Lesbos, Aegean Islands of Greece, poets, writers, cultural heritage, natural beauties landscape,

Lesbos (Λέσβος) [5], or Lesvos, is the northest of the East Aegean Islands of Greece, projecting out of the Asia Minor mainland. It is a birthplace of numerous poets and writers since the Greek antiquity till the recent years; the island of Lesbos is still inspiring, through this cultural heritage and its natural beauties of landscape contrasts, an easygoing lifestyle, expressed by its people as a familiarity towards all its visitors.Tradition[edit] Lesvos is quite well-known for the great number of its local, traditional products. As mentioned before, Lesvos is very famous for Ouzo, as it is considered one of the places it originates from. Also, Lesvos is quite famous for its pottery. Agiasos and Mandamados are the two villages that have the biggest tradition in ceramic art. Many ceramists live and work in these villages. Some of the ceramists there are Antonia Gavve( and Demetrios Hadjigiannis. Except for ceramics, woodcraft is also very developed in Lesvos. Towns and villages[edit] The capital of Lesvos is Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), at the east end. A busy town as it concentrates the hospital, the university, the port, the airport, the court, the prefecture and other administrative headquarters. Kalloni is the largely modern second-in-size town, located in the center of the island, at the north of the greater of the two gulfs (thus called "Gulf of Kalloni"). Molivos, the ancient Methymna (spelled also as Mithimna), the most important destination for a visitor, because of its attractions: the Gattilusi Castle and the whole preserved traditional architecture. Its cobbled, winding streets, stunning views towards the sea, and considerable number of restaurants, bars and cafeterias make it an ideal place to spend an enjoyable evening. It is one of the two lungs of tourism in Lesbos, the other one being Eressos. Eressos is a small dale town at southwest paving the way to the sandy beach, or Skala Eressou, thus being mostly a summer resort. Notably, its fame as the birthplace of Sappho attracts some lesbian (homosexual) couples, but they consist a part of the whole number of Eressos' visitors, as it is a place too beautiful to become isolated. Plomari at the south coast in the middle of the two gulfs' openings, is the homeland of Ouzo, the well-known Greek alcoholic beverage. Mandamados, at the northeast, for the ceramic art tradition and the locally produced dairy products. Agiasos, the picturesque village while ascending onto Olympos. Other destinations[edit] Sigri, the village at the west end of the island, hosting the Natural History Museum of the Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest area is located between Eressos and Sigri. Petra and the beach at Anaxos, almost unavoidable if you visit Molivos. The beach is facing to the north but it is crowded even when affected by the prevailing north winds. Vatera, one of the longest beaches in Greece, at the south coast. Pirgi Thermis (Πύργοι Θερμής, lit. Towers at Therme), a few kilometers north of Mytilene, for the all-day bar restaurants and the beach. The name is similar with Pyrgi (Πυργί), another village near Mytilene. Skala Sykamnias between Molivos and Mandamados, for its fish tavernae and the landscape. Greeks know the place because of the chapel of Panagia Gorgona (transl. Mermaid Madonna) that became famous after the popular story of the Lesbian writer Stratis Myrivilis in his book.