Kastoria

Kastoria is located on an isthmus of a peninsula in a lake in the state of Macedonia. It sounded like a nice place (like Madison!) to rest as we head towards some famous ruins east of here.

It's known as a fur town because of the beavers that were prevalent on the lake here. There's not so many beavers now, but there are still plenty of furriers around town. My guidebook said it's quite popular with the Russians. They might be the only customers left. The town is pleasant enough but there are quite a few empty shops.

But a lot of money was made in the trade back in the day and the fur families built beautiful Ottoman mansions along the lakefront and in the hilly center. We walked along the lake admiring them and took the advice of our hotel staff and ate at a recommended local restaurant in the old town square.

It was probably the best meal here so far. We got the local smoked, baked cheese again, a salad with figs, spinach, walnuts and beans, and a moussaka with the fluffiest bechamel sauce I've ever had. We were served candied figs on the house afterwards. It was so filling and late in the day, we just had snacks for dinner.

We took a slow drive all around the peninsula. The east end is all a preserved park and there's a one way road that goes all the way around.

Tomorrow, we are going to Aegae, the ancient capital of the Macedonians. It hosts the tomb of Phillip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great . That kingdom moved to Pella later and we'll visit that on Wednesday.

More photos and videos are here.

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