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It is the largest city and capital of the Epirus region of Greece. Yet, most people outside of Greece have no idea where to find Ioannina.
Part of the reason is most Americans do not know Greece’s mainland unless it is a day outing from Athens. And so many are missing that area as well.
In the mountainous northwest region of Greece, more than 1600 feet above sea level is this magical land. Draw a line from Meteora to the Ionian island of Corfu, and it is in the middle.
Ancient Ioannina
In a country with so much ancient history, Ioannina does not fall into this category.
The area of Epirus has relics dating back to the Paleolithic period (circa 18,000 B.C.) in a nearby cave. These include cave paintings.
Artifacts from the area date back to 1600 B.C. and are now in the archeological museums of Ioannina and Athens
Then, in the middle of nowhere, there is Dodona.
Not only is it ancient Greek, but, at its time, it was an extremely important Greek location. Here was the Oracle of Zeus.
It may be older than the Delphi Oracle of Apollo. The Dodona oracle was dedicated to Zeus and Dione, a Titan and possible first wife of Zeus.
The presence of the Zeus oracle appears to begin in the 8th century B.C. Worshipping will go on until the tearing down of Pagan temples by Emperor Theodosius circa 391 A.D.
Greek accounts talk about the Romans seizing a Molossis city by the name Tecmon in this area circa 167 B.C.
Archeologists have found other Molossians settlements in the area but no sign of Tecmon.
Not so Ancient Ioannina.
There are writings that the Byzantine emperor Justinian I rebuilt the defense walls for the town of Euroia in this area circa 6th century A.D. But like Tecmon, there is no concrete (stone) evidence of this settlement.
Finally, around 879 A.D., the name Ioannina appears in the writing of the Fourth Council of Constantinople. The Bishop of Ionnine.
Archaeologists have been able to date the Ioannina city walls to the 10th and late 11th centuries.
Circa 1204 A.D., as they are dividing up the Byzantine lands after the fourth crusade, Venice is to receive Ioannina. In the end, it became part of the new Despotate of Epirus.
Despotate of Epirus.
The first leader of the Epirote state is Michael Doukas, a cousin of two Byzantine emperors. He allies with Boniface, the Marquis of Montferrat, and leader of the recent crusade.
Then, the Byzantines lose the Peloponnese (Morea) to the Franks during the battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros.
Epirus is becoming an island in the middle of a sea of enemies. Michael strengthens the Ioannina defenses.
Michael names himself as the Byzantine governor of the province of Nicopolis between Ioannina and the coast. Then he revolts against Boniface.
Byzantines, fleeing from the sacking of Constantinople, make their way to Thessaly and Epirus. The locals do not want refugees. Michael accepts them, and they help the city to grow financially and politically.
When the Patriarch of Constantinople does not recognize Michael as the legitimate successor of Epirus, Michael cuts from the church. He names Pope Innocent III of the Catholic church as the authority over Epirus.
Henry of Flanders, part of the Latin Empire responsible for the Byzantines’ overflow, demands Michael’s submission.
Believing his mountainous Epirus to be impenetrable to the Latins, he makes meaningless alliances with them.
Circa 1209, Henry of Flanders seizes the Kingdom of Thessalonica, to Epirus’s east.
More Serious Trouble.
Boniface’s relatives from Montferrat (western Italy) claim Epirus. Michael allies with the Venetians and attacks the Kingdom of Thessalonica. They fail.
Boniface provides the Pope with more money and protection, so the Pope excommunicates Michael.
Henry, fresh from his victory in Thessalonika, subjects Michael to new alliances. Michael does not honor these either.
Instead, he focuses on capturing strategically important Latin-held towns in Central Greece and along the Gulf of Corinth.
Things are beginning to look up for Michael until, in 1214, his enemies assassinate him.
His half-brother Theodore assumes his role.
The Revenge of Theodore
Theodore immediately attacks Thessalonica, coincidence? He allies with the Bulgarians against Henry of Flanders, who dies in a counterattack. Theodore then captures Henry’s successor, Peter of Courtenay, who mysteriously disappears.
At the same time, the Latin Empire is facing a new challenger. The Empire of Nicaea is a group of Byzantines who fled Constantinople for Asia. They are back and looking for revenge.
With the Latin Empire moving forces east, Theodore manages to take all of the Kingdom of Thessalonika, except the town.
