http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23736
For just €12 I effectively got the best view in town. In the evening I watched the local kayaking club training. Go there and enjoy the historic town, the lake, the mountains and access to the villages of Epirus.

Some pictures attached on my travel blog:
www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=100262&v=3J]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23736 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2577
On that day, Ali Pasha, the legendary Ottoman ruler of Albanian descent was executed, at the monastery, by troops sent by the Sultan, from Constantinople, for the crime of insubordination. Ali Pasha had fled to the island after the defence of Ioannina to the 2-year siege by the Sultan's troops had laid on the city started collapsing.

The Turks promised Ali Pasha amnesty, arrived at the island supposedly to hand him the pardon papers that had arrived from the capital, and killed him. His body was decapitated and later buried next to the Fetihie Mosque, up on the castle of Ioannina. His head was taken to Constantinople, shown to the Sultan and then buried in a local cemetery.

Today, the monastery is a museum that tells the story of that day and of Ali Pasha's Ioannina.

You will also find a restaurant that serves local food, including lake seafood and frog's legs, and various gift shops. Boats leave from the quay in front of the castle every 10 minutes.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2577 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2576
The northeast end of the castle includes the madrassa, or islamic religious school, which today houses a lovely Museum of Weaponry, and the Mosque of Aslan Pasha, which today houses the Museum of the City of Ioannina.

The southeast end is the Its Kale, or Inner Castle, and was the main compound of the Ali Pasha administration and living quarters.

The castle of Ioannina is the core from which the city expanded to its present size, and included all the major civic monument and sites of the city, including the synagogue of the once mighty local Jewish community.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2576 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2278 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2278 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2276 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2276 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2585 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2585 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2490
It also includes a marble sarcophagus from Ladochori (district of Thesprotia). The relief decoration on the walls depicts scenes from the Iliad and the lid has the shape of a funeral bed with the reclining figures of the dead couple. Dated to the 2nd century A.D.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2490 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2277 Greece’s largest cave in terms of area (14,800 square metres) and one of the largest in terms of total length of its passages (1,700 metres), the Perama Cave is well-known world-wide for its beauty and scientific value and the subject of a number of publications in international journals.

The cave was first discovered by geologist Ioannis Petrohilos and hiw wife Anna in 1951 and explored by the couple through 1955.

There are at least 14 different types of stalagmites and stalactites in curious shapes and sizes which can be admired by visitors on a guided tour along a 1 Km-long illuminated pathway. It's located a few minutes drive from the City centre.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2277 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2275 The museum contains collections of early Christian and Byzantine sculptures, excavation finds from Arta, pottery, manuscripts and early editions of printed books, post-Byzantine icons and silver items.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2275 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1804 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1804 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1545 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1545 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1543 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1543 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1542 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1542 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1541 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1541 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1540 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1540 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1539 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1539 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1538 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1538 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1537 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1537