Ioannina

Set atop a 100-metre cliff overlooking the Lake Pamvotida, the capital of Epirus contains an old town with an intriguing history. The city gained prominence in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as the seat of an almost independent state ruled by Ali Pasha of Tepeleni, who successfully rebelled against the central government of the Ottoman Empire, and kept fighting until the end, but was killed by Ottoman soldiers during the siege of his fortress in January 1822, and his head cut off to be sent to Sultan Mahmud II. His grave still stands inside the ancient citadel (the Kastro) and has became a popular tourist attraction.

Ioannina was also a significant trade center, hosting a Greek-speaking Jewish community observing their own tradition and religious rituals. They were neither Ashkenazi, nor Sephardic, but rather indigenous Jews of Greece who have lived on Greek soil for over 2,300 years. At the beginning of the 20th century these Hellenized Jews, known as "Romaniotes" immigrated to the US, mostly to the Lower East Side of New York City, where their little synagogue in Broome St. has remained unchanged from 1927. In March 1944, the Jewish Community of Ioannina was rounded up and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Today the community numbers fewer than 50 members, most of them elderly.

The city is small enough to travel through via foot.

• 🌍 Castle (Greek: Kastro). The old town surrounded by tall defensive walls overhanging the lake Pamvotida. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Archaeological Museum, 6, "25 Martiou" Square. It presents many of the findings from the excavations at Dodona area (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina, 8, Noutsou Str. Housed in the Mosque of Ali Pasha. The museum collections include craft of local silversmiths, guns, Epirote costumes, rugs and tapestries. The mosque dates from 1618 and still retains its decoration as well as a tall mihrab pointing towards Mecca (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Byzantine Museum. Collections of sculptures, icons and other artifacts retrieved from ruined churches and monasteries in Epirus countryside and housed in the inner fortress (Turkish: İçkale), where Ali Pasha built his palace. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Fethiye Mosque. The graves of Ali Pasha and his first wife are located inside the mosque. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Islet of Ioannina (Nissi). It is the only inhabited islet in the lake Pamvotida , with around 200 inhabitants. Green and peaceful, dotted with Byzantine monasteries, the islet can be reached by a 20-minute boat ride from Ioannina 🌍 Fishers Wharf. Its main attraction is the 16th-century Pandelimonos Monastery, now the Ali Pasha Museum, where the pasha was killed on January 17, 1822. (updated Feb 2016)

• Football: PAS Giannina FC play soccer in Superleague, the Greek top tier. Their home ground Zosimades Stadium (capacity 7000) is central in town.

Ioannina is well known for its production of hand-made silver crafts. There are about 90 workshops in the city. Prices are quite high but can drop considerably as vendors expect a bit of bargaining.

• 🌍 Toros Steakhouse. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Stoa Louli, 78, Anexartisias St., ☏ +30 2651 071322. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Mystagogia, 44, Koundouriotou St., ☏ +30 26510 65325, +30 6977 748479 (mobile), +30 6972 871031 (mobile). (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Nousia, 1, "Konstantinou Karamanli" Str. (updated Feb 2016)
• 🌍 Fysa roufa (Φύσα ρούφα), Averof, ☏ +302561026262. Daily 07:00-23:30. From €9 per person. (updated Aug 2019)

Many hotels and bars have wifi connections or you can use Instabridge application for finding available wifi connections.

• Zagori – Impressive landscape with high mountains, dense barely inhabited forests and impressive gorges and the wild beauty of the Zagoria mountain villages.
• Gjirokastër – A town and a UNESCO world heritage site in Southern Albania.
• Arta village
• Dodoni village
• Konitsa
• Metsovo
• Corfu island