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Lesvos: Petra |
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Remember that August 15th is the festival of the Panagia (Virgin mary) and a great holiday for the village of Petra. The cobbled streets are lined with stalls, Greek flags and great atmosphere. Near Petra
You can book your hotels in Petra through any of the travel agencies on this website or through the Lesvos Hotel page. |
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A few
kilometers from Molyvos is the village of
Petra and something is going on here. While
the local government in Molyvos has decided
that their village is fine and are content to
sit back and count their money, the government
in Petra has taken steps to improve the
quality of life in their village and make the
area even more attractive for tourism. Rather
than let the motorbikes disturb the peace of
the town they have closed off the center of
the village to traffic and diverted
through-traffic to the outskirts of the
village. This and other steps appear to be
paying off because Petra is attracting more
and more visitors every year. While the front
of the village appears to be a tourist town of
the highest degree (or lowest depending upon
how you look at it), the backstreets of the
village give the visitor the feeling of the
more remote traditional villages of the island
and since most of the tourists tend to cling
together like sheep along the shore, those
people who are courageous enough to wander
through the back streets can find themselves
in a uniquely Greek setting, maybe finding
what they have come to Lesvos in search
of.
Stretched
along a long human-filled beach lined with
cafe's and restaurants, the interior of the
town surrounds a rock mountain topped with the
church of the Glykfylousa Panagia (Our Lady of
the Sweet Kiss). You reach the top of the rock
by climbing the 114 steps carved into the
stone. From the church the view of Petra and
the surrounding sea and countryside is
spectacular extending all the way to the coast
of Asia Minor. A beautiful legend concerning
the building of the church on this high rock
has come down to us: In days of old a storm
bought a religious captain to the shores of
the area. One morning the captain noticed that
the Icon of the Blessed Virgin, which he
always had with him, was missing. He looked
for it everywhere but to no avail. That
evening he saw a strange light shining
seemingly suspended between sky and earth. He
climbed up the rock and found his icon placed
before a lighted lamp. He took it back to his
boat but again it disappeared and again he
found it on top of the rock. He decided to
build a small church there since that was
obviously the wish of the Blessed Virgin. The
first church was built in 1609 and the present
one in 1747. There is a great celebration
there on August 15th. Below the rock is the
tiny Church of Agios Nikolaos. Inside, the
small church is decorated with 16th century
wall paintings that are colorful and
inspirational and worth a trip to the
village.
The
village itself has hotels, shops, restaurants
and bars all very close to the beach and a
small main street, too narrow for cars even if
they were allowed, that has a variety of
traditional shops and tourist shops mixed
together. It is funny because it appears that
the local old men of the cafeneons behave as
if they are oblivious to the swarms of
tourists around them as they drink their ouzo
and eat their mezedes. There are plenty of
good places to eat. Be sure to try the
Restaurant run by the Women's Agricultural
Co-op of Petra for at least one meal. Their
offices are upstairs in the large building on
the main square so drop in and find out
exactly what it is they do. In between Petra
and Anaxos is the excellent Avlaki Taverna.
For other restaurants nearby see my
Five
minutes from Petra is the small village of
Anaxos, with a nice stretch of beach
with lots of tavernas and a view of Molyvos.
Anaxos is a resort town with several outdoor
swimming pools for public use. Well, not
exactly public use but if you buy a drink you
and your kids can hang out there all day. The
pools are salt water however, as are many of
the pools on the island so if you are looking
for the wonderful clorinated water you are
familiar with then you should probably ask
before you dive in. At one time Anaxos was a
popular destination for package tourists and
it still pretty much has that feel, but there
are lots of individuals and even some people
who like it so much that they come back every
year though I generally skip a year or so
between visits. The beach can be crowded, like
the beach at Petra, but if you like people
that should not be a problem. If you don't
like people and want to go to somewhere a
little more remote you can rent cars, bikes
and motorbikes in either town and there are
lots of coves and beaches along the
coast.
Above Petra is the small village of Petri, known for its view, cool breezes and the excellent traditional tavernas.