In the southern part of Mytilini in modern times lived the Orthodox Greeks (70%). During the 19th c the southern port became the big transport harbor. Buildings in the "European style" express the cosmopolitan character of the town in that period. And it is true that Mytilini, still part of the Ottoman Empire in the 19thc used to be a gate from the Orient to Europe.

According to the Russian-Turkish treaty after the war, the orthodox community was now allowed to build churches and schools. Agios Therapon (14) with its renaissance influenced style expresses the economical power of the Greek majority in the 19th century