The Old Paths of Lesvos island in Greece - Episode 2 ( Issa )

Mediterranean Bonsai presents the episode 2 of the new series for Bonsai Inspiration From Nature, 'The Old Paths of Lesvos island in Greece'''. We are doing a very nice walk in a very old path of central lesvos island in Greece, in the west side of Kalloni gulf close to the ruins of ancient Greek city ''Issa'' and the human figure on the rock!

The island had many prehistoric names such as: Imerti (longed for), Lassia (densely forested), Aiyeria (The place of the sun-browned people), Aithiope(sun-drenched island), and Makaria, which was the name of the mythical originator of the race, Makaras, son of the Sun, who cme to the island and was received as a prudent and enlightened sovereign. During his reign five towns were built: Mytilini, Issa, Antissa, Mithymna and Arisvi, which took their names from the five daughters of Makaras.Erressos was named after his son. The reign of Makaras and his successors lasted until the flood of Deucalion, when the island was laid desolate.

Lesvos is mentioned in the Homeric epics. During the early years of the Trojan war, Odysseus fought and defeated King Philomileidis. Achilles attacked the island many times. During one of these invasions along the south coast he captured the beautiful Brysiida and went into a rage when Agamemnon took her from him.Homer mentions that the seven women whom Agamemnon offered to Achilles to appease him were from Lesvos and "surpassed in beauty the entire race of women". The poet Parthenios tells us that Achilles managed to breach the powerful fortifications of Mithymna through the treachery of the daughter of King Peisidikis.

According to the historian Myrsilos, there was an important santuary to Apollo at Mt. Lepetymnos. He and Artemis were especially worshipped by the people of Lesvos. Theophrastus mentions that the astroloder Matriketas had his observatory on the peak of Mt Lepetymnos. According to another ancient tradition the tomb of the Homeric hero Palamides, the inventor of letters and numbers, was on the slopes of the same mountain.

The myth of Orpheus is well known. He was so skilled in music that even the animals and the stones were moved by his songs.His music made the men of Thrace leave their wives and stay by his side night and day just to listen to his melodies.The Maenads were so infuriated by this that they killed him and threw his dismembered body into the Evros river which carried it out to sea where the waves brought his head and his lyre to the shores of Lesvos, near Antissa. The inhabitants buried his head with full honors and dedicated his lyre to the temple of Apollo. Acoording to another version, his lyre was taken by the citharist of Lesvos, Terpander. In the area of Antissa is the place known as Orphykia and, it is said, the nightingales there have a sweeter song then anywhere else on earth.

Mythological accounts say that the island took it's name from the brother-in-law of Makaras, Lesvos. Another account says there was a town on the island called Lesvos and the island got the name from there. This town was most probably located in the area of Lisvori , where important pre-historic ruins have been found on the Kourtir headland on the bay of Kaloni. But the name of the island is also atrributed to it's magnificant natural setting.

A wonderful walking, bird-watching and yamadori hunting destination in the Mediterranean, Lesvos offers a stunning combination of natural and man-made landscapes to enjoy on foot or by car. It is a treasure house of very early ancient remains dating from the 7th century BC and boasts one of the finest natural monuments in Europe, the Petrified Forest, created 20 million years ago.

Cloaked with forests of chestnut and oak, the island becomes a riot of flowers in the spring and is renowned for its wild orchids (as many as 65 species) and with its own special endemic, Ophrys lesbis.

The island’s hills and mountains are riddled with little known ancient trails and cobbled donkey paths, many of which form the walks featured in this new guidebook. Refreshingly free of high-rise hotels and beach-orientated tourism, Lesvos is seizing an opportunity to rediscover itself through ecotourism in its totally unspoilt countryside. Fascinating sites, often unprotected, allow you to do your own interpretation. Follow the authors’ footsteps into villages still steeped in an old way of life and into a countryside as beautiful as any in the Mediterranean. The car tours, too, show off the very best the island has to offer and will take you to some secret places they have discovered.

Camera: Nikon Coolpix b600

Music: www.bensound.com

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