Ioannina Off The Beaten Path

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One great day trip is to the picturesque Metsovo. A touristic but beautiful village 60km away from Ioannina. It's cold up there at 1200m when the village is covered with snow. Many go there for the ski center but most of the people to eat meat at the local taverns and to buy some great smoked local cheeses. There are also some museums like the Folklore museum, a gallery with paintings etc

The artificial lake Aoos is very beautiful after spring but it was great to see it one really cold winter day when we drove through the snow. The lake was frozen and the landscape was spectacular. You can drive around the 30km, cycle with mountain bike or just fishing and bird watching! There are many small islets. The lake was created in 1987 because of the dam that the electricity company have built at the area but then it became an important biotope.

The Aoos lake is located close to Metsovo at the plateau of Politsa at the foothill of Mavrovunio mountain. The height there is 1350m

Dodoni is an easy day trip from Ioannina and its so famous that it's not really off the beaten path. I just put it here because its 22km away. The ancient site of Dodoni houses the ancient theatre and the oracle of Dodoni, the ancient oracle in Greece.

It used to be the place that the people were worshipping mother Earth during bronze era and later Zeus. Among the ruins are the temple of Zeus(the sacred house) where the sacred oak was, the temples of Diona and Themis, the temple of Aphrodite, the temple of Heracles etc
Acording to the legend -as the historian Herodotus tells us- two black doves flew from Egypt’s Theva, one went to Libya where the temple of Amon Zeus was built and the other to Dodoni. The dove stood over an oak, the sacred tree of Zeus and spoke with human voice where the temple of Zeus should be built! The priest were using the leafs of the tree to take decisions but also from the sound of the waters of the sacred spring and from the bronze boilers around the sacred tree. The priest were barefooted and slept on the ground to be in touch with earth!

You can spend an hour inside the site and then drink or eat something at the near by tavern. If you have time you can visit some villages around or just go to the Vrellis museum for the wax effigies (see next tip)

Dodoni is 22km SW of Ioannina. Drive to the national road towards Athens and turn right at Egantia, when you see the sign. There are also buses from Ioannina bus station.
The entrance fee is only 2euros and the site is open daily 8:30-15:00(November-march) and 8:30-19:00(april-october). The site is closed on:
1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter, 25-26 December

After your visit to Dodoni you can visit Bizani area. First you can see the monument about the battle of Bizani that led to the liberty of Ioannina city.

Then you can visit the Vrellis museum on your way back before returning to Ioannina. This is one of the most famous museum in Greece, Paul P. Vrellis because very famous with his wax eefigies that represent nicely parts of Greek history, especially the Greek revolution against the Ottoman empire. The effigies are in natural dimensions and you can see scenes from three periods. Before the revolution, greek revolution of 1821 and second world war. My favorite is the one that shows Paul Vrellis making himself! There is a small store inside the museum with some postcards and a book about the museum. You can also drink something there.

The museum is open daily October-march 10:00-16:00 and April-september 9:30-17:00 and the entrance fee is 6euros

The museum is located 12km away from Ioannina at the national road Ioannina-Preveza. You’ll see a sign and you will drive up on the hill for 3’. If you come from Athens it will be on your right hand.

Metsovo is a mountain village standing at an elevation of 1,160 meters, 56 km east to Ioannina. Its population is mostly Arumanian and thus, besides Greek, speaks a Rumanian dialect. Though it is now visited during the day by loads of tourists, in the evening it has kept a great part of its special aspect and life.

Perama cave is 4 km out of Ioanina in the direction of Metsovo and can be reached by bus n° 8. It is considered as one of the most beautiful caves in the Balkans. The visit is on almost 2 km of galleries and gigantic rooms, illuminated in order to enhance the outstanding concretions. When we visited, the guide gave its explanation only in Greek which is not a real problem for those who have already visited this type of caves elsewhere (I visited several in France). Recent visitors report the same. Explanations are not really needed! A visit not to miss!

Sorry, I did not take any photo!

Kyra-Vassiliki as presented by Pavlos Vrellis in his Waxwork Historical Museum.

Vassiliki was saved after the intervention of the Patriarch of Constantinople who took her under his protection and later, in 1830, she came to the first liberated Greek State and was honoured by the first Governor of Greece, but soon she was completely forgotten… She died alone, poor and abandoned in 1834, in a village of Western Greece…

Ali-pasha museum is dedicated to this sad story. One could see the bullet holes on the floor where Ali was killed. Unfortunately the building was destroyed by the fall of a huge tree and it was rebuilt on exactly the same style.

There are also carpets, clothes and some other related articles preserved, as Ali’s palace and the harem building were completely destroyed by the forces of Hursit-pasha.

During the clashes between Ali-pasha and Sultan Mourat II, Ali did not accept the order to go and submit to Sultan within 40 days. His army was defeated by Hursit-pasha and he was closed in the Castle of Ioannina threatening that he would blow up the powder magazine together with his treasures. He burned down a great part of the city to watch better the movements of his enemy. He knew that Hursit-pasha had orders to bring his treasures to Sultan, and that Hursit-pasha would not go without them. So Hursit did not attack the Castle, and pretended of asking for negotiations. Ali-pasha with his wife Vassiliki and some loyal bodyguards passed to the island and settled into a building of St Panteleimon monastery. According to a legent, there was an underground passage joining his palace with the island. A squad of soldiers came to the island on a boat, pretending of bringing a letter of forgiveness, and killed Ali-pasha firing from below through the wooden floor. Ali-pasha died in the arms of Vassiliki… All his bodyguards were slaughtered, his beautiful wife was caught and she was sent to Sultan together with Ali’s head and the rest of the harem. But Hursit-pasha did not enjoy his victory: He also lost his head because a great part of Ali’s treasures was not found…

Kyra-Vassiliki (=Lady Vassiliki) was caught by Ali-pasha and brought to his harem in 1805, when she was 12 and he was 61. She was Christian, daughter of a rich man of Filiates and one of her brothers became an important fighter of freedom. Old Ali fell in love with her, respected her religion, made a Christian chapel for her in the harem and was bringing to her priests and teachers for her education. She was in touch with some important and well educated Greeks. She was very beautiful and very clever and soon she became a member of the secret Greek revolutionary society Filiki Eteria, but stayed devoted to her master. She had a great influence on Ali and was the only person that could calm up this violent and cruel oldman. She saved many people of death and many times served the revolutionary Greek struggle by changing the mind of her master.