In front of a big lake, Ioannina is the old Ali Pasha fortress and the main city of Epirus.
In the XIth century, Ioannina was Norman, then became the capital of the Despot of Epirus. It belonged to the Serb Kingdom during about one century in the XIVth and the XVIth, then to the Ottoman Empire until to 1913.
During the thirty years of the reign of Ali Pasha - started in 1788 when the sultan choose Ali Pasha as governor -, the city acquired its own sovereignty on Albania and northern Greece.
The Lion of Janina played skilfully with alliances to ensure its capacity on the region, in particular with Europeans and especially with the Greeks of the mountains: the Klephtes. The sultan had to fight against this secession of Ali Pasha. Turkish besieged Janina about 15 month and they succeeded to capture Ali who was executed.
Citadel of Ioannina
The old palate of Ali Pasha, rebuilt
Mosque of the citadel
Mosque Aslan Dzami and old town of Ioannina
The Aslan Dzami mosque, old town and lake
Ali Pasha mausoleum
Turkish library
Turkish baths
A mosque
