A TOUR IN MYTILENE BY MR. D. E. COLNAGHI, IN 1854.
On the 20th of April last, I made a little excursion on the northern coast of the island, accompanied by the dragoman of the Consulate. We slept the first night at Mandamatha, whence we proceeded to Molivo, taking Mount Lepethymnos in our route. We passed through the villages of Kappi, the inhabitants of which are chiefly Turks, and Gelia, where we took a guide for the ascent of Mount Lepethymnos. After climbing up a steep and stony road for about an hour, we reached the summit, which is formed of two peaks, of which the highest, according to the Admiralty chart, is 2,750 feet, rising like a tower out of the rest of the hill. Here is a little Greek chapel, but we looked in vain for any ancient remains.
On this mountain in antiquity was a temple dedicated to the hero Palamedes, who is said to have been buried here. A temple of Apollo and a shrine of the hero Lepethymnos also stood here.
The view from the summit is very fine, embracing in the distance Tenedos, Imbros, Lemnos, and Samothrace. On the south a foreground of bold mountain-lines shuts out from view Port Iero. On descending, we went to Molivo, whence, taking a boat, we rowed to a small rocky island opposite Petra, in the hope of identifying it with the ancient Antissa. Here, however, we could find no traces of an Hellenic occupation.
On the summit of the rock at Petra is a small church, in which is a curious mediæval bas-relief with a Byzantine inscription, of which the last word is BATATZI. Beneath are portraits of the person named in the inscription. On the right are his wife and child, on the left the Madonna and our Saviour. The Batatzi mentioned in the inscription may possibly be John Ducas Batatzis, who was Emperor at Constantinople from 1222 to 1255. Near the church is a fountain, and two or three houses inhabited by nuns. There is a fine view from the top of this rock. The women of Petra wear a curious old-fashioned head-dress, rising like a cone from the crown of the head. The face is bound round with a handkerchief.
