Mytilene Mesta Ferries

Mytilene Guide

The ancient Greek city of Mytilene is the capital and port of the south east coast of the island of Lesbos, which lies in the north eastern Aegean Sea. The city's origins date back to the 11th century BC and has a number of neo-classical buildings, public and private, on display. Some of these buildings are the buildings of the Lesbos Prefecture, the old City Hall, the Experimental Lyceum and the various mansions and hotels located throughout the town. Dominating the port is the Baroque Church of Saint Therapon on which construction began in the 19th century and was completed in 1935.

The island of Lesbos has a land area of around 1,600 sq. km and has roughly 320 km of coastline, which makes it the third largest Greek island. The narrow Mytilini Strait separates it from the Turkish mainland.

Mytilene has a port with ferries to the nearby islands of Lemnos, Chios and Ayvalik and at times Dikili in Turkey. The port also serves the mainland cities of Piraeus, Athens and Thessaloniki.

Mesta Guide

Mesta is a town that is located on the Greek island of Chios that lies in the north east Aegean Sea and is the fifth largest Greek island with a coastline of around 120 km and a population of roughly 54,000. The island is only 3.5 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. Although it is not universally agreed, the island is thought to be one of the likely birth places of Homer and of the ancient mathematicians Hippocrates and Enopides. One of the most picturesque villages on the island is the medieval village of Mesta which has been preserved as a monument. The village has been built like a castle and dates back to the Byzantine period. In order to fortify the village, its houses were built close together in order to form a protective ring around it and the village's current residents still maintain the traditions of a 14th century village. The most important custom that takes place in the village is where the "Agas" trials, a satirical replica of the trials that used to take place under the occupation of Turkey, are presented.