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At first
it was named Potamos (river) because of its river Sedountas. Plomari
was built in the middle of the 19th century when its inhabitants,
not having the fear of pirates any more, decided to leave Megalohori
(which was characterised as the old Plomari) and go down to the
“wet valley” as the Wise Veniamin had told them to.
Indeed, that wet valley had many thinks to offer them. Up to the
first quarter of the 20th century Plomari grew as much in the industrial,
as in the commercial section. Navals from all over the Aegean Sea
were buing ships from the shipyards of Plomari and its soap industries
were suplying the whole Mediterannean. As a result of all these,its
navals travelled from the west of Mediterannean up to the Pont.
In 1922, because of the Smirni Destruction, the transcaction between
Plomari and the Turkish Coasts stopped, and that was bad for the
commerce and production of the area. Nevertheless, as the years
went by, Plomari – mostly because of the increasement of tourism
– managed to succeed a progress in the economic and cultural sections.
Above all, Plomari has maintained a very unique characteristic,
especially because of its high quality: Ouzo of Plomari, the famous
greek ouzo which is the first of its species up to now.
Plomari Neighbourhoods
Ammoudeli.
It is in the west side of the town, one of its oldest neighbourhoods,
with its coast from which it took its name, its traditional fish-taverns
and the church of St. Panteleimon.
Praskio.
It’s at the north of Ammoudeli. Its name comes from the word Proastio
(suburb).
Next to
it and at the east is Alouneli (from alonia, which means fields).
The area
around the church of St. Nicolaos is named after him.
As we
move to the centre of the island, we find the neighbourhood Isa
Mesa and after it the area of St. Dimitrios. (St. in greek is Agios
for male and Agia for female).
The neighbourhood
Anthi (flowers) was named like that because of the flowers of lemon
and orange trees.
At the
centre of the town is Agora (market).
At its
north we find Prophet Elias (or Koutla). Next to it is Koulfan.
South
from Koulfan is Platanel (small plane-tree) which took its name
from a plane-tree that had grew in the middle of the paving.
Next to
it is Tarsanas, where the shipyards were. Further are Ahrista. The
name came because noone in that neighbourhood could whitewash, due
to poverty.
Finally,
2 kilometres from Ahrista and at east is St. Isidoros, with the
seventh best beach of Greece (according to a voting in the Internet).
Sightseings in Plomari
It is
very interesting to see any church of the Plomari area, as well
as the old Soap factory of Ioannis Poulias in Isa Mesa, which is
rebuilt and used as a Cultural Centre.
It is
altho worth visiting the Ouzo factories in Plomari. The tourists
can be best informed about the history and the production of ouzo
at the Barbayianni distilleries, which are between Plomari and St.
Isidoros.
In Agora
(market) you may visit the Folklore Museum of Plomari. There you
can see many old objects and traditional uniforms.
Plomari
because of its small history doesn’t have many monuments, but it’s
worth finding out about its present!
Rest at
Platanos square, swim at the waters of Ammoudeli and St. Isidoros,
drink your ouzo at the taverns by the sea, walk around the markets
and as for your night amusement there are many clubs for you.
Transportation:
There is a bus many times each day for Mytilene, but there is no
bus for the villages of Plomari. If you want to take a taxi, you
‘ll find it in the main square, in front of the park. If you are
far away you may call the number: 2252033331.
Useful
phone numbers:
Police 2252032333
Health Centre 2252032151
Cultural Centre 2252032113
Town Hall 2252032200
Contactors 22514020555
Hotels:
Aegean Sun A´ 2252031829
Vicky A´ 2252032806
Sandy Bay A´ 2252032825
Akroyiali C´ 2252032811
Pebble Beach C´ 2252031651
Mandona C´ 2252031977
Sivilla C´ 2252031788
Okeanis C´ 2252032469
Sappho D´ 2252031338
Front Beach D´ 2252031938
Isidoros E´ 2252032749
It was
built after the destruction of Constantinoupolis. It was once the
biggest village in the area. It is also known as the old Plomari
because most of its inhabitants went to Plomari in the middle of
the 19th century. It is often called “Burned Village” since it was
burned down three times in the past from the pirates or from arsonists
(1843). Unfortunately its name was “confirmed” in the beginning
of the last decade, since it almost was burned twice. The second
and biggest fire burned thousands of fields and if the village still
exists it’s due to a miracle. Even though very few of the houses
were destroyed it was one of the biggest fires Greece has ever known.
Its rech vegitation made many people call it “Lesvos’ Switzerland”.
After the first houses, you will meet the church of St. Ioannis
with its paved with flagstones square, the high plane-tree, walnut-trees
and traditional Cafeneia. The temple of St. Ioannis was built in
1795. Its iconostasis is carved, just like in the other big church
of the village, Panayia (Mother Mary). The church is devoted to
Metaporphosi tou Kiriou, but the habitants celebrate in this church
the grace of Mother Mary, too. It was built in 1765 and on its carved
iconostasis are icons from the Bible. You can visit the churches
if you ask the villagers for the keys. Someone will lead you there.
