Greece - Korina Miller [267]
The hole in the floorboard where the fatal bullet passed through is still visible in the Ali Pasha Museum (adult €1; 8am-10pm summer, 9am-9pm winter), in a building inside the monastery. There’s a printed narrative (in English) of the heady events of Ali’s last days, as well as various personal effects and etchings of the portly pasha in full repose, sitting fat and happy with his consort, beards and hookah. To get there, walk up the hill from the ferry dock into town and take the main street left; the monastery is signposted.
Also see Moni Filanthropinon, on the Island’s western side. Built in the 13th century by the Filanthropini, a leading Constantinopolitan family who fled the rampaging Crusaders in 1204, the monastery boasts unusual 16th-century frescoes of pagan Greek philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle and Plutarch, alongside more suitably Christian personalities. The expressiveness and pathos of these paintings, characteristic of the ‘Epirot School’ of art, has aroused great interest from art historians. Moni Filanthropinon was also a ‘secret school’ for Christians during the centuries of Ottoman Muslim domination.
For eating on the Island, try Gripos ( 26510 81081; mains €6-8), on the left of the ferry dock, or Propodes ( 26510 81214; fish €4-6), located on the path to Moni Pandeleïmonos. Both specialise in lake fish and other local creatures. You should not miss Propodes: its eye-catching tanks outside, reminiscent of a Chinese market, are filled with wriggling eels, hopping frogs and crayfish waiting for the kettle. Both are good, though Propodes is slightly cheaper and has a relaxing location under an awning above the water; go for the golden carp fillet (€6).
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Ioannina’s ferry dock is below the Kastro in Ioannina. Boats to the Island (€1.30, 10 minutes) go between 7am and 11.30pm in summer, and between 7am and 10pm in winter. In summer, the boat goes every 15 minutes, in winter, only hourly.
Perama Cave Σπλαιο Περματος
Four kilometres from Ioannina, Perama Cave ( 26510 81521; www.spilaio-perama.gr; adult/student €6/3; 8am-8pm) is one of Greece’s largest and most impressive caves, loaded with white stalactites. Locals hiding from the Nazis discovered it in 1940; later, it was explored by speleologists Ioannis and Anna Petrohilos. The enormous 1100m-long cave has three storeys of chambers and passageways. There’s an hour-long tour.
Buses 8 and 16 from near Ioannina’s clocktower run every 20 minutes to Perama, 250m south of the cave.
Dodoni Δωδώη
The colossal, 3rd-century-BC Theatre of Dodoni ( 26510 82287; adult €2; 8am-5pm), 21km southwest of Ioannina, is Epiros’ most important ancient site. An earth goddess had been worshipped at this valley spot from around 2000 BC. The oracle she spoke through was reputedly Greece’s oldest, and the one most venerated (before the Delphic oracle took precedence in the 6th century BC). By the 13th century BC, Zeus was speaking through the rustling of leaves from a sacred oak tree to worshippers at the site. Around 500 BC a temple was built in his honour, though today only its foundations and a few columns remain.
Under King Pyrrhus, however, things took a dramatic turn and a theatre was erected. Now restored, the Theatre of Dodoni hosts Ioannina’s Festival of Ancient Drama in July. On its north side, a gate leads to the acropolis, where remnants of its once-substantial walls remain. The foundations of the bouleuterion (council house) and a small Temple of Aphrodite lie east of the theatre. Nearby are the scant remains of the Sanctuary of Zeus, where once stood the top god’s sacred oak and oracle.
Later, in the 6th century, a Byzantine basilica was built over the site’s Sanctuary of Hercules.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Buses from Ioannina leave at 6.30am and 4.30pm daily, except for Thursday and Sunday, returning at 7.30am and 5.30pm. One other bus, on Sunday, leaves at 6pm and returns at 6.45pm.
A taxi from Ioannina costs around €35 return plus €3 per hour for waiting.
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THE ZAGOROHORIA ΤΑ ΖΑΓΟΡΟΧΩΡΙΑ
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