Mytilene

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, currently on a campaign tour of Lesvos, met with Turkish tourists on the eastern Aegean island, which has seen a surge in visitors from the neighboring country following the implementation of the "visa-express" program.

Turkish tourists are flocking to Lesvos on the occasion of the seker bayrami holiday in Turkey, with more than 1,700 visitors arriving on five ships from Ayvali on the opposite coast on Thursday.

The visitors were welcomed at the port of Mytilene with ouzo, sweets and hats by representatives from the local municipality and other agencies.

The castle of the main town of Lesvos stands as an impressive testament to the north Aegean islands’ rich, dramatic…

Lesvos will launch fast-track visas for Turkish tourists from April 1st, the mayor of Mytilini Panagiotis Taktikos announced on Thursday. 

The announcement follows an agreement by Athens and Ankara, approved by the EU, to revive a previous scheme the special Schengen Express Visa program for Turkish citizens wishing to visit certain eastern Aegean islands.

Four Afghans who were sentenced to 10 years in prison for the fire at the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos in 2020 will be back in the dock on Monday for a second trial at the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal of the North Aegean.

The fire in the overcrowded camp, which housed four times its capacity, had started after riots on the night of September 8, 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Hellenic Coast Guard has been placed on alert due to a dramatic spike in migrant movements from Turkey to Greece's eastern Aegean islands in recent days.

The Catholic community in Mytilene on the island of Lesvos commemorated Saint Valentine in the "Frankoklisia" - the Catholic Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in the central market of the city.

What are believed to be the relics of St Valentine, patron saint of lovers around the world, have been kept in the Catholic church in Mytilene since 1908.

Greek authorities on Tuesday located 57 migrants and recovered the bodies of two individuals on a rocky shore along the northeastern coast of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean. One person was said to remain missing.

Greek authorities confirmed on Monday the identification of the body discovered at sea on Sunday as that of an Egyptian sailor from the crew of the sunken freighter Raptor. The vessel sank off the coast of Lesvos on Sunday morning, leaving 12 out of the 14 crew members still missing.

A large amount of waste was collected and removed last week from Kalloni Bay in Mytilini by divers from the environmental organization iSea and the Department of Oceanography of the University of the Aegean, the municipality of Western Lesvos, and volunteers.

The action aimed at raising awareness of marine pollution issues.