Theodore creates the 1225 A.D. Empire of Thessalonica and makes himself the emperor.
He then challenges the Nicaea, who are in Thrace, on Greece’s border with Turkey and Bulgaria. Allying with the Bulgarians again, they drive the Latins and Nicaea out of Thrace.
Theodore crowns himself the Byzantine emperor. No one else recognizes him, especially the church.
Still feeling invincible, Theodore breaks his truce with Bulgaria circa 1230, as they are holding him back. Bulgaria defeats Theodore’s army, captures, and later blinds him.
All in the Family
Theodore’s brother Manuel takes control of Thessalonica, but the empire starts to shake.
Michael II, the illegitimate son of Michael Doukas, takes control of Epirus. To save face, Manuel says Michael is the Despot, but he has little power over Michael.
Circa 1237, the Bulgarians release Theodore. He immediately overthrows Manuel and appoints his son John as the ruler of Thessalonica.
Michael II and History Repeats. 1248 – 1260
Fast forward ten years to 1248, and Nicaea now controls Thessalonica and has eyes on Epirus.
Michael II allies with the Latins against the Nicaeans but surrenders to John III of Nicaea within a year.
He keeps Epirus but must recognize John III as emperor.
Fast forward ten years, Michael II allies with King Manifred of Sicily and goes against the new Nicaean emperor.
This action has the same effect, Michael II losing, but he loses all of Epirus except Ioannina and Vonitsa.
Michael II recovers his capital of Arta circa 1260, while Michael VIII is battling Constantinople’s control.
Like Father, Like Son 1261 – 1336
After Michael VIII restores Constantinople, he forces Michael II’s son Nikephoros I to marry his niece Anna.
1267, Charles of Anjou (France) takes control of much of western Epirus.
The following year, Michael II dies, and Nikephoros I succeeds his father.
Circa 1279, Nikephoros I allies with Charles against Michael VIII. They lose, and Nikephoros I loses Albania.
Andronikos II succeeds his father, Michael VIII, and Nikephoros I allies with Constantinople.
Then Nikephoros allies with Charles II of Naples circa 1292. against Andronikos. They lose.
Nikephoros I marries his daughter to Charles’s son Philip I of Taranto and sells Philip much of Epirus.
Circa 1297, Nikephoros dies. His widow Anna, Andronikos’s cousin, becomes regent for her young son Thomas I.
By 1306, Anna revolts against her son-in-law Philip in favor of Andronikos.
Philip holds on to a small portion of Epirus but gives up his claim six years later.
End of the Despotate, 1313 to 1348
Mother Anna marries off Thomas I to Anna, daughter of Andronikos” oldest son Michael IX.
Thomas’s cousin Nicholas Orsini murders Thomas circa 1318, takes power, and forces the widow Anna to marry him.
The citizens of Ioannina do not recognize Nicholas.
Emperor Andronikos II elevates the city to metropolitan bishopric status. Also, he issues wide-ranging autonomy and various privileges and exemptions on the citizens.
He also allows a Jewish community to exist in the city. When the 1337 Epirote revolt against Byzantine rule, breaks out, Ioannina remains loyal to the emperor (Andronikos III.)
While the city enjoys its freedoms, the rest of Epirus does not. Circa 1323, Nicholas’s brother John murders Nicholas and becomes the Count of Cephalonia and Epirus. John tries to balance a relationship with Constantinople and the Angevins of Naples, who also claim Greece belongs to them.
John’s wife Anna (a third Anna) poisons him around 1335 and becomes regent for their son Nikephoros II.
Andronikos III, the new Emperor of Constantinople, arrives in Epirus circa 1337. With him is an army, including 2,000 Turkish troops from his ally, Umur of Aydın.
He demands the complete surrender of the Despotate from Anna.
A Deal is a Deal
Part of the surrender includes a clause that Anna’s son, Nikephoros II, will marry a daughter of John Kantakouzenos, the emperor’s right-hand man.
However, by the time of the engagement, Nikephoros II is in Taranto, Italy, with Catherine II of Valois (Philip’s widow.)
They support an independent Epirus.
Circa 1338, Catherine takes her fleet to Achaia in the Peloponnese to act as regent for her son Robert.
Andronikos III, John Kantakouzenos, and their massive army march towards Epirus. Within a few months, Nikephoros II surrenders and weds Kantakouzeno’s daughter Maria.
