Theodoros Dimitriades writes…
In recent years more and more from inside the country and abroad come to enjoy their holidays on this blessed island. Limnos has gained fanatical friends who say the best things. So what does Limnos have that other Greek islands do not have? Why do they prefer it and advertise it to others? What is the comparative advantage of Lemnos? Not just one, but many, to be exact fifteen (15).
1)First of all its countless sandy beaches. No other island has so many beaches, and in fact crystal clear, with blue flags.Lemnos is surrounded by sixty eight (68) bays with sandy beaches.Not only you will pay nothing for an umbrella and sunbed, but you can even choose your own private beach with pristine sand.Large and extensive beaches of Lemnos.Crystal clean waters have taken over all the blue flags of the European Union.
Avlona,Thanos,Parthenomytos 3 km
Plati, Evgatis, Kotsinas, Aigiannis, Kaspaka 4 km
Gomati 5 km
Keros- where the international surfing competitions take place, 6 km
Countless others are Riha Nera, Romeikos Gialos, Tourkikos Gialos, Neftina, Zematas,Mikro Fanaraki, Megalo Fanaraki, Havouli,Louri, Makris Gialos and Aigiannis Kaminion, Agios Ermolaos,Karvoun, Agios Steafonos,Apan Gialos, Paleokasto, Kokkinovrahos, Makris Gialos Poliohnis,Agia Varvara, Kokkina, Diapori, Vourlidia,Paranisia etc.
2)Something else that you will hardly find on another island, is the taste of local products.Do you want the sunshine, do you want the volcanic soil of the island, everything it produces is delicious and many tourists come for this very season, that is,well fish, dairy (feta basket, kaskavali liokauto, sheep yogurt), meat, flomari, thyme honey, wonderful wines awarded, with gold in international exhibitions.It is no coincidence that the slogan has been heard in recent years, ”Do you want to eat well?-Go to Lemnos!”It is also no coincidence that the island operates two large salt works (Limnou Sea in Moudros and Koutalianos in Nea Koutali) and the seafood of Lemnos goes directly to Athens in the restaurants of the largest hotels and is exported abroad.Finally it is no coincidence that there is a University school of cooking in Lemnos!
3)In Lemnos the visitor will see one of the largest and most beautiful Venetian castles, illuminated at night, and the only one in Greece in which deer live (which are taken care by the Municipality of Myrina). It has its own history, and among other things, here died and was buried in 1442 the Empress Catherine Gatelouzi, wife of Constantine Paleologos. Panoramic and magnificent view from above, you see the 6 consecutive bays, the Aegean sea, Mount Athos.
4)Lemnos has another air, Byzantine. Even today many inhabitants have ancient and Byzantine names, such as Paleologos, Ypsipyli, Komninos, Rallis, Katakouzinos, Vogdanos, Karatzas, Fokianos etc.Byzantine and ancient Greek are also the place names- Mourtzouflos, Kaspakas, Romanou, Kotsinas, Gomati, Kornos, Keros etc.
5)Lemnos has three (3) archaeological sites unique in their kind: Poliochni, with the oldest parliament in Europe, Kaveria, where the mysteries were performed in antiquity with the cave of the Homeric Philoctete. Hephaistia, with the ancient theater, named after the god Hephaestus. It is no coincidence that the only ancient god who lived far from Olympus was Hephaestus.As we know after a dispute between Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus took the side of Hera, Zeus hurled Hephaestus from Olympus, and after a spectacular flight over the Aegean Sea, he landed in Lemnos near today’s village of Repanidi. And there he taught the inhabitants the art of fire and pottery, and the healing properties of ”Limnia Land”. It is no coincidence that in the village of Kontopouli today there is a very interesting workshop and a beautiful pottery exhibition.
6)Let us not forget the famous marble Column of Kaminia, from the time of the Pelasgians, which with the representation of an ancient warrior and its Greek inscription still holds the undiminished interest of leading international archaeologists and linguists, who have not managed to decode it until today.
7)In Lemnos there is Panagia Kakaviotissa- the only small church without a roof, high on the mountain in the rock, with the panoramic view.
8)In Lemnos there are attractions, which you will hardly find in other Greek islands, such as, the renovated archaeological museum in Myrina, the exhibition of sponge fishing, maritime tradition and ceramics in Nea Koutali, the folklore museum in the village of Portianou and the house where the English prime minister Winston Churchill lived.Also the gallery in Kontias with the picturesque windmills.
9)Only in Lemnos there are two large allied cemeteries, in Moudros and Portianou, from the war in Gallipoli that are visited every year by thousands from Australia and other countries.The Treaty of Moudros was signed in Lemnos, which was the end of the First World War.
10)Two wetlands- where thousands of beautiful migratory birds (flamingos, ducks, geese, etc) overwinter in Lakes Aliki and Hortarolimni.
11)After the airports Eleftherios Venizelos (Athens) and Macedonia (Thessaloniki), Lemnos has the largest and safest Greek airport.
12)Something that certainly does not exist anywhere else in Greece, are the famous sand dunes of Lemnos in Gomati, the dunes that are also called ”Greek Sahara”.
13)Lemnos has three luxury five-star hotel complexes (LIMNOS VILLAGE, PORTO MYRINA PALACE, VAROS RESORT PALLACE), but also countless other smaller ones, as well as modern and cool stone rooms for rent with all the amenities in locations by the sea with panoramic view.
14)Many fossilized tree trunks, of huge subtropical trees have been discovered in Lemnos- similar to the fossilized forest of Lesvos. When their promotion and utilization is completed, they will be something unique for the Greek area.
15)Finally Lemnos has something unique, with which no other island can be compared: The magical sunsets. In the evening, when the sun sets at the bottom of the sea, it crowns Mount Athos, the Orchard of the Virgin Mary, with the golden -red colors.
Lemnos never had the brand name or the advertisement of the other Greek islands, such as Mykonos, Rhodes, Corfu etc. However, as the saying goes, ”Whoever comes to Lemnos, likes it so much that he does not want to leave” and becomes the best live advertiser on the island. He comes again and again, and brings his friends.
As Kavafis says” If you go to Lemnos wish that the road is long…Many summer mornings will be with pleasure, with joy, you will enter ports first seen and only good things you will get”.
The Argonauts knew something when they traveled to Colchis to go and get the golden fleece. They made a stop in Lemnos to rest, but they loved and enchanted the island so much that they fell in love with it- as did its beautiful women, whom they married, and instead of a few days, they stayed many years and created a new generation of inhabitants, who until this day are still benevolent, open-hearted and very hospitable…!