Lesvos Olive Oil #4

Lesvos Olive Oil #4

Things have changed drastically since then. Immigration cost a great deal to the island, its population was reduced and is systematically getting older. Seed oils and detergents gradually replace the olive oil and the soap. At the beginning of the 1960s factors such as immigration, causing the desolation of the olive groves, or technological developments that speeded up the elision of the olive resulted in the closing of most olive presses that still charm the visitor with their architectural uniqueness. The symmetry and rigidity of these buildings some times reminding us of a British architectural style, has been beautifully incorporated by the landscape. Some morphological details of their facets imitate elements found in Greek popular architectural tradition. The industrial architectural styles found in Lesvos enclose all industrialization stages and give us valuable information on the production processes of the time

Even though the good days are gone, the olive still holds a special place in the agricultural occupation of the inhabitants, while the price of the olive oil continues to dominate people’s daily conversations. Every family in Mytilene, regardless of its main occupation, has its share on an olive grove – big or small. The way in which olives are gathered remains the same. The olives are raised manually; it is a hard and difficult job that has a high cost, since the access to many olive groves up to the mountains is rather prohibitive of any further industrial exploitation

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