Ioannina's fortified city

Ioannina is a beautiful city! We had breakfast in our hotel and then went out to stroll around the city. It rained practically all morning so we did less than we would have otherwise, but it was still lovely. For example, we skipped going to the island in the lake, but the views from the city were beautiful and atmospheric, with fog surrounding the hills.

We did, however, go to the old fortified city. It is the oldest Byzantine fortress in Greece, and it has been continuously inhabited until now. The streets and alleys are charming and picturesque, and I could imagine us staying longer if it hadn't been raining. We went to the Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina, located in the castle, in the Aslan Pasha Mosque, a building dating back to 1618. The museum wasn't particularly interesting and lacked context and information, but we enjoyed visiting the complex nonetheless.

Ioannina has traditionally been a multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious city and Christian, Islamic and Jewish influences are present. Something particularly interesting is that it was the home of one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in Greece for many centuries, the Romaniote Jews. But this is horrifying: In 1944, the 1,870 Jews of the city were deported to Auschwitz. Most of them were exterminated in the camps. After the end of World War II, the Jewish community of Ioannina had decreased to 181 members.Read more