When I was in Mytilini for the very first time in the summer of 2007, someone I met in the town told me no visit to the island of Lesvos is complete without a visit to the village of Molivos, located on the northern side of the island. So I took a bus from the bus station in the centre of Mytilini to find out what is so special about this village.
As soon as I got off the bus stop outside the entrance to the village, I was dumbstruck by the beauty of this village. The entire old town is out of bound to traffics after mid-day, and the traditional stone houses lined the slopes of the hillside, crowned with an impressive castle on the top of the hill. There is no high-rise buildings, no concrete eye-sore, as strict building and planning regulations ensure that all houses must be built or renovated in line with the guidelines laid out by the town council in order to preserve the uniformity of the appearance of buildings in Molivos.
It is this adherence to uniformity in outlook that gives Molivos its picture-perfect image. As soon as you enter the old town, walk around its cobblestone streets and narrow lanes, it is like a trip back to the early 20th century, when cars and aluminum door frames still did not become an integrated part of daily life. The houses are very well preserved by all standards, and the quiet, gentle atmosphere reminds me of some of those beautiful hill villages in France's Provence and Languedoc regions.
But in my eyes, Molivos is more beautiful and attractive than the French provencal villages, in part because of Molivos' proximity to the sea. From the castle, Molivos offers arguably one of the best views of the Aegean. The Turkish coast around the ancient town of Assos-Behramkale is visible on a clear day, while the bay of Petra is just right in front of your eyes when you turn your sights around to the other direction.
Following that unfortgettable first encounter with Molivos, I kept the vivid memories of this delightful little hill village with me until my return visit in the summer of 2011. Four years on, little has changed in Molivos. The same vivacity of colour, and that trademark subtle yet elegant ambience still permeates the environs of this village. This time round, as soon as I arrived at Molivos, I head straight to the cliffside restaurant with the best seaviews in town and chose a table at its open seaview terrace, before the place became really crowded in the evening. I had wanted to have lunch at this fabulous place last time round, but did not manage to do it at the end, so I made it a top priority this time to ensure I do not leave Molivos empty-handed.
This beautiful restaurant, housed in several adjacent pastel coloured houses built along the edge of the steep cliffs overlooking the bay of Petra, offers innovative fusion style Mediterranean cuisines amid one of the most dream-like settings to be found across the entire Aegean sea. Tables on the outdoor terraces are the perfect place for a romantic candlelight dinner for two. As I did not have lunch that day, I decided to have an early dinner instead, in order to avoid the dinner party crowd that inevitably appear after 7pm each evening.
What more can one ask for in life, with delicious grilled juicy tender loins seasoned with soya sauce and fresh herbs, followed by a glass of sweet muscatel from the island of Samos?
Barely before I could finish my dinner - it was a huge portion - the terrace was already quite full with diners waiting to enjoy their dinner against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Mediterranean region. As the sky turned from blue to a mixture of pink, orange, indigo, marine blue and dark blue, it is time to take a walk around the streets right next to the little fishing harbour of Molivos and find a place for a cocktail or some coffee.
Instead of a luxury yacht marina so commonly seen elsewhere on many Greek holiday islands, Molivos has just a fully operational fishing harbour, with real fishing boats anchored inside the breakwaters and fishermen busy preparing their boats and their nets for the evening trips out to the sea to catch the local speciality - sun-dried octopus. Everywhere around the harbour of Molivos one sees hundreds of octopuses being hung on lines to be dried in the sun. I am not a fan of seafood, but according to some locals, octopuses from the waters around the island of Lesvos are of exceptional quality and rank amongst the most popular snack to go along with ouzo. They are served in a variety of ways: grilled, fried, with tomato sauce, without tomato sauce, steeped in vinegar and olive oil, or just plain. In fact, the island of Levos is so proud of its octopus connection, every year in August several villages on Lesvos stage a Octopus Festival which lasted several days, with plenty of octopus-related food, drinks and lots of fun on offer.
It is always an exciting experience to walk around the harbour front of Molivos during dinner times, and have a look at all the exciting dishes the chefs of the restaurants and taverns that lined the pretty harbour of Molivos try their best to concoct. In addition to octopus, Lesvos is also very well known among the Greeks for its fresh fish, its meat dishes and its olives. Meal time on Lesvos is almost always the highlight of the day, as I try my best to try out different dishes at different places whenever I found myself on the island. And the joie de vivre that profuses the slightly salty warm air of summer nights in Molivos is dangerously contagious; it gets under your skin, makes you feel highly charged, and intoxicate your mind. Such is the magic of this most enchanting place in northern Aegean, it makes you feel so much alive, so enamoured, that you want to stay out all night long, sing out loud and dance tip-toed on the street.
