Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
unless a special exhibition is being held. Between Ermoú and the castle lies a maze of
atmospheric lanes lined with
belle époque
mansions and humbler vernacular dwellings.
Archeological museum
New wing
8-Noemvríou •
T
22510 40223 •
Old wing
Eftalióti 7 •
T
22510 28032 • Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm • €3
Mytilíni's excellent
archeological museum
, the only real must-see, is housed in two
separate galleries, a few hundred metres apart. The
newer wing
is devoted to finds from
wealthy Roman Mytilene, in particular three rooms of well-displayed mosaics from
second/third-century AD villas. Highlights include a crude but engaging scene of
Orpheus charming all manner of beasts and birds, two fishermen surrounded by clearly
recognizable (and edible) sea creatures, and the arrival of baby Telephos, son of Auge
and Hercules, in a seaborne box, again with amazed fishermen presiding.
Earlier eras are represented in the
older wing
, located in a former mansion just behind
the ferry dock. The ground floor has Neolithic finds from Áyios Vartholoméos cave and
Bronze Age Thermí, but the star exhibits are the minutely detailed late Classical terracotta
figurines upstairs: a pair of acrobats, two
kourotrophoi
figures (goddesses suckling infants,
predecessors of all Byzantine
Galaktotrofoússa
icons), children playing with a ball or dogs,
and Aphrodite riding a dolphin. A rear annexe contains stone-cut inscriptions of various
edicts and treaties, plus a Roman sculpture of a drunken satyr asleep on a wineskin.
Byzantine Museum
Aríonos • Mon-Sat 9am-1pm • €2 •
T
22510 28916
The well-lit and well-laid-out
Byzantine Museum
, just opposite the entrance to Áyios
Therápon, contains various icons rescued from rural island churches. The most
noteworthy exhibit, and the oldest, is a fourteenth-century icon of Christ
Pandokrátor
;
other highlights include a sultanic
firmáni
or grant of privileges to a local bishop, a rare
sixteenth-century three-dimensional icon of
The Crucifixion
and a canvas of the
Kímisis
(
Assumption
) by Theophilos (see box, p.638).
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
MYTILÍNI TOWN
By air
There's no bus link with the airport, so you may need
to take a taxi the 7km into Mytilíni Town.
By ferry
Nearly all agencies can make bookings for ferries
within Greece, while Dimakis Tours at Koundouriótou 73
(
T
22510 27865) or Picolo Travel at no. 73a (
T
22510
27000) are best for tickets to Turkey.
By bus
There are two bus terminals: the long-distance
KTEL buses leave from a small station near Platía
Konstandinopóleos at the southern end of the harbour,
while the blue town buses depart from a stand at the top of
the harbour, or the dedicated terminal near the stadium.
By car
Car rental is arrangeable through reputable
franchises like Best at Koundouriótou 87-89 (
T
22510
37337,
W
best-rentacar.com) or excellent local agency
Aphrodite at the corner of Elýti & Karapanayióti (
T
22510
48100,
W
aphroditehotel.gr). Drivers should use the
enormous free public car park a few blocks south of the
KTEL or the oval plaza near the new wing of the
archeological museum. If you're driving out, 8-Noemvríou,
starting just behind the ferry quay, is the quickest way.
INFORMATION
Tourist o
ce
James Aristárhou 6 (Mon-Fri
8am-2.30pm). Provides excellent town and island maps,
plus other brochures.
Online
The website
W
lesvos.com is highly useful.
Services
Amenities include the post office behind the central
park, and numerous ATMs starting just outside the port gate.
ACCOMMODATION
Finding accommodation can be frustrating: waterfront hotels are noisy and overpriced, but supply usually exceeds demand
for the better-value rooms in the backstreets. The Lesvos Hoteliers Association at Koundouriótou 47A (
T
22510 41787,
W
iloxenia.net) can book rooms in town and around the island.
Ì
New Life
Olýmbou, cul-de-sac off Ermoú
T
22510
23400,
W
new-life.gr.
Moderate-sized, comfy en-suite rooms
(some a/c) with polished wood floors, in an old eccentrically
decorated mansion with a garden. Great value.
€30
Orfeas
Katsakoúli 3
T
22510 28523,
W
orfeas-hotel
.com.
Probably the quietest of the town hotels, this
