Municipality of Mitilini

Municipality of Mitilini

The municipality of Mitilini comprises Mitilini, Agia Marina, Taxiarhis Panagiouda, Pamfila, Afalonas, Alyfanda, Loutra and Moria.
Mitilini is the capital of the island and is a city with more than 30.000 citizens and it is 188 nautical miles from Piraeus. It is also the administrative centre of the Ministry of the Aegean, the University of the Aegean, the Prefecture of Lesvos, the District of the North Aegean, and the Metropolis of Mitilini.
Since 1054 B.C., Mitilini has been an organized city. At the beginning, the city was built on the little island, where today the castle is situated and gradually expanded to the opposite coast of Lesvos. In ancient times, the 2 ports of Mitilini, the south and the old north one, communicated to each other with Evripos, a river which existed where today Ermou Street is located. Up to the end of the 15th century, the passing of time and the human interventions caused natural alluvia that had embanked Evripos. This fact resulted at the easier communication between the two parts of Mitilini and at the better defense of the castle.
Obvious to the visitors are the long history of the city and the different phases (Ancient, Roman, Medieval, Turkish and modern Greek), when they walk to the streets, the market, the waterfront and when they visit the Archaeological museums, the Ancient theatre, the Castle, the Theophilos??? museum, the Teriad museum, the church of Agios Therapondas and others. Worth seeing is also Tsarsi Hamam which is a Turkish bath of the 19th century that today operates as exhibition hall, Yeni Tzami (1825) in the area of Epano Skala, the mansion of Halil Bey (Turkish Commandant) where the Municipal Art Gallery is today located and the historic Gymnasium of Mitilini at the entrance of Ermou Street. This building and others such as the building of the Ministry of the Aegean, of the Courts, of the Prefecture and the Old Town Hall, of the former hotel ???Grand Bretania, are buildings with strong neoclassical architectural features and are spread mainly at the waterfront of the city.
At the waterfront is also the Statue of Liberty, a bronze copy of the famous statue in New York, which is based on a design by Georgios Iakovidis, a great painter of the island.
In the city there is an organized municipal beach, with recreation, sport spaces and other amenities. Moreover, there are many beaches on the way to the airport and beyond that. Two of the most beautiful beaches in the island, at a distance of about 15 km, are at the region Haramida and in Agios Ermogenis.
In the broader area of Loutra there are many taverns and ouzo-shops which offer delicious food in a wonderful environment and at the region Koudouridia, small boats offer a tour on the gulf of Gera. In the bay, about three hundred meters from Koudouridia to the right, lays the tiny island of Agios Isidoros, with a chapel and the remains of what are probably Byzantine fortifications.
At the villages Agia Marina and Taxiarhis, there are churches which are worth visiting. From there the visitor can also enjoy the wonderful view of Mitilini. Near the village is the cave of Saint Bartholomew which is the largest on the island and full of stalactites.
To the north of the city is Moria with the well-known Roman Aqueduct and the church of Agios Vasillios (1769). The village Pamfilla is renowned for the church of Agia Varvara and its neoclassic building of the Elementary School and Panagiouda with many taverns right next to the sea, is one of the picturesque harbors of the island

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