Living on an Island, Oh Boy were having fun.....

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Woolly says – Our bus trip went without a hitch, I have to hand it to Jo she seems to be getting the travel arrangements down to a tea....talking of tea is it time for food yet? Two and a half hours after leaving the quiet peaceful town of Meteroa and having admired the mountainous landscapes on the winding Greek roads we arrived in the hustle and bustle of Ioannina. This is the capital and largest city of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece, with a population of 112,486 (in 2011). It lies at an elevation of around 500 metres (1,640 feet) above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis. Founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, Ooooooo it’s just like being back in Turkey! The town flourished following the Fourth Crusade, when many wealthy Byzantine families fled there in the early 13th century following the sacking of Constantinople. It became 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 centre of the Pashalik of Yanina and joined as part of Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars.



A short taxi ride deposited us our hotel for the next two nights and although grey and cloudy we decided that a walk and some food would be a good idea.



Woolly says – WALK!!!! No thanks but I will take the offer of food! Having scanned the map of the area I set off across the road from our accommodation to have a quick look at the park, lots of statues and grassy tracks but no castle so having turned the map the right way I led the way through the modern part of the city until finding a way through the huge fortified walls. The older part of the town was cobbled and very quaint, I hurried ahead and up an incline which took me into the grounds of what been the castle of Ali Pasha (more about him later) which dated back to the Hellenistic period, now the only ruins surviving are that of the much later Ottoman times.



As Zoe and I stood and drank in the remains our small friend shot off towards a building that looked remarkably like a mosque!



Woolly says – Not only was it a mosque it was called the Feithye Mosque.....haven’t we just been there, how did they mosque arrive before me! Before my excitement could overwhelm me I was informed that visits inside would take place tomorrow and that we needed to eat, well I could hardly say no to that offer could I? The next morning proved to be wet, very wet and having huddled inside Jo’s coat we retraced our steps of the previous day and started off with a quick visit to the Byzantine Museum which stood next to the Mosque that still awaited my attentions, constructed in 1958 by the Greek Army as a Manor house it was a nice enough building and the art work from a large variety of churches inside were rather wonderful, although the pistols caught my eye more, as Zoe filmed for the vlog I sat tapping my paw and waiting for the slower members of the group.



He’s so annoying when he does that!



Woolly says – She says that about everything I do! Having lost patience I left them to it and headed past the wrought iron cage that covers the tomb of Ali Pasha (told we would be back to him!), where his remains were buried in 1822 after his decapitation......remember that fact! The Fethiye Mosque is located in the south eastern section of the citadel. The present form of the mosque dates from the time of Ali Pasha and was probably built in the early 19th century, it is a complete reconstruction of an earlier mosque on the site, the same name was given to the newer mosque, hence the Fethiye meaning ‘of the Conquest’. Ali Pasha gave it the form that it holds today.....another thing to remember for later! It was beautiful inside with its delicate flower painting adorning the large dome and Mihrab at the centre of the room which was in the direction of Mecca. Upstairs gave an even better view although sadly Jo stopped me from going under the barrier to go up to the top of the Minaret....she’s so mean!



It was really pretty and unlike most of the Mosques we have seen in our time in the elegance of decoration. Our entry ticket also allowed access to the silver museum in what was once the Treasury building for Mr Pasha.



Woolly says – Lots of cases lined the rooms showing off religious artefacts and jewellery that would have once been worn, very pretty but I was more impatient to view the castle. Having chivvied the girls along we made our way towards the castlely part, the Tower of Bohemond built around 1082 seemed to be the only surviving part of it which was a disappointment, but not being a mammoth that gets downhearted I headed out of the grounds and took off along the lake to make sure I got a seat on the next boat going.



With the rain pounding down it was quite entertaining to watch him play dodge the puddles before he ended up nearly waist deep in one!



