We headed out on the start of our three week vacation on June 14th. The first day was mainly traveling, as we had to drive to Ioanninia.
It is a whole ta-do to rent a car in Thessaloniki, and even more if you are renting two cars. My dad and Ben took the city bus out to the Thessaloniki airport. There, the car company picked them up and took them to the car rental company place. They did all the paperwork associated with the rental and drove the cars back to our apartment. There are never parking spots near our apartment since we live in a very popular part of town. So, Mom, Miller, and I had all the bags ready outside the apartment. Dad and Ben pulled up, double parked (very common here), and we quickly packed the car and headed out.
It took us about three hours to reach Ioanninia. Ioannina is the capital of the Epirus region of Greece. It is an absolutely beautiful city with so many trees and flowers. Each morning was significantly cooler than in Thessaloniki with a small bit of fog on the lake that the city is on the shores of (Lake Pamovitis), although it still got pretty hot by the afternoon! The city itself was founded in 6th century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. It was biggest during Ottoman times, because it was considered an important silversmithing city.
When we arrived, we were just settling into the Airbnb when my dad realized that he had left his phone at our apartment in Thessaloniki. So, unfortunately, my parents headed back to Thessaloniki for the night. Don't worry. They came back the next day. It was just a LOT of driving.
Ben, Miller, and I went to check out Lake Pamvotida. It is the largest lake in Epirus at 8km long. There is a great path that encircles the entire lake. You can bet that I ran on the path each day we were there! We also sat by the lake each night to see the sunset.
Panoramic view of Lake Pamvotida!
Since Mom and Dad had to complete the drive to Ioanninia for a second time, they weren't able to join us for our second day in the city until around supper time. However, Ben, Miller, and I tried to make the most of the day as we waited for them.
In the middle of Lake Pamvotida is a little island called To Nisi (this translates to The Island-there is no official name for this island). It is a super cute little island that has about 200 people who live there year-round. We took one of the little ferries out to the island and headed to the Ali Pasha Museum.
Ali Pasha was one of the most prominent leaders of the Ottoman Empire. He was Albanian and the island was his summer home. Ali Pasha's father was murdered when he was a young age, so he was brought up by his mom. His mom killed Ali Pasha's half brother and half brother's father to secure his place as the next ruler. These events really speak to who he became as a ruler. He ruled with fear, killings, and take overs.
While in rule, Ali Pasha created an almost completely independent state involving the territory of Albania and mainland Greece. Ioanninia credits him with putting Ioanninia on the map, as it was under him that the city became a major educational, political, economical, and cultural hub. However, even with this great contribution to Ioanninia, he was a petty ruler who would turn areas on each other or rulers against each other to get what he needed and wanted. He also committed many people to die just for annoying him.
Eventually, he had done enough to anger people that the ruler of Constantinople put out a death warrant for him. He was tracked by an Ottoman army to his home in Ioanninia and shot through the floor boards of his home. He was then dragged outside and beheaded while still alive. The coolest part of the museum, is that they roped off the part of the floor through which Ali Pasha was shot and have the bullets there for people to see.
On our final day in Ioanninia, we took a drive to see Dodoni and Perama Cave. Dodoni was once the religious capital of the ancient Epirote Alliance. It is most famous for a massive theatre it has that was built in the 3rd century BCE. The Temple of Aphrodite is also housed on this site. It housed Greece's oldest oracle-an old oak tree that priests would use to interpret the rustling leaves.
The theatre in Dodoni.
This is not the original oak tree at the Temple of Aphrodite, but conveniently there is one that grows there! We tried listening to the leaves and interpreting them, but all we could hear them saying was that it was very hot outside. 😂
After Dodoni, we made a stop at Perama Cave. It is Greece's largest and most impressive cave, spanning 15,000 square meters. Perama Cave was discovered by accident in 1940 by residents that were fleeing the German bombing attacks on the city. Then, in 1950's spelunking officially began in the cave. The tour was super cool, as the cave is HUGE. There were also tons of different stalactites and stalagmites that are so much bigger than I have ever seen. Near the end of the tour, we were shown the spot where spelunkers found the fossils of animal teeth and bones that belong to the rare cave bear (now extinct).
Miller and I in the cave.
Crazy stalactites in one of the chambers of the cave.
A little cave puddle/pond.
One of the large chambers of the cave.
Next up on our tour of Greece is the ancient city of Delphi!
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