We start day six by leaving Monodendri where we stayed last night
We head onto the towering stone forest
The Stone Forest is an amazing natural creation. It is one of the more bizarre and beautiful places in Greece. Layers of natural rock formations shaped like trees at an altitude of 1,500 meters. Geomorphs that resulted from the disintegration and erosion of limestones in an alpine environment, located in a normal forest of oaks and maples.
We then head on a boat ride on the lake in Ioannina to Nissaki Island, haunt of the famous Ali Pasha, Napolean Bonapate's allywho was assassinated there by the Sultan's troops. We welcome Shabbat at the Ancient synagogue and daven there on Shabbat
The Kahal Kadosh Yashan Synagogue on Justinianos Street is located inside the walled Castro, near the Big Gate.
The original structure of the synagogue probably dates to the Byzantine period. It is not clear whether it was constructed on the site of an earlier synagogue or if it is the first official house of worship of the Ioannina Jews. The synagogue also had a smaller synagogue next to it, but it was destroyed during the occupation by the Germans. The Jewish community of Ioannina does not have the money to restore it, thus, the shell of the former small synagogue (Minyan) remains as left by the Germans.
A tall, stone wall surrounds the synagogue and its property. The synagogue is built as a square and is divided by eight interior columns with connecting arches. At the eastern end is a neo-classical Holy Gate “Ehal Akodes” and opposite, at the western end is an elevated “Bemah”, from which the Torah is being read. The women’s section (mehitza) is in the balcony that runs along the northern side. The devan-like benches are parallel to the central axis of the building. A box behind each seat holds a prayer shawl, a prayer book and tefillin (for the men’s morning prayer). Along the walls of the interior are a series of plaques inscribed with the names of those Ioannina Jews lost in the Holocaust. This interior design conforms to the Romaniote tradition (with some Venetian and older local influence). The women’s ritual bath (mikvah) is located outside and behind the building.
Although the synagogue has been restored twice, in 1881 and in 1987, the building still retains its original character.
The Minyan Yashan (the annex) was known as the House of Abraham and Sarah because it was built by the Abraham family. During the occupation, the Germans burned the building and its shell is all that remains.
The synagogue likely survived the occupation as a result of the efforts of Demetrios Vlachides, who was the mayor of Ioannina. He seemingly convinced the Germans that the Greeks would use the building as a library and that the Torah Scrolls and other sacred material should be placed in the municipal museum. These were returned to the survivors after the war. The Germans took the furniture, decorations and chandeliers. Mayor Vlachides was honored with a gold plaque inside the synagogue.
Ioannina (Greek: Ιωάννινα Ioánnina [i.oˈa.ni.na] ⓘ), often called Yannena (Γιάννενα Yánnena [ˈʝa.ne.na]) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, . According to the 2021 census, the city population was 64,896 while the municipality had 113,978 inhabitants. It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 metres (1,640 feet) above sea level, on the western shore of Lake Pamvotis (Παμβώτις). Ioannina is located 410 km (255 mi) northwest of Athens, 260 kilometres (162 miles) southwest of Thessaloniki and 80 km (50 miles) east of the port of Igoumenitsa on the Ionian Sea.
The city's foundation has traditionally been ascribed to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, but modern archaeological research has uncovered evidence of Hellenistic settlements. Ioannina flourished in the late Byzantine period (13th–15th centuries). It became part of the Despotate of Epirus following the Fourth Crusade and many wealthy Byzantine families fled there following the 1204 sack of Constantinople, with the city experiencing great prosperity and considerable autonomy, despite the political turmoil. Ioannina surrendered to the Ottomans in 1430 and until 1868 it was the administrative center of the Pashalik of Yanina. In the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment.[3][4][5][6] Ioannina was ceded to Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars.
The city is also characterized by various green areas and parks, including Molos (Lake Front), Litharitsia Park, Pirsinella Park (Giannotiko Saloni), Suburban Forest. There are two hospitals, the General Hospital of Ioannina "G. Hatzikosta", and the University Hospital of Ioannina. It is also the seat of the University of Ioannina. The city's emblem consists of the portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian crowned by a stylized depiction of the nearby ancient theater of Dodona. …...more
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