy Lesvos. It may be worth checking their website www.theotheraegean.com for more information and to check for any events that may be of interest to you during your visit.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MYTILINI
The city of Mytilini spreads from the large harbour (your first experience if you arrive by boat), up into the hills surrounding it. The large castle, surrounded by a pine forest dominates one side of the view you will be able to see. In the summer, at the height of the tourism season, the castle is used for an array of different concerts and events, and has been said to be one of the best places to see a concert in the whole of Greece (Barrett, No Date). It may be worth checking to see whether there are any events that are of interest to you upon arrival, or failing that, a walk up to the castle will be worth your while for the impressive views that are available of the city and beyond. The waterfront becomes busy from around 8am with the arrival of large ferries, some of which provide a vital link between the island and Athens. As with many places in Greece, a siesta is commonplace from around 1pm, and will not return to the same levels of activity until early evening, so this will be worth bearing in mind when taking the coffee tour of the city, and also when planning on shopping and exploring the island.
Ermou is the main shopping street of Mytilini, and also forms the main basis for the coffee tour. Both local and international shops can be found here, and the street is well worth walking down, to experience both the hive of activity, and the many historical buildings, including the Grand Mosque. Many of the local shops sell art and handcrafted jewelry and pottery. Towards the end of the street are several good places to eat, including some of the coffee houses that are included on this tour. Restaurants line the edge of the harbour and just inland from here, and are well recommended for trying both local and international cuisines and beverages. A large number of restaurants cater for the local population and not specifically for tourists, although a number of fast food eateries near the harbour serve gyros and kebabs. Menus tend to consist of fish and grilled meats, although the moderate size of Mytilini allows for practically all needs to be catered for.
Photograph Acknowledgement:
Aqueduct in Mytilini banner image 1: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mytilini#/media/File:Roman_Aqueduct_in_Mytilini_(Lesbos),_Greece.jpg
References:
Barrett, M. (No Date). Lesvos guide: Mytilini, Lesvos. [Online] Available at: http://www.lesvos.com/mytilini.html [Last accessed: 26 April 2015]
Greeknet. (2015). Olive oil from Lesvos. [Online] Available at: http://www.greeknet.com/oil.htm
Hellenic Statistical Authority (2012). Press Release. Announcement of the 2011 population census for the resident population. Available at: http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_02_F_EN.pdf [Last accessed: 26 April 2015]
LesvosGreece.gr. (2015). History & culture. [Online] Available at: http://www.lesvosgreece.gr/en/history-culture [Last accessed: 26 April 2015]
Tzimis, S., Giannakas, S., Paraskevaidis, P., Kourvaniou, P., Komaitis, B., & Didigikis, G. (1996). History of Lesvos. Acossiation of Lesvos’ Literature Teachers, Mytilini.
Visit Greece (2014). Greek islands: the Greek archipelago. [Online] Available at: http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/greek_islands [Last accessed: 26 April 2015]
Zikakou, I. (2015). Most Beautiful Street in the World Found on Greek Island. [Online] Available at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/02/03/most-beautiful-street-in-the-world-found-on-greek-island/ [Last accessed: 26 April 2015]