Plomari is a harbor town of southern Lesvos and famous for its ouzo. There are 3 to 5 bus connections per day to and from Mytilene town (fewer during the weekend).
In the photo right are the typical houses of Plomari, which have a sort of bay window or covered terrace on the first or second floor.
Plomari used to be in mountains. The inhabitants decided to abandon the original site and moved to the seaside because of devastating fires between 1841 and 1843. The original site is now a small village called Megalohori.
A square with a huge plane tree and tavernes around it.
During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of 20th, Plomari florished as an industrial center producing ouzo, soap, olive oil, and talc. Since then most of the industry, except for ouzo distilleries, declined, but it is still a lively town. During the two days we stayed, there was a summer festival and many people were gathering not only Plomari, but from surrounding area.
A Turkish fountain in central Plomari. The tap might have installed in later date, but the inscription in Arabic script shows cleary its origin.
We visited the Folklore Museum near this fountain. It is free entrance, but not so many things to see. The presentation of a traditional room with furnishings was pretty.
We stayed in a holiday village called Agios Isidoros, about 2 km east of Plomari. It has a long sandy beach and full of hotels. If your primary purpose is the beach, it might be better to stay here than in Plomari itself.
This is the hotel we stayed:
http://www.mirsinihotel.com/ . It is a new and clean hotel, but we had some problem with reservation record. I recommend you to keep the reservation record in writing either by fax or e-mail.
This is Agios Isidoros beach in the evening.
It is a really beautiful beach with warm water, both for families and young people.
Two examples of Plomari ouzo. I think the left one can be readily found also in Athens.
Reference
- Lesvos : the island of Sappho. Tourbis: Koropi (Athens). 1997, pp. 76-79.
- Lesvos Guide. Empros Newspaper: Kara Tepé (Mytilene), [2008?], p. 102-106.
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