Woolly says – It wasn’t funny and I failed to see why the two hyenas behind me were doubled over laughing! As the boat left it’s moorings the rain continued to lash down bringing visibility of Lake Ioannina down to nothing, luckily the crossing was only a short one and have jumped back onto dry land...well rain spattered land on the Island of the same name which covers an area of 0.2 km2, with the biggest length of 800 meters and biggest width of 500 meters. With a population of 219 it shouldn’t take long to explore. I took charge of directing the ladies through the lovely tiny streets to what had been Ali Pasha’s last home. Leaving Jo to pay for our ticket I took a quick peek into the caves that the residents had used in the second World War to hide in for safety before trotting along the path to the tiny church, inside was incredibly dark but the painted walls seemed to glow none the less, with Jo using a sneaky flash on the camera it looked incredible. Proceeding up a wooden stairway we entered what had been Ali’s house. Ali Pasha of Tepelena (1740 – 24 January 1822.......keep that date in mind!), was a Muslim Albanian ruler for 32 years who served as an Ottoman pasha in the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina, but the territory he governed incorporated most of Epirus and the western parts of Thessaly and Greek Macedonia in Northern Greece. Ali first appears in historical accounts as the leader of a band of brigands who became involved in many confrontations with Ottoman state officials in Albania and Epirus. He joined the administrative-military apparatus of the Ottoman Empire, holding various posts until 1788 when he was appointed pasha, ruler of the sanjak of Ioannina. His diplomatic and administrative skills, his interest in modernist ideas and concepts, his popular religiousness, his religious neutrality, his win over the bands terrorizing the area, his revengefulness and harshness in imposing law and order, and his looting practices towards persons and communities in order to increase his proceeds caused both the admiration and the criticism of his contemporaries.



Inside of his former home the pictures of him portrayed as a kindly looking old man, very much against a lot of what seems to have happened during his ruling years.



Woolly says – the home was filled with pictures, costumes of the time and items that he would have used in his life time. As I wandered into the second room I came across a Perspex sheet covering the floor under which were some holes in the wood, some bullets and the information that it was through these cracks that Ali Pasha had been shot and killed on the 5^th February... 1822!!!!! Hang on wasn’t he beheaded in January of the same year!!!!!! I looked to Jo for clarification, she seemed equally puzzled as did Zoe, the answer my friends is we have no idea if he was shot of lost his head and on which date what’s so ever.....confused mammoth.com!



Our puzzlement continued as we found a copy of his death warrant.



Woolly says – this stated that he was ordered to death for all looting and lots of other terrible things but stated on it that he had on his good points and never had any dealings with the building or constructing of mosques.....what the flipperty flue, hadn’t we been stood in the very mosque that he had ‘formed’ less than an hour ago.......extra confused mammoth.com!



Completely bizarre to say the least and as my small friend left the complex I could see him shaking his head and muttering away to himself.



Woolly says – trying to put my bafflement behind me I found myself outside of one of the many monasteries that the island hosts. The Flianthropinos Monastory was restored in the twelve hundreds by the family of the same name, mounting the steps I was greeted by an old Greek gentleman, who having rattled his keys opened the door for us, photo’s were not allowed which was a shame because the whole of the four rooms inside were covered from top to bottom with the most incredible art work, not as clear as the ones that we had seen on the rocks of Meteroa but amazing all the same. As the three of us walked around in an awed silence I could only imagine how beautiful it must have been when first painted and the amount of joy the Monks must have had in worshipping inside such a place. Sighing with contentment I urged the girls out to allow the lovely man to go about his business. Thinking that it was time for a snack I suggested that the women have a walk round the lake whilst I rested my short legs.



It seemed only fair and the walk now that the rain had stopped for a while was wonderful, passing tall reeds, Greater Crested Grebes and a number of other monasteries which were all sadly locked to us we took our time. The lake has been in existence for over 5 million years ...yes older than our beloved friend and is home to a huge variety of fish, wildlife and plants it is also the life source for not just the island and the city of Ioannina itself but for many of the surrounding regions as well. Having covered the whole of the footpath we found ourselves back at Ali’s house again and having built up quite an appetite we seated ourselves in a small café, at which point Woolly decided it was time to join us again.





Woolly says – well it will probably save them feeding me again later in the evening! With crayfish to get my tusks around we sat and reflected on our time in Greece and the wonders we had seen, I speculated on what our next country would bring, well other than a new flag to bedazzle my wonderful readers of course!

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