Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Ioannina

At the location where the Cathedral of Saint Athansios nowadays is located, was a Monastery dedicated to Saint Athanasios the Great. After the failed movement of Dionysios the Philosopher in 1611 and the expulsion of christians from the castle of Ioannina, the church of Saint Athanasios replaced a cathedral inside the castle and became the third cathedral of Ioannina. However, in August 1820 the temple was destroyed by a large fire during the siege of Ali Pasha. During the presidency of the Metropolitan of Ioannina Ioakeim, in 1832, and at the expense of benefactors, a bigger church was rebuilt from the ground up. The frescoes in the church date back, according to an inscription, to 1835. The ornate wood-carved iconostasis is "baroque", made of walnut wood, and is the work of four wood carvers from Gorgopotamos (Konitsa). The imposing tower-shaped bell tower was built in 1909.

The islet on Lake Pamvotis nearby Ioannina is referred to as "Nisaki" (Νησάκι = Greek for "little island"). Inhabitants call it "Nisi" (Νησί = Greek for "lsland"). Nisi (or Nissi) is a small island - 800 by 500 meters - in Lake Pamvotis. It is one of the two lake islands in Greece, which are inhabited. There is only one village - with a couple of hundreds of inhabitants - on the island which with picturesque paved alleys and a lot of tourist shops and restaurants. Nisi is well known for the Ali Pasha Museum and its monasteries. The first one was built at the end of the 13th century and the island was important monastic center. The island is accessible by boat from Ioannina (about 10 minute-ride each way) or by a ferry from a nearby shore.

The region of Ioannina has been popoulated by Greeks since the Mycenaean era. However the city of Ioannina - often called Yannena - was formally founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD. Ioannina flourished following the Fourth Crusade, when many wealthy Byzantine families fled to the city in the early 13th century following the sack of Constantinople. It was part of the Despotate of Epirus from 1358 to 1416, before surrendering to the Ottomans in 1430. Between 1430 and 1868 the city was the administrative center of the Pashalik of Yanina. In the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Ioannina became again part of Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars. The City has a longstanding tradition in commerce and handicraft activities dating back in the 17th century, where merchants from Ioannina traded with important European commercial centers, such as Venice and Livorno, and established commercial and banking houses. During the 18th century, every author of the Greek world, was either from Ioannina or was a graduate of one of the city's schools, and the city created the reputation of being number one City in education. Ioannina is situated on the western shore of Lake Pamvotis. Nowadays it is the capital and largest city of the region of Epirus with a population of more than 100.000 people. The city has a wealth of attractions and museums with most attractions. The main sight is the “castle” located in the center of the town, this was the heart of the Despotate of Epirus, and the Ottoman vilayet. The (historic) centre of Ioannina offers small traditional shops and houses, and many souvenir shops.

Nisi (or Nissi) is a small island - 800 by 500 meters - in Lake Pamvotis nearby Ioannina. It is one of the two lake islands in Greece, which are inhabited. There is only one village - with a couple of hundreds of inhabitants - on the island which with picturesque paved alleys and a lot of tourist shops and restaurants. The island is accessible by boat from Ioannina or by a ferry from a nearby shore. Nisi is well known for the Ali Pasha Museum and its monasteries. The first one was built at the end of the 13th century and the island was important monastic center. We visited one of them in 2018 (PiP1). A year later we went back to the island, for a lunch on the central square (PiP2). After that we made a walk along the banks of the lake, enjoying the flowers (PiP3), reed collars and lush vegetation, but a group of pretty aggressive geese (main image) almost blocked the road.