Sigri is the land that time forgot, one of the most remote tourist destination in Greece. It is a small fishing village on the western edge of the island of Lesvos in the northeast Aegean.
The quiet village, clinging to the steep ridge, overlooks a beautiful bay, sheltered by a long island called Nisiopi. The bay is miles wide and winds come down from the Black Sea even when the sea is flat a few miles away. With the northerlies you can experience big wave in the channel between the Bay and Niosipi island. The South cove give the best protection from Meltemi and the swell. Drop the anchor at the limit of the swimming area closer to the village on a patch of sand. The north bay is exposed to Meltemi, you could find some sort of protection in the port. No ferries connect Sigri to the rest of the world.
Sigri is off track from the mass tourism, as it can be reached only by road: from Mytilini it is about 90 kilometres and from Molyvos about 55 kilometres. The village offers good accommodations, some restaurants, two mini markets , a bakery, a vegetable shop and a butcher. The beaches are beautiful, long and wild.
The Turkish Castle is probably the towns most impressive man-made feature. Built in 1746 by the Sultan Mehmet I, this fortress protected the harbor. The castle is built on the foundations of an earlier Genoese fortress. The stones come from quarries in Sarmaisakh, Turkey, paid for by heavy taxes levied upon the Christian inhabitants of this part of the island.
The square church of Agia Triada dates from 1870, it was originally built as a mosque, but unlike other mosques which face Mecca, it faces east. Until 1922 most of the inhabitants in the village were muslim, but in the population exchange in that year (the Turks went to Turkey and Greeks who lived in Turkey came to Greece), their place was taken by Greek inhabitants from the island of Tenedos. When the Turkish people left in 1922, they took the icons of the church with them. In the absence of a tower the bells were hung in a staircase.
The most known fact about Sigri is the Petrified Forest, at about 7 km from the village. However, on the island of Nissiopi there is a large amount of petrified trees.
The most important unknown fact about Sigri is the wind which keeps this part of Lesvos cool when the rest of the island is hot.
22 июн 2024
