Ioannina Island

Ioannina is a city in north-western Greece and the capital of the region of Epirus. This town is of great historical importance, having been the cultural, political, and administrative center of the region for centuries, and it is located on the shores of Lake Pamvotis.

Inside the lake there is a small unnamed island, usually referred to as Ioannina Island, and it hosts the third most important monastery complex in Greece after Mount Athos and Meteora. Since the thirteenth century, when Byzantine aristocrats fleeing after the 1204 Sack of Constantinople settled in Ioannina, multiple monasteries started being built all around the islet. All the monasteries are richly decorated and can be easily reached by walking around the island.

During the rule of Ali Pasha in Ioannina, between 1788 and 1822, the area flourished. When the Ottomans besieged the city to take down the powerful local ruler, Ali Pasha fled here and was killed inside one of the monasteries by Ottoman troops in 1822. Now, a small settlement with around 200 inhabitants survives on the northern part of the island, which also hosts a museum dedicated to Ali Pasha. Also, various species of birds can be seen in and around the island.