It was raining and windy when the boat docked in Mytellini last week but immediately I felt I was back in Europe. Even though Greece is going through a financial crisis, and Turkey has a decent economy, the two countries are worlds apart. Greece is modern, Turkey is teetering between yesterday and today. Just as few speak anything but Turkish in Istanbul and everywhere I have traveled, almost all the Greeks I met on Lesvos are multilingual.
It was 8 pm when I emerged from customs and my Seattle friend Dvorah was waiting outside the building with a rented car. Being greeted by a familiar face, devouring delicious Greek food and speaking the language, made this a real homecoming. We drove on winding mountain roads, rarely seeing a sign as we made our way to the village of Molyvos in the dark. This was a beautiful old town of stone houses, cobblestone streets, built on a mountain, and staring down at the sea. Idyllic, and peaceful, a great escape from the crowds in Istanbul and the misery in Africa.
Almost everywhere on the island are olive trees, goats and cows so there is an abundance of delicious olives, olive oil and yogurt. Among connoisseurs of this fermented milk product, the finest is sheep’s yogurt from Greece. The world has bought into the low fat, no fat yogurt conspiracy especially when artificial sweeteners are added and the flavor is bastardized. But here in Lesvos, the yogurt, made in the villages, is cured in ceramic bowls and sold in grocery stores. For the price of two euro, you even get the bowl. Thick like pea soup, rich like sour cream, and full of good bacteria, Greek yogurt is the best I have ever eaten.
Asking around about the financial crisis, most people on the island seem to be surviving, with tourism; restaurants, hotels, rooms to let, car and motorcycle rentals and shops selling crafts and jewelry. But I was told the hardship was in Athens, with 3 million residents, over 33% of the population, and in cities on the mainland with 25% unemployment and a youth unemployment of 50%. How do these people survive? Besides the corruption in the government, the wealthiest Greeks pay no tax; their money is in off shore accounts.
Another crisis plaguing the Greek islands off the western coast of Turkey are the boatloads of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Lesvos, Chios, Samos and Rhodes. I had walked down to the fishing port on Molyvos to see a friend at the exact moment the coast guard was loading into a police van twenty or more people who had just been rescued from a small dingy. The Dutch woman I had met at her shop explained that this was a daily occurrence. Many of these boats are coming from the Turkish coast, so the Turks have some involvement in smuggling operation. The refugees cross the Syrian border in southern Turkey. Having spoken to some of them, she said the Syrian and Iraqi refugees seem to be educated and speak English, the Afghans and Africans do not.
I am still trying to find out what happens to all these boat people after they
Interviewed by the authorities. When I go to Chios next week, I will do some more
research .
The weather had turned spring like within a day of arriving on Lesvos so the skies were blue, the sunlight brilliant and the ocean warm enough sometimes to take a cold swim. The island is known for its mineral springs. Not a fancy modern spa but a simple pool in a small building on the beach near Molyvos town, the waters at Effalou were hot, at least 46 C or 114F. I went with a horrendous head and neck ache and left feeling rejuvenated and 20 years younger.
I finally took the plunge on my last visit, and swam in the 66 degree sea after submerged in the very hot hot springs. By the time I left Lesvos Sunday night I was almost sad I had to go back to Istanbul to meet my friend arriving from Seattle. After ten hours on a bus back to Istanbul from Ayvalik, I decided flying is the way to get around Turkey, even with the free snacks, wifi and t.v. on the buses. But soon enough I would question my decision.
It was raining and windy when the boat docked in Mytellini last week but immediately I felt I was back in Europe. Even though Greece is going through a financial crisis, and Turkey has a decent economy, the two countries are worlds apart. Greece is modern, Turkey is teetering between yesterday and today. Just as few speak anything but Turkish in Istanbul and everywhere I have traveled, almost all the Greeks I met on Lesvos are multilingual.
It was 8 pm when I emerged from customs and my Seattle friend Dvorah was waiting outside the building with a rented car. Being greeted by a familiar face, devouring delicious Greek food and speaking the language, made this a real homecoming. We drove on winding mountain roads, rarely seeing a sign as we made our way to the village of Molyvos in the dark. This was a beautiful old town of stone houses, cobblestone streets, built on a mountain, and staring down at the sea. Idyllic, and peaceful, a great escape from the crowds in Istanbul and the misery in Africa.
Almost everywhere on the island are olive trees, goats and cows so there is an abundance of delicious olives, olive oil and yogurt. Among connoisseurs of this fermented milk product, the finest is sheep’s yogurt from Greece. The world has bought into the low fat, no fat yogurt conspiracy especially when artificial sweeteners are added and the flavor is bastardized. But here in Lesvos, the yogurt, made in the villages, is cured in ceramic bowls and sold in grocery stores. For the price of two euro, you even get the bowl. Thick like pea soup, rich like sour cream, and full of good bacteria, Greek yogurt is the best I have ever eaten.
Asking around about the financial crisis, most people on the island seem to be surviving, with tourism; restaurants, hotels, rooms to let, car and motorcycle rentals and shops selling crafts and jewelry. But I was told the hardship was in Athens, with 3 million residents, over 33% of the population, and in cities on the mainland with 25% unemployment and a youth unemployment of 50%. How do these people survive? Besides the corruption in the government, the wealthiest Greeks pay no tax; their money is in off shore accounts.
Another crisis plaguing the Greek islands off the western coast of Turkey are the boatloads of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Lesvos, Chios, Samos and Rhodes. I had walked down to the fishing port on Molyvos to see a friend at the exact moment the coast guard was loading into a police van twenty or more people who had just been rescued from a small dingy. The Dutch woman I had met at her shop explained that this was a daily occurrence. Many of these boats are coming from the Turkish coast, so the Turks have some involvement in smuggling operation. The refugees cross the Syrian border in southern Turkey. Having spoken to some of them, she said the Syrian and Iraqi refugees seem to be educated and speak English, the Afghans and Africans do not.
I am still trying to find out what happens to all these boat people after they
Interviewed by the authorities. When I go to Chios next week, I will do some more
research .
The weather had turned spring like within a day of arriving on Lesvos so the skies were blue, the sunlight brilliant and the ocean warm enough sometimes to take a cold swim. The island is known for its mineral springs. Not a fancy modern spa but a simple pool in a small building on the beach near Molyvos town, the waters at Effalou were hot, at least 46 C or 114F. I went with a horrendous head and neck ache and left feeling rejuvenated and 20 years younger.
I finally took the plunge on my last visit, and swam in the 66 degree sea after submerged in the very hot hot springs. By the time I left Lesvos Sunday night I was almost sad I had to go back to Istanbul to meet my friend arriving from Seattle. After ten hours on a bus back to Istanbul from Ayvalik, I decided flying is the way to get around Turkey, even with the free snacks, wifi and t.v. on the buses. But soon enough I would question my decision.
