Ioannina Castle

The castle of Ioannina is the oldest Byzantine fortress in Greece. It is where Ali Pasha, an Ottoman Ruler had his court. The following I pulled from Wikipedia because I couldn't remember the details of the talk we had there: During his rule, the town of Ioannina developed into a major educational, cultural, political and economic hub. In order to achieve his goals he allied with all religious and ethnic groups in his territory. At the same time he did not hesitate to fiercely crush any opponent. He also developed relations with European powers. He operated as a semi-independent despot and pragmatically allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time.

 

this dog wanted to listen to the report

view from the castle

 

 Ali Pasha is supposedly buried here, and I thought I took a picture of his tomb, but I guess I didn't.
Wikipedia has one though: click here