Lesbos

Port of Mytilene from our veranda.

Medieval Castle on harbor

Our ride and guide

Finally. We left urbane and sophisticated Istanbul, Turkey and we were on to three more rural Greek islands, first stop Lesbos.  I was more than slightly interested in an island, supposedly named for Lesbians from ancient times.  And I wanted to hear the story.

What I heard more of was lots and lots about being Greek.  There is no lack of pride about being Greek here.  The Greek flag, blue background, is to remind the Greeks and probably the rest of the world, of the blue water and sky. And the 9 white stripes are meant to remind Greeks of their motto “Free or Die”.  And, a strong integral part of citizens here is their devotion to the Greek Orthodox Church.  Roots for Christianity go way back to the 3^rd century BC.

Our guide for the day was Maria and, believe it or not, she was born in Philadelphia.  She lived part of her life in New Jersey, where her father ran a deli. She was definitely “American” then.  Her only Greekness was going to Greek school once a week.  All “good Greeks” go to Greek school, after all, even in the US!. 

But the longer they lived in the US, the more they began to hear the call of that Greek heritage as well as that blue ocean and sky.  Finally they packed up, two kids in tow, and moved back to Greece, in particular Lesbos (which they call Lesvos).  Never would Maria want to claim America as her country!  She was GREEK!  And like most of the Greeks we’ve met, in or out of the US, they are very prideful of their Greekness!! 

Ancient (and modern in some homes)
 cooking center.

Portable cookers for outings or for those
who could not
afford the cooking center.

The island.  We landed in Mytilini, a city surrounding a quaint bay with fishing boats and small shops. Our first stop was the new Archeology Museum, where they displayed an entire kitchen – along with the first “camp stoves” for those who were a little less fortunate. And they also had a number of mosaic floors from the island.

One of many mosaics on the floor of one
rich family's home of 500-300BCE
showing the god of the sea.
See the crab legs in his hair?

Our guide clearing the way.

 And then we took off for the mountains!  It was a 40 minute ride to Agiossos, through hills covered with olive trees as far as the eye could see.  The island, from ancient times, is primarily agricultural, with small olive farms dotting the landscape.  The other product there is ouzo, a powerful liquor all Greeks are familiar with!

 And we got a lesson in olive oil.  It takes 600 olive trees to support a family and, during World War II, the Nazis confiscated all the little island’s olive oil for munitions manufacturing.  So those desperate Greeks tried hiding what olive oil they could.  It is a hard life, as they get little rain.  Rain will appear in the fall and, in November, they pick the olives.  If they have not had enough rain, the olives produce less oil and with a distinctively different taste.     

Now the islanders sell their harvested olives to coops who manufacture the olive oil we buy.  And, what about all those designations? – extra virgin, virgin, light, etc?

Maria sniffed, “That’s silly.  Olive oil is olive oil.  It may taste differently from where it is grown. That’s all.”

Olive trees covering the slopes all along the roads.

Driving into the little village perched quaintly on the side of the hills, we  stopped at a small café for a cup of tea.  The tea was unique to the shop, made with cinnamon and odd and assorted herbs.  The café tables were lining the street, which also contained lots of ceramic shops for us tourists. 

Our guide showing how the olive press leftovers made into

charcoal is used to heat local kitchen heaters and make herb tea.

Square in village of Agiassos right outside the

Orthodox church of Mary

And dogs.  The streets also contained lots of dogs and a few cats.  The dogs were scraggly, thin, and into begging for food.  Maria told us that, while the dogs do not belong to anyone in particular, everybody feeds them.  And they take care of the rodent population.  I loved the dogs with their sad eyes.  And wanted to tell our puppy Gracie how lucky she is that she doesn’t have to forage for herself!

After our break, we wandered into the courtyard of a Greek orthodox church, called Church of the Virgin Mary. Now, I’ve seen a ton of churches on our travel, but this church came as quite a surprise.  It was old and elaborately decorated with icons representing Mary and some of the 12 disciples.  The ceiling was dotted with candle holders, candleabras, heavy with brass.  It seemed almost excessive for a small church in an out of the way place!  But breathtaking nonetheless.

One of the feral dogs that the village supports
making friends with Jim and begging.

Of course, there was a lot of discussion about the Greek dislike of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, who dominated Greece for over 400 years.  Maria also talked extensively about the Greeks and the Nazis during World War II.  She did not raise to the bait of talking about the EU and the stringent financial conditions now in place.  But she did tell us she had moved home because she could not afford her own place anymore.  Probably a sign of the times!

You ask: yes, but what about Lesbos?  Well, her explanation was that Sappho, a noted female poet in 700-600 BC wrote very graphic love poems.  That may have stirred the gossip.  But mainly, she said, the women on Lesbos were very strong, as their husbands were often gone fighting wars and trading.  So the women had to take charge of everything in their daily lives, without men!  Disappointing for the gossipers, but it does sound logical. 

So, after this day of Greekness, we were tired but happy to return to the ship for a special dinner, unexpectedly in their fanciest dining room, without the usual reservations weeks ahead!  Maybe the trip to the church????

                                     

School group entering the church courtyard.

Church courtyard

Church interior

Original Icon of Mary and Jesus from 3rd
century in Box with replica on wall.

The four of us in front of the church
Me, Bos, Elaine and Jim