Hellenic Ports Association

Lesvos, the largest island in the northeastern Aegean Sea, is located on the edge of the Mediterranean between the East and the West. Since September 2012 is part of the UNESCO World Geopark Network. Lesvos is the place that gave birth to great spiritual and artistic personalities, such as Pittakos, one of the seven sages of antiquity, the lyric poets Sappho and Alcaeus, the popular painter Theophilos, and the Nobel Prize poet Odysseas Elytis. In Lesvos, the cruise passengers will have the pleasure of enjoying the rare natural beauty, unique examples of architecture, the Petrified Forest, medieval castles, endless olive groves, as well as tasting traditional dishes and enjoying excellent ouzo. The first contact of visitors to the city of Mytilene will be themagnificent mansion buildings with Western European architectural elements such as Baroque and Belle Epoque. Typical example is the Tower of Mytilene of the Belle Epoque. The Castle of Mytilene, one of the largest in the Mediterranean, dominates the top of a prominent, pine-covered hill, in the northeastern part of the modern city, near the harbor. Particular interest to the visitors is the Μuseums of the capital of the island, Mytilene city. The New Archaeological Museum, with mosaic floors, murals, sculptures and clay objects, works of Byzantine art, while icons of the 15th - 19th century, are exhibited at the Ecclesiastical Byzantine Museum. Works by well-known foreign and Greek artists, such as Picasso, Matisse, Changall, Tsarouchis and Theophilos, can be found in the Teriad Museum exhibitions, while inspirational themes from Greek history, mythology and folklore are exhibited at the Theophilos Museum of Art. In addition, guests can take day trips to the traditional villages of the Lesvian countryside, such as Loutropoli Thermi where exist the monastery of Ag. Raphael and the prehistoric settlement of the Bronze Age (3.200-1300 BC). Mantamados where the monastery of Archangel Michael. Also, popular destinations are Sykamia, Panagia “Gorgona”, Petra with the “perched” on the rock Panagia, the traditional village of Molyvos (Mithymna), with the paved alleys built on a hill and crowned by the imposing Medieval Fortress. Also, Agiassos, which maintains the elements of traditional architecture, Plomari, the homeland of Ouzo and of course the fossilized forest “created” about 20 million years ago, in Sigri. ...the island of Sappho!