Further you will find the Karidia (walnut-tree) square. The tree
which gave the name to the square does no longer exist. You will
only see a plane-tree that took its place. Megalohori is the highest
village of Lesvos (645 m). That explains the great number of sources
that it has (10). At the north of the village is an area called
Aklisid (small church) where are two small churches and a huge plane-tree.
In the centre of the village is the monument of Wise Veniamin the
Lesbian for whom every year Veniamineia Festival is organised.
The name
of Melinda comes ftom the latin word Milicia which means guard.
At the west side of the coast and by the sea, there is a rock called
“the marble of Godjili”. That is 10 metres high. On topo of it is
a flat space where the inhabitants used to go and guard the village.
You can go there if you wish but you should be very careful. At
the west side of Melinda relics and ancient objects were discovered.
You can take a boat from Melinda and go to Panayia Krifki (Hidden
Mary), a church which is literally hidden from human sight. You
will find it in a small bay next to warm sources. The church is
built inside a rock and it is really worth visiting it. You can
go there by your car (3 km) and you will have to continue for about
10 minutes on foot, but the road is very narrow and dangerous so
the speed shouldn’t overcome 10 km/h.
Playia
and Trigonas are 6km west of Plomari. Even though in ancient times
many people lived in this area, Playia was again inhabited in the
19th century. The first inhabitants came from Megalohori and built
the village on the slopes of three hills. The only building that
was not destroyed was the church of Agia Trias. The houses of Playia
are built very close to each other. It is traversed by two rivers
that meet in the centre of it. At the square are many traditional
Cafeneia which seem to bring back memories of the past. At the north
of the village you can see the church Ipapanti. At the centre is
the church of St. George Pazianos, who has lived in Playia. Trigonas
is a traditional village with many young people – in contrast with
other small villages. You should see its wonderful old houses and
buildings.
Following
the road at the west side of Plomari and turning right after 1.5
kilometres, you will see (after one kilometre) Kato Horio. It is
one of the oldest villages of the area. Until the middle of the
century it had many inhabitants. There were nine Cafeneia (cafe),
but today there is not even one and the habitants are few. Most
houses have fallen down and the few ones that haven’t seem to be
lost in the olive-trees, the lemon-trees and the orange-trees. As
you go north you see the church of St. Andreas, a very nice and
old church. You should visit the back of the church which is built
with carved stones. You should leave your car at the square of the
village. If you follow the road ath the left of the square (as you
come from Plomari) you will find Viglar (observatory) and the church
of Zoodochos Pigi. Otherwise, you ’ll find a square with the plane-tree
and the source of Kato Horio.
It is
17.5 km northwest of Plomari. It was firstly inhabited in the beginning
of 19th century by the Sotirhos family. The village is said to have
taken its name from the phrase Akra Sion (absolut silence), which
is a characteristic of the area where the village is built. The
wine of Akrasi is well known. Today, you can still see the half
stone wine-press. In the area of St. Antonios were found various
ancient objects and some of them are in Mytilene Museum. Some old
houses are very characteristic because on top of them there are
no tiles but white soil. The village’s school is now a museum, as
well, where you can see many folklore objects. The permanent inhabitants
are 250 but in the summer the number goes double. Akrasi is one
of the few exceptions of villages built on mountains that instead
of vanishing they grow. A reason to that is the road connection
with Mytilene (42 km, just like Plomari).
17.1 km
away from Plomari, neochori was inhabited by people from Megalohori.
In order to avoid pirates they built Boro in a place that couldn’t
be seen from the sea. The name Boro was taken from the salt left
by the water of the area on the rocks. In the 20th century Boro
was named Neohori. The plane-tree in the middle of the square grew
by a mistake. At first they planted a walnut-tree and they used
wood from a plane-tree to support it. But the plane-tree grew instead
of the walnut-tree. The churches of St. Ekaterini and Sts.Constantinos-Heleni
are worth to be visited. Another thing that is interesting is the
changing of colors on the village houses.
At first
Ambeliko was build in a beautiful place named Rougada, which had
the disadvantage to be seen from the sea. A pirates’ attack during
a wedding made its inhabitants to move at its present place. At
the centre of Ambeliko is a tower 26 metres high. A same tower is
in Vrisa (the village of Homeric Vrisiis). These towers were used
to inform the habitants of the pirates’ danger, so that the women
of the villages could hide at the Tsamlikia (refuges). All over
the village are pavings that lead to the church which is rebuilt
with love and effection by the priest. Near the church is the Folklore
Museum with objects used by the ancestors of the habitants and on
the secon floor there is a room where the habitants meet every Sunday
after the church attendance.
Two roads
are connecting Paleohori with Plomari. The first one is Megalohori
road which is 15 km, but it is better, and the second one is Melinda’s
road, which is 10.1 km. Paleohori is one of the oldest villages
in the area. In the beginning it was built in Melinda but the pirates
made the habitants leave and go to a place named Apethamenes, and
afterwards at Priones. Priones is at north and survival there was
difficult, so when there was no more the pirates’ danger, people
moved at its present place Merina, 1817, as it is written on the
Merina’s Source. The houses in the village are build very close
to each other like castle’s wall, so that they could defend themselves
from the possible attackers in the best way. The village’s church
is Evangelistria and it was built in 1864 in the place of a small
temple of St. Ioannis. In the west side of Paleohori is Vigla (ombservatory).
 
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