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Europe > Greece > Northern Greece > Epirus > Ioannina

Ioannina

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Fethiye Mosque

Ioannina (Ιωάννινα) (population: 112,486 (2011)) is a beautiful small town in Northern Greece whose old town is surrounded by tall defensive walls.

Understand

Set atop a 100-metre cliff overlooking the Lake Pamvotida, the capital of Epirus is 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 into 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.

Get in

1 KTEL Intercity Buses

  • From Athens by air (45 min), by bus (6 hr, 430 km), by car (4.5 hr).
  • From Thessaloniki by bus (3.5 hr) or by car (2.5 hr).
  • From Albania via Kakavia, it takes about an hour from the border crossing.
  • From Gjirokastër by bus (4h).

Get around

The city is small enough to travel through via foot.

See

  • 1 Castle (Greek: Kastro). The old town surrounded by tall defensive walls overhanging the lake Pamvotida. Ioannina Castle (Q17496804) on Wikidata Ioannina Castle on Wikipedia (updated Feb 2016)
  • 2 Archaeological Museum, 6, "25 Martiou" Square. It presents many of the findings from the excavations at Dodona area (updated Feb 2016)
  • 3 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 Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina (Q6936234) on Wikidata Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina on Wikipedia (updated Feb 2016)
  • 4 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. Byzantine Museum of Ioannina (Q5004703) on Wikidata Byzantine Museum of Ioannina on Wikipedia (updated Feb 2016)
  • 5 Fethiye Mosque. The graves of Ali Pasha and his first wife are located inside the mosque. Fethiye Mosque (Q5445951) on Wikidata Fethiye Mosque (Ioannina) on Wikipedia (updated Feb 2016)
  • 6 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 2 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)

Further afield

  • 7 Perama Cave. A show cave just 4 km from Ioannina. Cave of Perama (Q16328662) on Wikidata 
  • 8 Dodona (25 min away by car). One of the oldest and most important Hellenic oracle sites in Greece with an amphitheater of exceptional acoustics. The well preserved theater is a must-see and hosts theatrical performances. It was built in the 3rd century B.C., during the reign of Pyrrhus, and was destroyed by the Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus, in 167 B.C. Under Roman rule, it was restored and turned into an arena. Dodona (Q382317) on Wikidata Dodona on Wikipedia 
  • 9 Panagia Tsoukas. Remarkable, historical, well-preserved monastery. Fantastic views! 

Do

At the bus station there are lockers where you can leave your luggage (€1).

The lake and castle are 10 minutes away from the station.

Buy

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.

Eat

  • 1 Toros Steakhouse. (updated Feb 2016)
  • 2 Stoa Louli, 78, Anexartisias St., ☏ +30 2651 071322. (updated Feb 2016)
  • 3 Mystagogia, 44, Koundouriotou St., ☏ +30 26510 65325, +30 6977 748479 (mobile), +30 6972 871031 (mobile). (updated Feb 2016)
  • 4 Nousia, 1, "Konstantinou Karamanli" Str. (updated Feb 2016)
  • 5 Fysa roufa (Φύσα ρούφα), Averof, Ioannina 454 44, Greece, ☏ +302561026262. Mo-Su 7AM-11:30PM. From €9 per person. (updated Aug 2019)

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Connect

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

Go next

Routes through Ioannina
Igoumenitsa ←  W  E  → Metsovo → Meteora


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