Things That Make Mytilene Marvelous

Mytilene- Lesvos' main town - has everything you want from an island and everything you want from a capital at the same time. There is the charm of a harbor filled with "trata" (brightly painted fishing boats) and a promenade of cafes curving around it, plus the cosmopolitan allure of contemporary culture and the grandeur of Belle Epoque prosperity. 

Cinematic Belle Epoque-

Mansions! Mansions galore. And not one kind of mansion either, but a whole panoply of European styles, of mansard roofs and deep eaves. Olive oil was expensive and Lesvos was rich in it. There was also wine, and leather- goods with a market. Foreign importers drawn to Lesvos for business built in the styles of home, as did wealthy Europeans drawn by the famous spas.

These mansions define a whole neighborhood- you feel like you're on a stage set, and probably a little under dressed. 

The Pyrgos Hotel

You could live the Belle Epoque elegance first hand and stay at the Pyrgos of Mytilene boutique hotel. We went for a coffee in the lobby- you feel glamorous just being in the salon with the soaring, ultra-ornate ceiling. It's the real thing- Maria, who invited us to her wonderful island, grew up next door - her mother used to come to dances here.

Big, Bold Baroque-

A house of worship that dominates the city scape - like Notre Dame or the Blue Mosque - sets a grand tone. Mytilene's skyline is defined by the dome of Agios Therapon cathedral, designed by Argyris Adalis- native to Lesvos, and a student of Ernst Ziller (the neo-Rennaissance Numismatic Museum in Athens, among many others). They both borrowed, and borrowed well. Agio Therapon has a grand baroque mood that- like the mansions- doesn't speak of Greece specifically but of a cosmopolitan vibe of European capitals in general.

Ancient Glamour-

The mansions of the Belle Epoque continue a much earlier tradition. Mytilene was a city of wealth from at least the 2nd C BC. We had a tour with Professor Giannis Kourtzellis of the Museum of Archaeology and couldn't stop marveling at the mosaic floors of elegant homes, including the dramatist Menander's. He filled out the corners of our imaginations with symposia and banquets. What also struck us? The reliefs depicting the dinners of the dead, held on the third and ninth days after death (days we commemorate still), and funerary reliefs for heroes- depicted on horseback. Most notable and unusual is the equestrian heroine- women were rarely depicted this way, but then this was found in Eresos (birthplace of Sappho)

And of course this arresting Praxitelous-

We learn that they're easily identified - he was known for the naturalistic "S" shaped pose of his figures. There were lots of them- originals in bronze, and copies in marble.

Fortress of Intrigue-

The best view of the city is wasted on this monumental fortress- Gatalusi's (one-time pirate) home (a wedding present along with the rest of the Island when he wed the sister of Paleologos' - Byzantine Emperor John V - is one of the largest and best preserved of the whole Mediterranean. On our tour with Archaeologist Georgia Tampakopoulou we only had eyes for the ruins and crests, and ears for her stories. She herself was inspired by the place- she had an intuition that led to the discovery of something that would have been lost forever. Visiting the site with her gave us goosebumps to be so close to the thrill of discovery. It is a tale of its own, coming soon.

The mingled crests of Galausi and Paleologos
and the seal of Constantinople

A Symbol of Welcome and People of Grace-

I grew up with a meaningful statue in the harbor by my house- it was for many the first sight of America. How perfect that Mytilene has its own Statue of Liberty-

This is a gift to the island from the people who emigrated from here to New York City. It could not be more fitting: Lesvos has been much in the news, here and around the world, because of how many refugees have passed through here. Ai Wei Wei's exhibition at the Cycladic museum in Athens has the crisis as a focal point, and the images recorded by many local photographers open the exhibition-

Photographs by Petros Tsakmakis

That is one of the reasons we are here- to see how the Island is dealing with this tremendous crisis and to show through our experience how it impacts a visitor's experience. It impacts it tremendously- if you want to be inspired by a population who responds to the need of others with grace, if you want to support an island that has done so much on behalf of us all, then you should come. The only concrete signs we saw of the refugee crisis were signs in Arabic- at souvaki places, and on the public buses. 

Classic Marina Experience-

What's an island without a marina? What's a marina without a yacht club? What's a yacht club without a great kitchen, and some Frank Sinatra and Amy Winehouse? Those are not questions we had to answer, because we spent several happy hours at the Marina Yacht Club with its adorable, unpretentious, and surprisingly young owner Eirini, enjoying all those things. We tried dish after dish- all playful, delicious, but honest and real- exactly what you want to eat as the masts cast ever longer shadows. Best soundtrack, best wine glasses, best view, best hostess. Go. Tastes like holiday.

