Ioannina: the lake where Ali Pasha met his death

Overlooking a lake with an inhabited island at its center, Ioannina was the capital of the powerful and ruthless Ottoman governor Ali Pasha.

The center is comfortably explored on foot; boats reach the island.

The Castle of Ioannina, a Byzantine and later Ottoman fortress, houses a museum dedicated to Ali Pasha, the 'Lion of Ioannina' who ruled the region for over thirty years.

Just minutes by boat, the Island of Ioannina, the only inhabited island on a Greek lake, preserves Byzantine monasteries and the exact spot where Ali Pasha was assassinated in 1822.

Continuing along the lake you walk through the Ottoman bazaar of the old town, where artisans still work silver according to centuries-old traditions.

Toward evening, lakeside restaurants serve fresh freshwater fish, a local specialty of Ioannina.

Ali Pasha, known as the Lion of Janina, ruled the region with nearly independent power from the Ottoman Empire before being betrayed and killed in the monastery on the lake island in 1822, an event that inspired poets such as Lord Byron.

Ioannina remains one of Greece's major silver-working centers, a craft tradition dating back to the Ottoman period and still practiced today in the historic center's workshops.