New Players
With the 1341 death of Andronikos III, Kantakouzenos (John VI) becomes the regent for the emperor’s young son John V.
Alexios Apokaukos, a statesman with the patriarch and John V’s mother’s backing, claims the empire. He makes the patriarch the regent for young John V.
Kantakouzenos declares himself emperor in a move to stop the takeover. Soon there is a civil war.
Circa 1345, Apokaukos dies at the hands of 200 men he has made political prisoners.
With the end of the first civil war, Kantakouzenos announces himself co-emperor of Thessalonika with 15yo John V.
At the same time, Stefan Dusan, king of Serbia, sweeps in and takes Epirus, Aetolia, Acarnania, and Thessaly. He will continue to grow the Serbia kingdom until his 1355 death.
Nikephoros II returns in the turmoil of Dusan’s death and the ongoing civil war over Thessaloniki and takes Thessaly. Within a year, he has control over the towns of Epirus. The countryside remains under Albanian control.
Nikephoros II dies in battle with the Albanians two years later. The Albanians are not able to seize Ioannina.
Due to its thick walls, Ioannina becomes a refuge for other Epirus towns under attack.
Serbia Round Two.
By 1366, Simeon Uros, brother of King Stefan of Serbia, takes control of Epirus and Thessaly.
He appoints Thomas II (his brother-in-law, as the overlord of Ioannina.
Thomas is not popular but manages to keep the city safe during Albanian attacks.
Unfortunately, Thomas is not making friends and is even on bad terms with his wife, Maria.
Maria helps plot the 1384 murder of her husband by his guards. The population of Ioannina swears their allegiance to Maria.
Maria marries Esau de’ Buondelmonti, once a political prisoner of her husband. The citizens support him as their new leader.
He immediately begins correcting Thomas’s oppressive ways. He brings back exiles and restores properties that Thomas had seized.
The Albanians continue to attack under the leadership of John Spata. Esau calls on the Ottomans for help in repelling the Albanians.
When Maria dies, Esau marries the daughter of Spata and secures a peace that will last until his 1411 death.
The Sicilian
The Ioannides skip over Esau’s third wife and only heir and ask Esau’s nephew Carlo I Tocco, to rule. Carlo already has control of many fortresses in Epirus, so to rejoin them with Ioannina makes sense.
When Carlo captures Arta from the Armenians, it restores the old Epirote realm. He will continue to rule from Ioannina in the summers until his 1429 death.
Carlo II is the legitimate heir. But, Carlo I has several illegitimate sons who approach the Ottomans to help overthrow him. The Ottoman army marches on Ioannina, and the city surrenders, becoming a vassal of the Ottomans.
However, Carlo II remains a leader, and the city retains its autonomy. The illegitimate sons receive some holdings in the Acarnania region out of sight.
The Ottomans continue growing in numbers and continue to make vassal states out of Greece’s regions and towns. They acquire Arta by 1449, then Angelokastron, and eventually, Vonitsa.
Outside several Venetian possessions along the Ionian coast, the Franks no longer rule mainland Greece.
Ottoman Period (1430–1913)
Ioannina remains as the administrative center of the Sanjak (district) of Ioannina.
Due to their size, no one attacks the Ottomans, so the area is finally stable and becomes prosperous.
The Ottomans allow Christians to continue their religion, and later, a census in the Epirus region lists Jews.
Unfortunately, the Christians will suffer a setback circa 1611 when Dionysius the Philosopher, comes to town. After the Orthodox church kicks him out, he begins organizing a small army of farmers and attacking small Ottoman garrisons.
He wins some of these due to the element of surprise, not skill.
He marches on Ioannina without warning. The citizens think they are with the Ottomans, and the Ottomans think the citizens are attacking.
The revolt ends with Christians losing all their privileges. Also, they drive them from inside the town (walls) and must fend for themselves.
Aslan Pasha closes the school at the church and gives the order to destroy the monastery of St. John the Baptist. They kill the monks and then build the Aslan Pasha Mosque on the spot.
And Some Other Stuff Happens.
Despite the relocation outside the city walls, Ioannina retains a Christian majority for the rest of the Ottoman rule.
As for language, the Greeks would continue with Greek, the Ottomans with Turkish, and the Albanians with their tongue. Greek will be the most prominent.
Ioannina thrives as the major city in Epirus, trading with cities as far away as Livorno in Italy. By the 18th century, there are several noteworthy places of learning in the city.
