Ferry from Mytilene to Syros

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.

Syros Guide

The Greek island of Syros is one of the Cyclades group of islands and is unusual in that the island's architecture is more medieval rather than the more typical Cycladic. The island's capital is Ermoupolis and has some fine examples of Venetian mansions to see. In the Vaporia quarter of the capital visitors will find some lovely large churches and impressive neoclassical buildings, such as the Town Hall and Apollo Theatre in the central square. Also popular with visitors are the island's beaches which are well equipped for tourists and have a good range of facilities.

The island can trace its history back to the 3rd millennium BC where signs of inhabitation have been found in the Halandriani and Kastri parts of the island. Artefacts found indicate that there was some kind of metal workshop on the island which possibly had a trading relationship with Asia Minor. The Samians occupied the island in the 6th century BC and is when many of the island's inhabitants moved to the island. At that time, the important physician and philosopher Pherecydis was born in Syros and some years later he went to Samos and became the teacher of Pythagoras.