Roundup: International Women's Festival opens in tiny village on Greek island

More than 1,000 women from all over the world gathered in Eresos, a small village on the Greek island of Lesvos on Saturday to participate in the 16th Women's Festival which is held every September.

Ioanna Savva, the organizer of the festival, told Xinhua that this year's festival, which runs till Sept. 17, is the biggest one since 2000. The events include women-only walks, sunset cruises, boat trips to hot springs, drumming workshops, beach volleyball, DJs and live music, Greek dance classes and film screenings, said Savva.

About 90 km away from Mytilini and with a permanent population of about 1,200, Eresos has a rich tradition in arts and literature with its economy based on agriculture and tourism.

"Every event is put on by women, and for women," Gina Hendrix from the Netherlands explained to Xinhua. The festival takes place at the end of summer when the nights are still warm.

Its 2.5 km long sandy beach and the deep-blue sea combined with the exceptional tourist services make Eresos one of Lesvos's main tourist spots.

"This year has been really difficult for local tourism due to the refugee situation," said Savva, referring to the refugees and migrants that have crossed the island whose photos have become known worldwide.

However, women from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United States, France and Norway came to this international event, and all the local stores looking forward to their arrival, have created a really hospitable place for them.

Social Anthropology Professor Venetia Kantsa said that Eresos is "a place with female energy, a place where lesbian women gather to pay tribute to Sappho."

Eresos is considered to be the birthplace of the great poet of antiquity. Since the end of the 1970s, a fairly large number of lesbian women have visited Eresos, which has become known as a meeting point for lesbian women from all over the world during the summer.

"A seasonal lesbian community is re-created every summer, a community with its own territorial and symbolic boundaries, a community differentiated over time," Kantsa said.

Panagiota Teloniati, a local restaurant owner said the annual festival is a boost to the local economy especially this summer as tourist arrivals have decreased. Endit