Ioannite citizens living in non-Ottoman lands (predominantly Christian Italy) send support in money, supplies, and especially non-Ottoman books.
Ioannina becomes the center of distribution for these books into Greece. The book’s subjects include Greek history, Christian theological, as well as science and math.
Enlightening
Circa 1647, the first Ioannite in Venice, funds one of these schools. Several more would open up and succeed until Napoleon’s 1797 dissolving of the Republic of Venice.
Fortunately, a wealthy Ioannite living in Russia reopens one of the schools as the Kaplaneios School. It will thrive until the arrival of the Sultan’s armies in 1820.
Ali Pasha
By 1789, the Ottoman-Albanian lord Ali Pasha became ruler of the territory, including northwestern Greece and Albania.
As pasha (governor), he becomes the most influential lord from that area anytime during the 18th and 19th centuries. He uses Ioannina as his center of power.
He entertains influential European leaders forging partnerships separate from the Sultan. His court becomes a meeting point for Georgios Karaiskakis and others significant in the upcoming war for independence.
Lord Byron describes Ioannina during an 1809 visit to Ali’s court as a splendid example of Greek cultural revival. He says it is superior in wealth, refinement, and education to anywhere else in Greece.
In private letters, Byron also talks about Ali’s dark side. Ali’s level of cruelty with no remorse. The execution of opponents, burning rebels, and drowning the local women in the lake.
Sultan Mahmud II begins to suspect Ali’s intentions. Circa 1820, he sends his troops to Ioannina to imprison Ali Pasha. Next, he burns the suspicious libraries and schools to the ground.
Ali Pasha flees to the monastery on the island in the lake, thinking a pardon is coming from the Sultan. They execute him two years later.
Those Darn Americans.
Since 1776, people under oppression are getting crazy ideas because of what 13 colonies did in the New World.
France, Haiti, Ireland, Serbia, and more begin their revolutions with different levels of success.
After 450 years of ottoman rule, the Greeks are also feeling a little oppression.
Starting in 1821, Greeks in the north began small revolts. Although not successful, they lit the fuse.
Next, the Peloponnese revolts, and Central Greece and Macedonia follow a few months later.
Unfortunately, all the different regions of Greece are fighting separately instead of as one faction. This oversight allows the Ottomans to summon their allies, the Egyptians who squash the Peloponnese forces by year’s end. To add insult, they capture Athens.
Here They Come to Save the Day.
Russia, Britain, and France finally see a chip in the Ottoman armor. Wanting to take them down several pegs, they join the Greeks circa 1827. They destroy the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet at Navarino and expel the Egyptians by the following year. Greeks take back control of Central and Northern Greece. By 1829, the Ottomans are no longer controlling the Greek mainland.
Many Ottoman return to Turkey, but Greece does not expel them, and some stay,
In Ioannina, they remain in control of the local government.
Circa 1869, a significant part of Ioannina goes up in flame. The local governor, Ahmet Rashin Pasha, sees they rebuild the marketplace quickly.
Ioannides, still living abroad, help finance the rebuilding of the city’s churches, schools, and other buildings.
But All is Not Well.
After almost 500 years of coexisting, Ioannina ends the 19th century with agitation between the central city groups.
The Albanian leaders declare poor treatment by the Ottoman government. They demand an Albanian school with teachings in their language as well as other Albanian rights.
The Greek citizens request they become part of the Greek union. By this time, there are more than 75,000 Greek Orthodox to less than 5,000 Muslims in Ioannina. The prominent Muslin families send their children to Greek-language schools over the Turkish-language.
However, it takes until the 1913 Balkan War, when Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro defeat the Ottomans.
On February 21, 1913, Ioannina came under the control of the Greek forces.
World War I
Greece, as a whole, does not see much fighting during WWI. Part of that is they sit out the first three years as a semi-neutral party. By 1917 the country has two governments. The Great Division is between King Constantine, a pro-German King who wants to remain neutral, protecting the Central Powers. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos wants Greece to support the Allies, which they finally did in 1917.
The fighting on Greek soil is mainly east of Thessaloniki in the region of Thrace. The Central powers do enter today’s Albania, along Greece’s northwest border.
When the allies win the war, Greece is to receive all of Thrace and the western Anatolia.