And it is not just tourists who hang out all night at the ouzo bars and taverns next to the harbour of Molivos; local residents also emerge from their homes after dinner for some street chats and more post-dinner drinks. I remember exactly how this thriving night life and amazingly surreal scene of 'carpe diem' caught up on me back in the summer of 2007: I was calling a friend from the public phone booth located right at the corner of the harbour, and the phone conversation was punctuated with repeated exclamations to the likes of 'oh this place is really nice!', 'the views are so beautiful', 'this place is so beautiful'. So often do these words appear in the phone conversation, that my friend wondered if I were intoxicated already by 8pm.
By all means try to spend at least a couple of days staying in Molivos if you want to enjoy the essence of life in this beautiful village to its fullest. Take a seat at one of the seaside cafes next to the little fishing harbour, order a drink, sit back and admire the illuminated castle that perched on top of Molivos like a piece of golden tiara. This is by far the most unfortgettable seaside place in the entire northern Aegean area, and is undoubtedly the Crown Princess of the Aegean Villages.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
Barely before I could finish my dinner - it was a huge portion - the terrace was already quite full with diners waiting to enjoy their dinner against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Mediterranean region. As the sky turned from blue to a mixture of pink, orange, indigo, marine blue and dark blue, it is time to take a walk around the streets right next to the little fishing harbour of Molivos and find a place for a cocktail or some coffee.
Instead of a luxury yacht marina so commonly seen elsewhere on many Greek holiday islands, Molivos has just a fully operational fishing harbour, with real fishing boats anchored inside the breakwaters and fishermen busy preparing their boats and their nets for the evening trips out to the sea to catch the local speciality - sun-dried octopus. Everywhere around the harbour of Molivos one sees hundreds of octopuses being hung on lines to be dried in the sun. I am not a fan of seafood, but according to some locals, octopuses from the waters around the island of Lesvos are of exceptional quality and rank amongst the most popular snack to go along with ouzo. They are served in a variety of ways: grilled, fried, with tomato sauce, without tomato sauce, steeped in vinegar and olive oil, or just plain. In fact, the island of Levos is so proud of its octopus connection, every year in August several villages on Lesvos stage a Octopus Festival which lasted several days, with plenty of octopus-related food, drinks and lots of fun on offer.
It is always an exciting experience to walk around the harbour front of Molivos during dinner times, and have a look at all the exciting dishes the chefs of the restaurants and taverns that lined the pretty harbour of Molivos try their best to concoct. In addition to octopus, Lesvos is also very well known among the Greeks for its fresh fish, its meat dishes and its olives. Meal time on Lesvos is almost always the highlight of the day, as I try my best to try out different dishes at different places whenever I found myself on the island. And the joie de vivre that profuses the slightly salty warm air of summer nights in Molivos is dangerously contagious; it gets under your skin, makes you feel highly charged, and intoxicate your mind. Such is the magic of this most enchanting place in northern Aegean, it makes you feel so much alive, so enamoured, that you want to stay out all night long, sing out loud and dance tip-toed on the street.
And it is not just tourists who hang out all night at the ouzo bars and taverns next to the harbour of Molivos; local residents also emerge from their homes after dinner for some street chats and more post-dinner drinks. I remember exactly how this thriving night life and amazingly surreal scene of 'carpe diem' caught up on me back in the summer of 2007: I was calling a friend from the public phone booth located right at the corner of the harbour, and the phone conversation was punctuated with repeated exclamations to the likes of 'oh this place is really nice!', 'the views are so beautiful', 'this place is so beautiful'. So often do these words appear in the phone conversation, that my friend wondered if I were intoxicated already by 8pm.
By all means try to spend at least a couple of days staying in Molivos if you want to enjoy the essence of life in this beautiful village to its fullest. Take a seat at one of the seaside cafes next to the little fishing harbour, order a drink, sit back and admire the illuminated castle that perched on top of Molivos like a piece of golden tiara. This is by far the most unfortgettable seaside place in the entire northern Aegean area, and is undoubtedly the Crown Princess of the Aegean Villages.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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