We loved this little city, crammed with mansions and little boats, with its beautiful museum and outsized cathedral, and its boutique hotel and dining by the docks. We loved the people most of all - for their culture, warmth, and virtue. Lesvos is a perfect holiday destination, and Mytilene is the first taste.

For information on visiting Lesvos, try this site:
http://www.lesvosgreece.gr/

More of Lesvos:

A fabulous party at the EVA distillery in Mytilene where we got to know Lesvos' classic drink:

The Ouzo of Lesvos: Essentials

Molyvos is the Greece of your Dreams

Falling in Love with Lesvos: One Perfect Day

Read More »

Athens in Winter is all Charm and Grace, and Surprises.

Summer is the sun around which the rest of the year revolves, and fall- otherwise the season of newness and anticipation (shopping for notebooks, the smell of pencil shavings), is here in Greece simply the thing that comes after the "good weather;" The Greek word for "summer" is "καλο(good)καιρι(weather)" ("Kalokairy- accent on the third syllable); winter holds no good in its definition. But it is good- very, very good, filled with moody, subtle pleasures. Athens gets all plush muted gray like Paris does in the winter. It's a respite- none of that trying "penetrating" and "expanding" that so beguiled Henry Miller. You can take in every dreamy detail at your leisure; Miller's light of Greece hides as much as it reveals. Winter in Athens is very three dimensional, rich with detail, and all the time in the world to enjoy it.

Here is an Athens winter day, unplanned, unfolding by chance. They're all like this- perfect in their own way:

True, the Acropolis museum is spectacular- content, location, structure- all spectacular. But the Archaeological Museum smells better, has a great classic layout of endless grand rooms, and is jammed with riches- jammed. You cannot make a wrong turn with each thing more breathtaking than the last.

Double fun!
 This 2nd C AD Aphroditi was partially
 restored by Canova.

Or, more entertaining than the last:

Aphroditi again- her left foot is bare-
that's her slipper in her hand that she's about to smack Pan with.

the museum is at the edge of Exarchia, the neighborhood of riots, teargas, musical instrument sellers and restorers, publishing houses, and book binders- not always in that order. Also the neighborhood of grafiti art and incredible murals:

Scale-  One story tall-
the ants are about the size of a three year old.

Some things worth looking at are quite small, and you'd miss them in the blinding sun. Like the window of this book restorer:

"Artistic bookbinders- I. N. Mantzakos"

A magnificent little slice of a much earlier century, not much wider than one's outstretched arms. Blink and you would have missed it, as they say, and blink you would in the summer sun. Winter is full of these surprises.

The main shopping street, Ermou, is just that- wide and long and lined with international chain shops and full of shoppers. Every city has one. But right at a main intersection there is this guy:

selling salepi from his magnificent samovar, which is how you know you are not in Arizona. Salepi is a warm, slightly viscous drink, made from the powdered root of a wild orchid. I would not buy a warm viscous drink from a street vendor in a million years so I cannot tell you how it tastes, but I hear it is delicious. The salepi vendor is just a short distance from the Metropolitan Cathedral- itself under renovation. Next to it is an older Church- a more intimate choice for lighting a candle:

And next to this is Philothei street- which I discovered by accident in the heat of August 2 years ago and now visit regularly. This street is where the church shops- not household religious articles like icons and home altars, but serious stuff- Sceptres, Crowns (!), pigments for icon painters, bishops hats wrapped in white paper and lined up on glass shelves like panettone, and unbelievable textile shops. There is a hushed atmosphere that makes you feel like you are probably not supposed to be here, which makes it more interesting than it already would be.

These are not for the layperson- 
they are about the size of a hand.

Between this street of eerie calm and the serene grand promenade Aeropagitou is Plaka. It's not so big, and you can get a couple of postcards. Before you know it you are in front of the Acropolis museum, between going in or wandering aimlessly, and decide to wander aimlessly. Athens looks a little like Vienna from some angles in the soft wintery light:

Right behind Aeropagitou is the quiet street Kalisperi, with a perfect cafe. We stopped for an ouzo- the color of the sky:

And this was the view:

Through the bare branches can you just make out the Irodeio?  

More casual Athens pleasures-

Mysterious, enchanting Agiou Philothei street

Drinking Chai on Evripidou

A weekend of Picasso and Pastis

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