Greece’s relations with Turkey may be at crossroads again, but the civil society, local authorities and the tourism industry on the both sides of the Aegean work for friendship and cooperation. In this context, the first ship connecting the city of Izmir with the island of Lesvos arrived at the port of Mytilene on May 30, 2022. The Izmir-Lesvos maritime connection is the last added to those already existing between the islands of Chios and Cesme, Kos and Bodrum and other islands of the eastern Aegean Sea.
The Catamaran owned by the shipping company of the Municipality of Izmir had its test drive on Monday. Following the necessary inspections by the Greek port authorities, the ship will start its Izmir-Lesvos routes on June 17, 2022.
Itineraries will come from Izmir on Fridays and Sundays, initially carrying tourists from Izmir only. As of July the connection process with the tickets system will be completed and also tourists from Lesvos will be able to visit Izmir.
The Catamaran will dock at two Lesvos ports, the one of Mytilene and the Plomari with the latter expected to open on June 24.
The route lasts 2 hours and 40 minutes and the boat has a capacity of 440 people.
Ticket price at 85 euros including return.
The route will run through the summer 2022.
At a meeting of delegations of the two municipalities, the president of the Izmir Municipality shipping company Osman Hakan Ersen spoke about “the good neighborhood that must be between neighbors and the bodies on both sides work for peace in the Aegean.”
Mayor of Mytilene, Stratis Kytelis stressed “with the mayor of Izmir we build bridges between the two municipalities and between our people. Local authorities can and have the power to make this happen.”
People from Lesvos and Izmir will have the opportunity to visit the two areas respectively and enjoy a pleasant sailing trip.
At least on the Turkish side there is a lot of interest for travelers to visit the island of Lesvos.
sources: stonisi, lesvosnews.net
