The island
The island in the Pamvotida lake is an inseparable part
of the history of Ioannina: it is related with the history
and the death of Ali Pasha.
There are evidence already, from the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine
period, of organized living on the island based on the eight
monastery compounds.
The monastery Saint Nicholaos Philanthropinon (1292), Saint
Nicholaos, also Diliou or Stratigopoulou, monastery Eleousis
or Saint Nicholaos Goumaton (15th century), monastery of
Metamorphosis Sotiros, compounds that are located on the
north west side of the island and monastery Profiti Elia
on the top of the hill, the monastery Kimiseos Theotokou
and at last the monastery Saint Panteleimon. In the cells
of this last monastery still exist the bulletholes that
were fired against Ali Pasha when he tried to rescue himself
from the siege by Hoursit Pasha.
In these monasteries and especially in the monastery of
Saint Nicholaos Philanthropinon are being preserved wall
paintings of splended art. It is remarkable that in the
above monastery there are full body wallpaintings of seven
ancient philosophers as Plato, Solon, Aristotelis, Plutarch,
Thoukididis, Apollonius and Hilon.
Today the island is inhabited, which is seldom phenomenon
worldwide, by 100 families who are all occupied with tourism
and fishing.
It's connected with the city of Ioannina by small boats
which cross every half hour in the summer and every hour
in winter. On the island there are shops with folk art items
and restaurants which serve fishes, eels, frog-legs e.t.c.
It represents an important pole of touristic development
of Ioannina.
|