The Gera Vicinity

Gera is located in the south part of the island, 25 km from Mytilini. The area’s name comes from the bay by the same name. The Gera vicinity includes Mesagros, Skopelos, Palaiokipos, Papados, Plakados and Perama. There are many farmhouses, imposing neoclassical mansions, traditional homes built on hill slopes, all harmoniously set in the natural environment, a mix of all architectural styles evidenced on Lesvos.

Papados boasts of the Vranas Mansion, the home of the mother of poetry Nobel laureate Odysseus Elytis. It now serves as the Town Hall.

A little distance off we find Mesagros. There is a ruined mosque there. Only the minaret is intact and the image of the cross inside a crescent is impressive. Other worthwhile sites are the Zöodochos Pigi Church and the bakery with the Theophilos mural depicting the baking of bread.

Skopelos, the biggest of the Gera villages, is peculiarly impressive with its central square plane trees and its marble fountain. The “Lagoumia of Magdalene” should be mentioned, the extensive Early Christian catacomb right beneath the Church of Aghia Magdalene. The area is on the foot of Karyona, a lush-green hiker mountain, with vistas over Gera Bay.

Palaiokipos features the Aghios Ermolaos Church with its wood-carved altarpiece. There is an organized beach and a number of tourist accommodation facilities and restaurants.

Perama is the Gera port city and the standard commercial hub of this vicinity. There is ferry connection with the Koundouroudia coast across the bay. There is also the former Sourlanga tannery, the biggest one in the Balkans.