 Sappho Studios lie in Varia area, Mytilini and offers the visitor to the capital of the island easy access to all bars, restaurants, shops and nightlife as well as the museums and places of interest. If you are traveling by ferry or plane and want a 'stop-over' the Sappho offers you comfort combined with ease.
The basic element that dominates to the Varia area is relaxed rhythms of life. Although the area is not far away from Mytilene, its architectural style divides it from the capital and so it is characterized as Mytilene' s suburb.
Not far away from the Sappho Studios, another suburb with a unique cultural history, with the museums of the famous Lesbian painters: Theophilos Chatzimichael -folk painter -, of modern art and the library of the art-critic Stratis Eleftheriadis - Terriade, including precious works of art (Picasso, Shagal, Mattes, Tsarouchis and other's).
As going upwards you can visit the villages of Taxiarchis, Ayia Marina and Pligoni. Each one is unique. For instance, Taxiarchis village is situated on the eastern slopes of Mt Amali, having fantastic view of the Aegean Sea.
It is surrounded by a huge rock on the top of which Taxiarchis (Archangel Gabriel) church is built. It is a Byzantine church built during the years 1903-1958 and has replaced an older and smaller one.
A rare fresco of Taxiarchis has been rescued (painted in the 17th century , which today is being exhibited inside an iconostasis.
At the village's market you can see an old fountain constructed in 1753 and renovated in 1875. Also worth seeing are the underground springs at the small church of Ayia Thekla with arches constructed by tiles. There you find the post-Byzantine church of Panayia Potamoussa and the cave of Ayios Vartholomeos (at Loutra site).
Afterwards the road guides us to the village of Ayia Marina with old and picturesque little stone-paved streets. There you can visit the three-isled Byzantine church of Ayia Marina -built in 1797- and that has been characterized as an archaeological area.
After Varia you meet Neapoli and Kratigos area : the airport, fantastic beaches, pubs and various accommodations. You have to notice that during the construction of the airport ruins of ancient (Hellenistic) temples and Byzantine churches were brought to light. It's very possible that here the ancient temple of god Apollo had been built as the Greek historian Thouckidides describes in his historic manuscripts.
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