Mytilene
- This city is not to be confused with a village in the island of Samos named Mytilinioi
Mytilene (Greek: Μυτιλήνη - Mytilíni, Turkish: Midilli), also Mytilini is the capital city of Lesbos (formerly known as Mytilene), a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, and the Lesbos Prefecture as well. It has a population of 32,000. Mytilene is linked with a highway numbered (GR-67) linking to Skala Eressou on the other side of the island of Lesbos. Farmlands surround Mytilini, the mountains cover the west and to the north. The airport is located a few kilometres south on the small highway.
Mytilini has a beautiful port with ferries to the nearby islands of Lemnos and Chios and some other islands especially for freight but there is no regular service to the Turkish side except for freight. The port also serves the mainland cities of Piraeus, Athens and Thessaloniki. One ship, named during the 2001 IAAF games in Edmonton, is named Kenteris, after Kostas Kenteris, and serves this city (his hometown) with 5-hour routes from Athens and Thessaloniki. The main port serving Mytilini on the Greek mainland is Piraeus.
Historical population
| Year | Communal population | Change | Municipal population | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 24,991 | - | - | - | |
| 1991 | 23,971 | -1,020/-4.08% | 33,157 | - | |
| 2001 | 27,247 | +3,276/+13.7% | - | - |
Sporting teams
- Aeolikos - third division
Other
Mytilene has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, a post office, beaches, a hospital and a few squares (plateies). The town of Mytilene is also the center of the University of the Aegean.
Archaeological excavations carried out between 1984-1994 in the medieval castle of Mytilene by the University of British Columbia and directed by Caroline and Hector Williams revealed a previously unknown sanctuary of Demeter and Kore of late classical/Hellenistic date and the burial chapel of the Gattelusi, the medieval Genoese family that ruled the northern Aegean from the mid 14th-mid 15th centuries of our era. Other excavations done jointly with the K' Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities near the North Harbour of the city uncovered a multiperiod site with remains extending from a late Ottoman cemetery (including a "vampire" burial, a middle aged man with 20 cm. spikes through his neck, middle and ankles) to a substantial Roman building constructed around a colonnaded courtyard to remains of Hellenistic structures and debris from different Hellenistic manufacturing processes (pottery, figurines, cloth making and dyeing, bronze and iron working) to archaic and classical levels with rich collections of Aeolic grey wares.
External links
- http://www.mytilini.gr
- Lesvos Travel Guide : http://www.visitlesvos.gr/
- Lesvos Travel and Tourism Blog
- Map and aerial photos:
- Street map: Street map from Mapquest, MapPoint or Google
- Satellite images: Google - image not yet available
39°6′14″N 26°32′00″E / 39.10389°N 26.53333°E