A trip to Ioannina
Ioannina (also called Yannena), the Capital of Ipiros district of Greece, is one of the biggest, most interesting and historic cities of the country. It has many beauties to offer to a traveler, so it really is worth a visit. Bellow, you can see some of the reasons for scheduling a visit as soon as possible.
Approaching
1. The bridge of Rio - Antirio (Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge), one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges, might be quite far from Ioannina, but approaching from the south, it the first great impression of the trip. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirio on mainland Greece by road.
Ioannina City
2. Ioannina is full of old buildings, of different eras of time of this historic ciry. Unfortunatelly, most of them are not kept in livable or even just good condition.
3. The Old city is full of colours.
4. Maybe not many, but there are some good bars, playing the music we love. "Its not a matter of quantity, but of quality" as the ancient greeks said. Trypokaridos is one of them.
4b. Beatnik is the name of an other bar, which is also a record shop. There, you can grab and enjoy "Στάλα", a nice local beer.
5. Some beautiful graffity. You can see lots of them on the city's building walls. Most of them are real art.
6. Different kinds of architecture and housing. Changes through time and cultures. Within the walls of the castle time stood still.
9. One of the main attractions of Ioannina, is its lake (Pamvotis) and the small island in it (well known as Nisaki), a must see when you visit the city.
Papingo
Papingo is located very near the northern end of the Vikos Gorge and is inside the Vikos–Aoös National Park. You have the opportunity to visit two picturesque villages (the Small i.e. Mikro and the Greater i.e.Megalo Papingo) and enjoy mountainous landscape and unique architecture.
Konitsa's Bridge
The Ottoman era stone bridge of Konitsa is the second largest single-arch bridge in Epirus build in 1870, stands over Aoos river.
Voidomatis River
The river has a total length of 15 kilometers. The name Voidomatis,(i.e. the ox''s eye), derives from the fact that oxen have clear blue eyes, like the waters of this river.
Ziros Lake
The creation of Lake Ziros (Preveza) seems to be due to the area’s tectonic activity. Geologists believe that the lake was a lake cave, but the roof collapsed almost 10,000 years ago. Kayacing is a thrilling experience!
Plaka Bridge
A protected historical monument, the Plaka Bridge, was built in 1866 on the river Arachthos, and marks the border line between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
Pramanta (North Tzoumerka)
An amfitheatrical built mountain village. Agia Paraskevi is a landmark one has to visit.
Some songs that remind us of our trip to Ioannina, in August 2021.
1. Suuns - Minor Work
2. DIIV - Doused
3.Gods of Venus - Wings of Life
4.Andy Pickett - Paid
5. Bauhaus - Dark Entries
6. Villagers of Ioannina City - Father Sun
Photos: v_era