The Romaniote Jews or Romaniotes are an ethnic Jewish community native to the Eastern Mediterranean. They are generally one of the oldest Jewish communities in existence and specifically the oldest Jewish community in Europe. Their distinct language was Judaeo-Greek, a Greek dialect that contained Hebrew along with some Aramaic and Turkish words but now speak modern Greek or the languages of their new home countries. They derived their name from the old name for the people of the Byzantine Empire, Romaioi. Large communities were located in Thebes, Ioannina, Chalcis, Corfu, Arta, Preveza, Volos, Patras, Corinth, and on the islands of Zakynthos, Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, and Cyprus, among others. The Romaniotes are historically distinct and still remain distinct from the Sephardim, who settled in Ottoman Greece after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
Arta is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the town of Arta.
Ioannina, often called Yannena within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. Its population is 112,486, according to 2011 census. It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 metres above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis (Παμβώτις). Ioannina is located 410 km (255 mi) northwest of Athens, 260 kilometres southwest of Thessaloniki and 80 km east of the port of Igoumenitsa in the Ionian Sea.
Thesprotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.
Greek National Road 5 is a single carriageway road in western Greece. It connects Antirrio, at the north end of the Rio-Antirrio bridge, with Ioannina in northwestern Greece, passing through Agrinio and Arta. The southern part, between Amfilochia and Antirrio, is part of the European route E55. The northern part, between Ioannina and Amfilochia, forms the European route E951. It passes on the east side of the Ambracian Gulf. In the future much of the traffic that used this road will be diverted to the new A5 motorway, which has already taken over parts of the road.
Greek National Road 6 is a national road in north-central Greece. It begins at the port of Igoumenitsa and ends at Volos, passing through the towns Ioannina, Metsovo, Trikala and Larissa. The section between Metsovo and Volos is part of the European route E92. The road runs through five regional units and the regions of Epirus and Thessaly.
Ioannina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the city of Ioannina. It is the largest regional unit in Epirus, and one of the largest regional units of Greece.
Mount Smolikas is a mountain in the Ioannina regional unit, northwestern Greece. At a height of 2,637 metres above sea level, it is the highest of the Pindus Mountains, and the second highest mountain in Greece after Mount Olympus. The mountain consists of ophiolite rocks. During several periods in the Pleistocene the northern and eastern cirques and valleys were glaciated. The last glaciers of this area retreated around 11,500 years ago. It is drained by the river Aoos to the south, and the river Vourkopotamo to the north. There is a small alpine lake called "Drakolimni Smolika" near the summit, at about 2,200 metres elevation. Nearby mountain ranges are Tymfi to the south, Gramos to the northwest, Vasilitsa to the southeast and Voio to the northeast.
Bizani is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 91.372 km2, the community 11.660 km2. In 2011 its population was 5,124. The seat of the municipality was in Pedini. The municipal unit is situated in the plains and low hills south and southwest of Ioannina. The Greek National Road 5, the Greek National Road 17 and the Egnatia Odos motorway pass through the municipal unit.
The Greek National Road 42 is a highway in northwestern Aetolia-Acarnania and in Lefkada, Greece. It links the town of Lefkada with the Greek National Road 5 in Amfilochia, passing through the town of Vonitsa.
Egnatia Odos or Egnatia Motorway is the Greek part of European route . It is a motorway in Greece that extends from the western port of Igoumenitsa to the eastern Greek–Turkish border at Kipoi. It runs a total of 670 km (420 mi). The megaproject began in 1994 and was completed in 2009 at a cost of €5.93 billion ; it was managed by the company Egnatia Odos, S.A.
The Greek Motorway 5 is a motorway in Greece.
Greek National Road 20 is a single carriageway road in northwestern Greece. It links the cities of Ioannina and Kozani via Konitsa and Siatista. It passes through the Ioannina, Kastoria and the Kozani regional units. Since the opening of the A2, it is no longer the fastest connection between Kozani and Ioannina. The section between Ioannina and Kalpaki is part of the European route E853.
Vissani is a village in the municipal unit of Delvinaki, Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. It is situated in the mountainous Pogoni area near the Albanian border, at 750 m above sea level. A small road connects Vissani with the Greek National Road 22 Kakavia - Kalpaki.
European route E 92 is an A-Class European route, crossing the Greek regions of Epirus and Thessaly.
The Kakavia or Kakavijë border crossing is a major road border crossing between southern Albania and northwestern Greece. On the Albanian side lies the village of Kakavijë, located in the Gjirokastër County, Dropull region. On the Greek side lies the village of Ktismata, in the Delvinaki municipality, Ioannina regional unit. The main road from Sarandë and Gjirokastër to Ioannina passes through this border crossing. The Greek National Road 22 connects Kakavia with the GR-20 at Kalpaki.
The University of Ioannina is a university located 5 km southwest of Ioannina, Greece. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and became an independent university in 1970.
The Vilayet of Janina, Yanya or Ioannina was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1867. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 18,320 square miles (47,400 km2). It was created by merging Pashalik of Yanina and Pashalik of Berat with sanjaks of Janina, Berat, Ergiri, Preveze, Tırhala and Kesriye. Kesriye was later demoted to kaza and bounded to Monastir Vilayet and Tırhala was given to Greece in 1881.
Greek National Road 17 is a single carriageway road in northwestern Greece. It connects Ioannina with Dodoni, via Bizani.
European route E 853 is a European B class road in Greece and Albania, connecting the city Ioannina – border Albania.
