Panagiouda, Lesbos

The coastal village Panagiouda (el:Παναγιούδα/Panayouδa (Panayoudha) ) is at the east coasts of Lesvos island, 6 km north of Mytilene city, it has 705 inhabitants (2001) who are mostly fishers. You can taste there delicious local food and especially fish and sea food at some fish taverns. There are also some cafeterias for your coffee time and few buildings-sights such as the church of the Holy Virgin, the renewed old olive-oil factories and some paved streets.

The settlement constracted after the big earthquake on 1867 by Afalonas inhabitants who they abandoned their destroyed houses, so they constracted in the new area named "Vounari" their first forty houses in 1874, as a resault to give names at the settlement such as Neochorion or Neos Afalon (New Afalonas).

The settlement Kalamiaris at the north of Panagiouda is the born place of Odysseas Elytis father named "Panayotis Alepoudhellis". There is also the magnificent Panayoudha palm forest consists of Phoenix canariensis palms, and three floured tower-houses of the early period of the 20th century.

The name of the village comes from the name of the Holy Virgin ("Panayia") church there is and it means "Small Holy Virgin" (Panayia = Panayoudha). The church had been constructed by the great local architect Arghiris Adhalis in 1896 and it is dedicated to the Holy Virgin's Birthday.

On the period after the Minor Asia's destruction in 1924, there were the inhabitation by one hundred emigrated people from the opposite Minor Asia's coasts, who created the "Ikismos Alieon" which could had been translated as "Fishers Settlement".

Text resources

Translated some paragraphs from the Greek text on: [http://www.mytilini.gr/panagiouda.asp]