Photos

yelloo:) Ioannina was on our way to Lefkada. We stoped there, eat something visit a little of this beautiful town and leave for the amasing Lefkada.

Ioannina is famous throughout Greece for its silverwork, with a plethora of shops selling silver jewelry, bronzeware and decorative items (serving trays, recreations of shields and swords, etc.). The ornate style of the jewelry and artwork tends to reflect more Turkish sensibilities than Greek ones, likely due to the lengthy Turkish occupation of the area.

Ioannina is also one of the few places in Greece where one can purchase a hookah. Native Greeks rarely use hookahs for smoking; they are mainly sold to tourists as novelty items and vary in size from small (3 inches in height) to quite large (4-5 ft. tall). The larger ones in particular can be quite striking, and are often purchased by Greeks and tourists alike to be used as decor. For purchasers who would like to experiment smoking with a hookah, most merchants carry a variety of flavored tobaccos.

Within the castle in the centre of Ioannina city, the mosque of Aslan Pasha houses the Municipal History Museum, which includes works of folk art, as well as weapons and swords from the period of the Ottoman occupation of the area.

The neighbouring region of Zagori comprises many traditional villages, such as Papingo, Skamneli and Tsepelovo. The region is noted for its scenery and traditional food.

10 km south of the city lies the Paul Vrellis Greek History Museum, a museum with wax statues, like the Madame Tussaud Museum in London, England.