When that does not happen, the Greek army lands at Smyrna and tries to take it by force. The Ottomans outnumber the Greeks, and the Greko-Turkish War is over by 1922.
Turkey holds on to the Smyrna region (Western Anatolia) and East Thrace. Both countries agree to a population exchange. In 1922 assist in moving Greeks in Turkey back to Greece and vice versa.
This move includes the Turks in Ioannina. The city still has one small community of Albanians.
World War II
Mainland Greece and the Peloponnese do not fare well in WWII.
Starting in October 1940, the Italian army invades Greece beginning the Greco-Italian War. The Greeks can keep the Italians from advancing. So in April of 1941, the Germans invade and overran Greece within a month. The German forces intensively bomb Ioannina, even while in negotiations for Greece’s surrender. They divide Greece up between Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria. Italy oversees most of mainland Greece and the Peloponnese.
With Italy’s 1943 attempt to join the Allies, Germany seizes most of the Italians and control.
Greek resistance forces spring up immediately. They succeed in securing mountainous areas. However, the German response is brutal.
They partake in several massacres of Greek civilians.
Circa 1944, the Germans round up Ioannina’s Jewish community and send them to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of this group of almost 2000 Jews, just over 100 will return after the war. Approximately 70 Jews who joined the resistance fared better.
Ioannina Today.
Today, the city is still the capital and largest city of Epirus.
It is along a major land route between Italy and Greece. Also, it is the gateway to the critical port at Igoumenitsa on the Ionian coast.
In a nod to its educational past, the city has a university and a technological institute.
Although it has tourism, eco-tourism, it is not the primary industry like in other parts of Greece.
What is in Ioannina for me?
See & Hear.
Ioannina lies in a scenic valley north of The National Park of Tzoumerka, Peristeri, and Arachthos Gorge. To the city’s north is The Vikos–Aoös National Park. Either one can fill a day with dramatic mountains, valleys, rivers, woods, and fields. Listen to the birds or the gurgling of the river over rocks.
Taste & Smell.
Smell the fresh mountain air. Taste the Epirus cuisine, which features local butter, cheeses, and other dairy products.
Feel.
Tourism is not a significant industry in the region, yet. It is possible to find empty trails and archeological sites without thousands of other people. The area has a very relaxing spell that can even slow down a road warrior.
Sit and sip an afternoon coffee at a waterside cafe while little boats pass by.
Feel like you found a corner of Greece no other non-Greek have.
There may be better ways to end your afternoon, but this one doesn’t suck.
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Should See Ioannina.
Ioannina sites are, for the most part, close together so you can walk from one to another.
You have to walk as many are within the walls or on top of the acropolis.
Much of what remains of the castle today comes from the Ottoman era. However, there may be pieces from the earlier Byzantine structures.
The area on top of the rock has two citadels.
The Byzantine palace was in the northeastern citadel.
Aslan Pasha Mosque – dating from 1618, sits on the Church of Saint John’s former location. The church disappears after a Christian revolt.
Aslan Pasha Mausoleum – is directly behind the mosque.
Municipal Ethnographic Museum – is a small museum adjacent to the mosque. It appears the small collection contains items from the mosque. All signage is in Greek.
Estia – The remains of the kitchen and some other building walls are present. There is a sign in English saying ‘kitchen” but no English descriptions.
Ottoman Library – are the remains of a building once used as a library.
The Soufari Serai – dating from circa 1818, is a building for Ali Pasha’s cavalry. It is opposite some ruins of a Turkish bath. Today it houses the General State Archives.
Upper Citadel
The second citadel, Its Kale, is in the southeast part of the castle. Another name for it is the Internal Fortress.
Sarai of Ali Pasha – are the remains of the palace of Ali Pasha. Due to his popularity, there is not much to see.
Seraglios (haram) of Ali Pasha -was in this area. Part of the museum may have been part of the haram.in the 1800s
Byzantine Museum – is in the 1960 Royal Pavillion and contains artifacts from the Early Christian to the post-Byzantine period. Items include coins, pictures, sculptures, ceramics, manuscripts, and a 1499 book from Venice.
Fetihe Mosque – this1795 structure is next to the museum on the highest point of the citadel. Legend says it is on the site of the Byzantine church of the Archangels.
Tomb of Ali Pasha – contains the body of Ali Pasha and one of his wives. The intricate metalwork dates from post-WWII, the original probably going for bullets or weapons.
