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Myrina,
the island's capital and port, a population of around
5,000 inhabitants, has built
on the same spot where the old city of Myrina was
located.
It
extends from two seashores
which are joined by a castle-crowned rocky headland with
a splendid sea view. It is a
beautiful town built in a traditional style with many
picturesque, narrow streets, houses and a market place.
The impressive, fortified
castle which hovers over the town can be reached either
from the market, the harbour,
or the Romeikos waterfront. The stairs which begin at
the church will lead you
straight to its entrance. The rocks on which it was
built make it impregnable even today.
Deer and
roebuck roam freely in the nearby
caves. Worth seeing in the town are the Karatzadios
Library, the Cathedral of Agia
Triada with its two splendid belfries, and the
Archaeological Museum with its huge collection of finds.
The harbour is always animated and most of the town's
services are located there. The commercial street begins
from there and
connects the two shores. The town is filled with
fragrances emanating from the
white plane trees, eucalyptus, jujube trees and tall
almond trees which dot the area.
In the centre of the island is Atsiki, a village named
in ancient times. When the
island was under Athenian rule, the people from Athens
that immigrated and settled in
the area named it "Attici"in memory of the region they
had left, they also planted
olive and fig trees from Attica. Later with the
"tsitakismo" (Tsitakismos is an idiom of the language
according to which the "t" is
pronounced as a "ts") which was dominant in the island
at the that time the name
changed to "Atsiki".Its a large village 22 kms from
Myrina, near the airport, with 800 residents.
It
cultivates wheat, raisins and dairy products. In
addition to the women's bakery
co-operatives, the village operates a distillery.
There are two versions as to the name kontopouli. The
first derives from two words linked together
"konta-poli" (near the city) because it's built near the
ancient city of Hefestia. The second is that in
the area there was a large
agricultural community which belonged to a land owner
called Kontopoulos.Kontopouli is a main village with
stone houses built on a large
plain where wheat used to be cultivated. It is located
near two scenic lakes, Aliki
or Asprolimni,where salt used to be gathered,and
Hortarolimni, which is a marine park. Also worth
visiting in the area are the archaeological site on the
gulf of Bournia, the remnants of Hephestia,
Limnos' oldest town from the Ancient
Greek period, the temple of Kaviria and
finally,the cave of Philoctetes on the
other side of the cliff.
Moudros is named from the term" mydro" (a granite rock
composed from solid lava).
This formation once existed near the port and was used
by sailors for docking their
ships. There was also a castle in Moudro which was a
focal point in Limnian history
for several centuries. It was destroyed by the Venetians
in 1656. Moudros once had a monastery, it was burnt by
the Turks along together with
7 monks. There reason for this destructive act was that
they found several dead
Turkish military officers in its well. Legend has it
that two monks escaped and
found refuge in the monastic community of Agio Oros.
The monks accused the people of Moudros for these
killings and told the father superior of the
Koultoumousio monastery that it was to provoke
the Turks into destroying the monastery so the land
would remain theirs. The legend has it that the father
superior cursed the whole village. Its not known if the
curse was ever lifted. Moudros is an attractive, scenic
town built on the eastern shore of a wide,
shallow gulf. It is one of the country's largest
natural harbours and an
important marine environment of great ecological
importance.
The commercial port is located on the town's shore where
it is also possible to find pleasant
tavernas and hotels. On the southern coast of
Moudros, remnants of a castle,
known as Paliokastro (Old Castle), can be seen. Other
sites worth visiting are the church of the Taxiarchon,
the British cemetery beside the road that leads
out of town eastwards towards Roussopouli,as well
as the church of the Theotokou
Virgin. The coastal road leads to a beautiful beach
surrounded by jujube trees, Agios
Pavlos. The beaches of Fanaraki and Havouli are even
more attractive.
Nea
Koutali is one of the prettiest villages in Lemnos.
Built on the bay of Moudros,
it spreads from the Agfa Triada pine forest to the
graphic, stone-built port
where fishig boats and caiques are moored its houses a
well-kept and their gardens
are covered with rose bushes and vines.
A clearly immigrant village,
Nea Koutali was built in order to receive the flood of
refugees from Marmara's Koutali, home of the legendary
Panagis Koutalianos. These immigrants were
mainly seamen and sponge divers who used their
profession to surpass their roblems
and later contribute in the development of the island.
Today, Nea Koutali is a lively village where visitors
can enjoy a tour of the sponge museum
and the museum of nautical tradition.
Visitors can also taste
fresh fish and seafood in the graphic tavernas, enjoy a
drink in the many nice bars overlooking the sea, and
spend an exciting evening in one of the clubs.
Portianou, it's possible
this village took its name from the fact that it lies
between two ports( Moudros and Kontia). The word "porto"
means a beach
appropriate for ships to dock.
Other places of interest in
the village are its
Folklore museum and British cemetery.
Legend has it that the village Kontias was named
after two land owners. One was
called Kondeas and the other Handreas. The first gave
his name to the village, the second to the torrent
nearby called (Handrias).
Kontias is one of the
biggest and nicest villages on Limnos,
with pine hills and abandoned windmills,
tree-lined streets, a characteristic local colour and
its scenic chapel which hovers over the hill. Two
kilometres
from Kontias is Diapori, a small, natural harbour
which can shelter both small
and large boats. A "must see" on your way to Fako, with
its seaside tavernas and cafe-bar. |
