he Greek islands of Limnos and Samos.

Limnos

For lovers of Greek history, what better place than to visit the Limnos island!

Limnos is a volcanic island, and is believed to be the home of the god Hephaestus and his most important place of worship in ancient times. Homer teaches us that the island's inhabitants comprised of blacksmiths and the scholars of Hephaestus. Two of the island's cities, Mirina and Hephaistia, are believed to be extremely prosperous during antiquity.

The island is full of contrasts; hills, dark barren rocks, deep bays and peaceful beaches. Today, the island's capital, still called Mirina, or Kastro, sits at the back of the bay in exactly the same location as its ancient namesake. A Venetian castle presides over its characteristic captains' houses adorned with wooden balconies. Mirina has an important Archaeological Museum with finds from the region as well as from Hephaistia, Cabeiria and Poliochne. Representing every period from the prehistoric to the Hellenistic, they consist primarily of relief works, idols, pottery and sculptures.

The second largest town is Moudros, 25 kilometres east of Mirina, one of the safest anchorages in the Aegean. At Hephaistia, Limnos's leading city in antiquity, excavations have brought to light sanctuaries of the 5th and 4th century B.C. and the necropolis with Greek, Roman and Byzantine tombs. Three kilometres further north at a place called Chloe there are the Archaic and Hellenistic remains of the Sanctuary of the Cabeirians. East of Moudros near Kaminia you will find the ruins of ancient Poliochne, where seven successive settlements have been excavated, one dating back to the Neolithic, the others to the Early Bronze Age. Finally, north of Moudros is the site of the Byzantine state of Kotsika with its fortress. This is where Maroula, the heroine of Limnos, died fighting the Turks in 1478.

On the east side of the island, at Hortorolimni, there is a large stretch of marshland, a major habitat for rare birds.

To the east of Moudros is Polichni which has ruins of a neolithic town and the unusual sandy landscape known as the "Sahara of Limnos" can also be seen here stretching to the southernmost point of the island. The island with its genuine warmth which can be seen in its hospitable inhabitants, boasts some of the best hotel complexes found anywhere in the world, and promise vacations of a life

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