Lesbos is the third
biggest Greek island. It has an area of 1630 square
kilometres and is situated just off the Turkish coast in the
Eastern Aegean. Approximately 84.000 people live there.
In the ancient world the island was an important cultural
centre. Well known artist and philosophers lived here; most
famous of them all was Sappho. Her poetry was praised
throughout antiquity and remains famous and admired until
today. She has to be considered one of the most influential
poets of Ancient Greece.
Sappho was born and raised on Lesbos. Her poetry was somewhat
special. Her favourite topics were love and passion. That is
hardly unusual for a poet but Sappho's narrator would
normally admire another woman. Especially by Ancient Greek
standards that was unusual. The word lesbian in fact derives
from the islands name and that's mainly thanks to Sappho.
The islands capital is Mytilene. The
rather pretty port is located there as well. It is a
relatively big city (40.000 people) and pretty busy. The main
tourist attraction is the Byzantine Castle. It is one of the
biggest in all Greece. Interesting are the Archaeological and
the Theophilos museum.
Quite interesting is Molyvos (ancient Mythymna). It is the
second biggest town on Lesbos and popular for several
reasons. It is situated in the northern part of the island.
Nearby is a rather popular beach. Most impressive is the
Genoese fortress.
Vatican Museum
Tickets, prices and information
Another place you may want to visit on Lesbos is Eresos.
Sappho was born there and that made it popular especially
with Lesbian tourists.
Most of the rooms for rent you would find in Mytilene and
Eresos.
There are daily ferries from Lesbos to Piraeus (Athens port) and a
frequent connection to
Chios and
Lemnos. Twice a week you get
a boat straight to Thessaloniki.
By plane you can get there 2 to 5 times a day with Olympic
Airways (depending on the season) there also is a daily
flight to Thessaloniki and Chios. Lesbos has an international
airport. During summer you should be able to get a direct
flight from the UK.
Public transport on Lesbos is pretty good. Frequent busses
connect the capital with every corner of the island. There
are local busses in Mytilene itself.
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