The Castle of Ioannina
In a recent post, I shared about the island on the lake of Ioannina and the history and the legends that connect it to Ali Pasha.
This evil Ottoman ruler had given the order to drown Lady Frosini and seventeen other women in the lake, and it was an injustice so huge and so cruel that the Greeks never managed to forget it across the centuries. You can read my post here if you missed it.
Today, I am sharing about the Castle of Ioannina, i.e. the fortified old quarter of the city that offers stunning views of the mountains and the lake. Visitors can visit there a series of historical buildings.
The Castle of Ioannina has maintained the same form since the Ottoman period. Ali Pasha rebuilt it in 1815 almost from scratch. Previously, the grounds were used as a fortress in both the Byzantine and Hellenistic eras. The Normands also occupied the Castle and made alterations to it.
Perhaps, one of the most beautiful historical buildings in the Castle is the Fethiye Mosque (see photo above). The Church of Archangel Michael used to stand in its place during the Byzantine period.
The tomb of Ali Pasha is situated before the mosque today. Beside it stands the impressive Byzantine Museum of Ioannina that has a line of old cannons outside, on the back end of the building. It was built on the ruins of Ali Pasha’s “Serai” (Turkish for “Palace”).
The visitor will find these edifices in one of the two inner fortresses of the Castle that is called “Its Kale” (Turkish for “Inner Castle”). It was made by the Normands and it is on the southestern corner.
The northeastern corner was once the main fortress area of the Byzantines. The main point of interest here today is the Mosque of “Aslan” Pasha (Turkish for “Lion”).
Other points of interest on the Castle include: The Silversmithing Museum (see photo above), the Treasury, the Hamam, the Byzantine Baths, the Synagogue et al.
More breathtaking views awaited me as I walked along the Lake Pamvotida. The pedestrian path is wide and seems to go on forever. But alas, it was Christmas Day and particularly chilly, so I only had a quick stroll and then dived into a semi-closed space at one of the lakeside cafes that was nicely heated.
The cafe I picked called to me from afar as its sign read “Kyra Frosini” i.e. Lady Frosini of the old legend, which is basically my name – Effrosyni.
I am glad I chose it as it served delicious coffee and the freshest mille feuille that I have ever tasted 🥰
Earlier that day, I had picked a busy family taverna for lunch, which is called Rebetiko. I had roast lamb and it was absolutely yummy. I highly recommend both these places if you’re ever in town!
Again, if you’ve missed my post about Ali Pasha and the museum that bears his name on the little island, you can find it here. I highly recommend a visit there too, if only for the quick ride on the cute little boats across the serene lake waters.
GO HERE TO SEE MY PHOTOS from the lake and the Castle of Ioannina!
My new toy in the kitchen is an air fryer!
Finally, my husband Andy and I caved a couple weeks ago to everyone’s insistence, who kept praising their air fryers, hailing them as the best thing since man invented the wheel (well, not really, but you know what I mean🙃 )
I guess we had to see it for ourselves to believe it.
And it is true. The air fryer has tranformed the way we cook and we now use it on most days. It’s amazing how crunchy it makes fries with just a sprinkle of oil and what a big saving it is on electricity to cook meat as opposed to the oven.
And I still can’t believe how fluffy and tender it makes everything it cooks, especially eggs and meat.
This small frittata with egg, spinach and feta cheese in the above picture is out of this world good. My air fryer is large so I can fit four silicone moulds in it at the same time.
Using 4 eggs, I can make 4 frittatas in no time at all. I just beat the 4 eggs with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, optionally adding some basil too. Then, I mix in 100 ml milk, 50 gr of chopped spinach, 50 gr of crumbled feta cheese and 50 gr of chopped tomatillos.
Using a ladle, I fill the 4 silicone moulds and carefully place them in the air fryer basket.
No need to preheat! I set them to cook at 160 degrees C for 15 minutes and they come out fluffy and golden, a piece of heaven!
Since I am still a new user I am still discovering new recipes. If you have one that you love cooking in your air fryer do comment below or send me an email and share it with me. I’ll be really grateful!😃
Before I go, to share a FREE sample from my upcoming novel, “My Greek Island Christmas”, set in Santorini. Enjoy!
New! Clean Christmas romance. Two broken hearts. One magical holiday. A Santorini farm where anything can happen.
Check it out on Amazon Read a FREE sample!
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