The Lefkas region and it's culture

Lefkas Island

The un spoilt and truly exquisite Greek Island of Lefkada is brimming with traditional charm and holiday appeal. Huge white rocks form an intense landscape which is softened by an array of lush green valleys, clear blue waters and stunning long sandy beaches. The low-lying east coast of Lefkas is home to an abundance of leisure facilities and picturesque views while the west - rugged and open - promises azure sea and fabulous stretches of sand which are a magnet for the more adventurous sun, sea and sand worshipers.

Greek Cuisine

Lefkas is a good place for those who love food and drink. Tavernas can be found in every resort, offering a mouth watering selection of fish and meat dishes. Or try a 'meze ' - a traditional way of sampling all the Greek Island flavours at one sitting. As to be expected, locally-caught fresh seafood is an excellent dish. Wind down at an outdoor table, sip on an ouzo and enjoy the reasonable prices that the island has to offer.

History & Culture

Archaeological evidence points to that Lefcas has been inhabited since the Stone Age (4th Millennium BC). According to mythology, the island was given by Odysseus father to Penelopes father as a wedding gift. The cliffs of the island were a "favourite" suicide spot for people with broken hearts, and some legends claim that it was here, and not on Lesbos, that Sappho jumped to her death after her love for a sailor had not been returned.

The people on the island separated the island from the mainland by making a canal in the 7th century BC. In the 4th century BC the Macedonians conquered Lefcas, and the Romans invaded in in 2nd century BC.

The island went through many wars and attacks from nations and pirates, and in 1204 it fell under Frankish rule. The Turks took the island in 1479 and after constant battles with the Venetians, the island changed rulers several times, but the Turks lasted the longest and stayed until 1684.

What followed would again be years of different rulers, constantly changing hands. The Venetians succeeded the Turks, and was then forced to give the island back to them. At the end of the 18th century the Napoleon armies invaded, then the Russians came, only to be followed by the British in 1810 for five years. Lefcas remained a British protectorate, though, until 1864.`

Quite a few famous Greeks were born on Lefkas, but they are not so well known abroad. The one you are most likely to have heard of is Aggelos Sikelianos (1884-1951), nominated for the Nobel literary prize twice.

Tourism came in the 1960's, when the international press gathered on the island to be close to the shipping magnate Onassis and his wife Jackie.