2 Best Sights in Mytilini, The Northern Aegean Islands

The enormous five-domed post-Baroque church of Agios Therapon, completed in 1935, was designed by architect Argyris Adalis, an islander who studied under Ernst Ziller, the prolific architect of so many of the municipal buildings in Athens. The church is dedicated to St. Therapon, whose name means "healer," and it has been visited by many people who came to Lesvos to recuperate from illness. It has an ornate interior, a frescoed dome, and there is a Byzantine museum in the courtyard that is filled with religious icons.

The pine-covered headland between the bays of Mytilini town supports an ancient castle and fortress, with many intact walls that seem to protect the town even today. It was built by the Byzantines on the site of an ancient acropolis possibly dating to 600 BC; the remains of a temple to Apollo and sanctuary dedicated to Demeter have been unearthed. Destroyed during battles with the Romans, it was then repaired using available materials by Francesco Gattilusio of the powerful Genoese family—note the ancient carved marble crammed here and there between stones. Finally, it fell into the hands of the Ottomans, who expanded the castle and created new buildings including a madrasa (religious school) and Turkish hammams. Most intriguing, perhaps, is the temple at the center believed to be the original acropolis: it was first a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter, then repurposed as a church, then later as a mosque. Look above the gates for the two-headed eagle of the Palaiologos emperors, the horseshoe arms of the Gattilusio family, and Arabic inscriptions made by Ottoman Turks.