The city of Ioannina

The city of Ioannina is located at an altitude of 480 m above the sea level and it has been built in the west coast of Pamvotida Lake. It is the most important financial, commercial, transit and cultural center of North West Greece.

It is a very beautiful and picturesque city, built in a very green mountain plateau, combining historic memory with the reality of a modern city. Justinian founded the city of Ioannina in the 6th century b.C, by settling there the residents of Evoira. Tradition has it that the castle-town was named after its first settler, Ioannis, or after the Monastery of St John the Precursor, that was found in the castle before the 1611 destruction.

All the Christian buildings inside the castle were destroyed in that year. Then, the Turks and a significant number of Jews came to settle in the castle. In 1619 the mosque and the Aslan Pasha Mandrassa were built in the North West acropolis, where the Municipal Museum is housed today, whereas the Fetihie Mosque was built on the acropolis of the other side of the castle. Furthermore, the town starts to grow outside the castle, expanding in 37 districts.

At the end of the 18th century, Ali Pasha proceeded to significant refurbishing actions in the castle. The outer walls standing today were his work. He also demolished all the existing buildings in the Itch Kale South West acropolis in order to house his serai together with other administrative buildings.

Ioannina reached a climax in the era of Ali Pasha in terms of financial and cultural prosperity. However, in 1822, the troops of the Sultan set the city on fire and it is at that moment that the city's decay started. Ioannina is freed from the Turks in 1913 and they are then annexed to the Greek state.

SITES OF INTEREST

Pamvotida Lake
Pamvotida Lake dominates the city of Ioannina. Not only is it a true jewel but it is also a source of life for the fishermen, and a yachting and marine sports center for rowing, canoe-kayak and ski competitions. Its history started around 3.500 years ago and its water springs from natural sources and torrents from the surrounding mountains. Its depth ranges from 3 to 13 meters and its perimeter rises up to 33 kilometers. Its biggest width expands to 5 kilometers, its biggest length to 7.5 kilometers, whereas its surface reaches 23 square kilometers.

The Island
The island of Pamvotida is part and parcel to the history of the city of Ioannina, since it has been inextricably linked to the story and the death of Ali Pasha. However, even from the Byzantine and post-Byzantine period, the island has witnessed a settled living activity, focused around the eight monasteries that had then been built. Residents are also found there today, an extremely rare fact worldwide for islands in lakes. Approximately 100 families live there, working in the field of tourism and fishing. It is connected to the city of Ioannina with small boats every half hour in summer and every hour in winter. Picturesque folklore craft shops can be found in the island as well as restaurants serving fish, eels, frog's legs etc.

The Castle
The castle of Ioannina constitutes the point of reference for the city. Its present aspect is due to Ali Pasha, who rebuilt it almost from scratch in 1815. Up to the year 1913, it was possible to access the castle only if someone dropped over the connection ladder from the inside, since it was circled by the water of the lake without leaving any other possibility of entry. Nowadays, one can access the castle from the main gate, at the end of Averof Street, where the Turks had hanged the new martyr George, patron saint of the city of Ioannina. One can see the blazon of Ali Pasha at the top of the main gate. At the right hand side stands the tower, built during the Ottoman occupation, to place the castle's Venetian clock. The Italians destroyed the clock in 1917 and it was recently replaced by the people of Ioannina. We can visit the Turkish baths (hamam) to the right and the famous Soufari Serai to the left. The latter was a two-store building with external stairs made of stone and a wooden roof; this was Ali Pasha's military camp, where the heroes of the 1821 Revolution had been trained (O. Androutsos, G. Karaiskakis, M. Botsaris, A. Diakos etc). The Fetihie mosque was built in 1618 at the place of the Christian church of Angel Michael and right next to it, one can still see the marble pedestal of Ali Pasha's family tomb. There lie its headless body and his wife, Eminé. His head has been buried in Istanbul together with his children, Mouhtar, Veli, Salih and Mehmet, who were executed at the orders of the Sultan.

HOW TO GET THERE

Ioannina airport is located at the outskirts of the city, next to Pamvotida Lake and offers daily connections to Athens and Thessalonica. The capital city of the department of Ioannina is 438 kilometers away from Athens and 349 kilometers away from Thessalonica, passing through Metsovo.