Silversmithing Museum – is in the western rampart of the castle, which makes for impressive interiors. The museum presents Greek silversmithing from ancient days forward, including the tools and techniques they use. There are displays of pottery, books, manuscripts, and post-Byzantine icons and the silver artifact collection. The best part, there are descriptions in English.
City Walls and Gate
Main Gate and Tower of Thomas – is a three-minute walk from the Silversmithing museum. The gate (tunnel) curves around the base of the tower, to slow approaches. Just inside the wall to the left is a narrow passageway that should give you a Game of Thrones moment.
Palia Evraiki Sinagogi – is a two-minute walk along the “Game of Thrones” passageway. This 1829 synagogue is rarely in use anymore as the Jewish population never grew after WWII. There was probably an earlier synagogue on this site. It is sometimes open for visitors to see inside, but there are no scheduled hours.
Rest of the City
Historical Museum of Ioannina – is outside the walls in a mansion across the street from the Main Gate – Tower of Thomas. The eclectic collection includes silver jewelry, weapons, ceramics, costumes, embroidery, paintings, documents, coins, and more.
The Archeological Museum – is in Litharitsia park, south of the castle. The collection contains more than 3000 pieces ranging from 200,000 B.C. to Roman times circa 200 A.D. Exhibits include bronze vessels, coins, a double hand ax, and a coffin. Several items come from the excavations at Dodoni and Ambracia.
Folklore Museum of Association of Epirotic Studies – is in a building previously serving as a school. It still contains a library. The collection, with many items from residents, shows a window into the town’s history. There are many traditional costumes, some with gold embroidery.
Pamvotida Lake – provides Ioannina with a lakefront for strolling, eels, fish, and frog legs for eating and a place for water activities.
Ioannina Island
Small ferries depart every 30 minutes (summer) from the waterfront for the short ride to the island. The island is home to five remote Byzantine monasteries and a convent.
The frescos at the monasteries are in excellent condition. There is traditional architecture, narrow streets, and a few tavernas. Between the dock and the museum, it seems like every house has a small offering of souvenirs out front.
Museum of Ali Pasha and the Museum of the Revolutionary Period – resides in the monastery of Ali Pasha’s murder. Items will give you a better view into the life of a pasha. Other items show the life of the common folk during this time.
A perfect half-day on the island might include a visit to the museum, a few frescos, and a fresh fish lunch. The short boat ride is part of the adventure.
Outside of Town
Perama Cave – is a 1.5-million-year-old cave near the town of the same name. Thousands of stalagmites and stalactites create numerous shapes and formations. See if you can recognize the “Cross,” “Statue of Liberty,” or the “Santa Claus.”
Vikos -Aoos UNESCO Global Geopark – is an hour’s drive north of Ioannina. Incorporating the Vikos and the smaller Aoos canyons is an excellent place for hiking, even for beginners. It also offers rafting, kayaking, and mountain biking. The park is home to more than 1800 varieties of flora in three different climates. It also is home to the birds and animals that thrive off the different environments.
National Park of Tzoumerka, Peristeri, Arachthos Gorge & Acheloos Valley – is southeast of Ioannina. Its main purpose is the preservation of natural, historical, and cultural heritage. This includes the fauna and wildlife in the area. The numerous eco-activities harmonize with the natural landscape protecting it for future generations.
Other Sites
Ancient Dodona – was home to the second most important oracle in ancient Greece behind Delphi. It sits in a strategic pass along the eastern slopes of Mt. Tomaros., a 30-minute drive southeast from Ioannina.
Due to its location far from major tour bus routes, the site is still in a fairly untouched state. The two “sites” to see are the main amphitheater and a smaller one nearby. Currently, the rest of the site is predominantly foundations of other buildings.
Theogefyro” (God’s bridge)
It was a natural arch across the Kalama River near the village of Lisino. After standing as a natural bridge built by God for thousands of years, it collapsed in 2018. If you are going to Zitsa, it is still worth the 20-minute drive west to see the area.
Ioannina Summary.
The highlight of the area to outsiders may be that most outsiders do not know about Epirus. The sites rarely have mobs, and the local tavernas are catering to Greeks, so they have to get it right.
Farms provide much of the diet, including meats and dairy products.
Local wine regions produce the perfect pairing for local cuisine.
If you like taking the path less followed, Ioannina may be the place for you.
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