Any regular visitor to the Greek Islands will know there is little love lost between Greece and its close neighbour Turkey. Military boats and planes regularly patrol waters and airspace between the two countries. But, in a rare example of cooperation two companies, one Greek - one Turkish, have recently signed a deal to run a marina on the Greek island of Lesbos . . .

Scatterlight Donkeys & Foxballs Ice Cream is a book of photos and stories from Lesvos by Julie Smit and Jan van Lent with artwork by Jeroen Koster. Dutch residents of Molyvos, Julie Smit and Jan van Lent, clearly love the Greek island of Lesvos with a passion. Julie's stories about Lesvos life and Jan's striking photographs evoke a warmth for the island that no mere travel guide could ever match.

A 20 million-year-old forest on Lesvos holiday island has been declared the top European Geopark for 2011-2014. The Petrified Forest of Lesvos is considered an ideal example of how to run a geopark, according to the European Geopark Network (GNN). The Petrified Forest of Lesbos was formed from the fossilized remains of plants and is found in the far west of Lesbos island. Geopark experts toured the Lesvos island forest earlier this year.

Gay tourists are giving Greek Island holidays the thumbs down, according to the latest research into the Greek beach holiday tourism market. Greek island holidays on Lesbos and Mykonos beaches have been popular destinations with the gay tourist market for years, attracting thousands annually.
But latest research reveals a sharp fall in the numbers of gay tourists heading for Greek island beaches despite a 10% rise in in tourism in Greece.

Holidaymakers on Lesvos can drop into a series of cultural events at the end of July to mark the centenary of the birth of Nobel Literature Prize-winning poet Odysseas Elytis. Elytis, born Odysseas Alepoudelis in 1911 in Heraklion, Crete, is a descendant of Lesvos island's eminent Alepoudelis family and a major exponent of poetic modernism in Greece.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1979 for his works 'Axion Esti'.

The wetlands of Lesvos help make the island a favourite with birdwatchers who can combine their Greek island holiday with their favourite hobby. There are several important wetland areas in Lesvos but the Evergetoula area is probably of the greatest ecological significance.  The wetland is formed as the Evergetoulas River enters Dipi's marsh. The area is rich in fauna and many rare species can be found there. 

Geopark experts have arrived on the holiday island of Lesvos this week to study the petrified forest in the remote western region of Lesvos island. Park evaluation takes place every four years to ensure high quality standards of maintenance, infrastructure and the services. It also checks that parks meet the criteria of the World Geoparks Network under the auspices of UNESCO.The Petrified Forest of Lesvos was the first to be included in the European Geoparks Network in 2000.