Pithariou Monastery near Eressos was founded in the 17th century. Surrounded by oak and sycamore trees in a dramatic gorge, it is dedicated to the Taxiarches (archangels) celebrated on November 8. Panagia Glykofilousa sits on top of a giant rock formation in the center of the town of Petra. You reach the top of the […]
Pithariou Monastery near Eressos was founded in the 17th century. Surrounded by oak and sycamore trees in a dramatic gorge, it is dedicated to the Taxiarches (archangels) celebrated on November 8. Panagia Glykofilousa sits on top of a giant rock formation in the center of the town of Petra. You reach the top of the […]
Archangel Michael, the miracle-working protector of the island is worshipped In Madamados at the Monastery of Taxiarches. The sacred relief icon is said to have been molded by a monk with clay made with earth and the blood of his fellow monks who were massacred by Saracen pirates. The monastery is the site of a […]
In Petra, the church of Panagia Glykofilousa (1) on the imposing rock that overlooks the area and the elegant mansion of “Vareltzidena” mark the social and religious development of the site in the past. Crossing the stone-built, terracotta-tiled villages to the west of the island – Skoutaro (2), Filia (3), Skalochori, Anemotia (4) – with their […]
For anyone interested in the arts, the Theophilos Museum, the Eleftheriadis-Teriade Museum and Library (also in Varia), and the George Iakovidis Digital Art Museum are “must see”. Theophilos Museum: Located in the Mytilene suburb of Varia on the way to the airport, the museum was built by the renowned Parisian art critic Stratis Eleftheriades (aka Teriade) […]
Many of the old Monasteries of Lesvos are still in use. Some have become destinations for pilgrimages while others carry on the spiritual traditions of long ago. Built in 1523, Limonos Monastery is an important spiritual center on the island and its library holds an exceptional collection of ecclesiastical manuscripts that rival those in Mt. […]
It’s this combination that has attracted spiritual people, yoga practitioners, painters, writers and poets and, not unexpectedly, many stressed people from all over the world to the island. Molyvos and nearby Eftalou, and Eressos are just some of the areas that not only offer venues to practice yoga or meditation regimes but also combine the […]
I was born and raised in Molyvos. I consciously chose to spend my life here in my birthplace, forever charmed by wood, stone and colour. Here, building always meant merging structures with the land and the landscape in a collaborative manner. An evolving landscape shaped by history from 6.000 BC to today. Each and every cell of my physical existence carries within it […]
Molyvos stands opposite Troy and the coast of Asia Minor. It is built on an ancient rock, rising gradually up towards the Byzantine fortress that crowns its top and protects it, as does the primordial mountain of Lepetymnos. Inheriting the glory of ancient Mithymna that stood in its place two thousand years ago, Molyvos presents an extraordinary range of colours depending on the […]
When Mrs. Kaldi, the vice-chancellor of the Ionian University, proposed that I organize the 1st Guitar Summer Academy in Molyvos, I accepted with pleasure. After all, ancient Mithymna was home to Arion, the Dionysiac poet and kitharode and inventor of the dithyramb, so there was some historical precedent in this. Though initially somewhat hesitant about […]
