Regions of Greece: Zagori
There are few areas of more amazing or more seductive areas in Greece. This collective name (Zagori, Zagoria, Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria) wears the northern part of Pota with a total area of approximately one thousand square kilometers. Conditionally this territory is defined as an equilateral triangle, the southern corner of which rests on Janin, the South-Western side is formed by the Range of the Miticheli and the AOOS River, North – Timfi Range (Tymfi), and the South-Eastern – Varda River Valley and Maurovunion Mount (2100 m) Metsovon. Within the limits of the dock lie 46 villages inhabited by about five thousand inhabitants, thus the population density here is 15 times less than the country average.
The wild landscape of this area is very beautiful and diverse – there is a dense forest, and naked rocks, and miniature sandy deserts, and stormy rivers, noisy in narrow gorges, and a whole network of caves and underground watercourses. But what is not here, so it’s a block of arable land, so the time immemorials these edges were among the poorest in the country. And it’s hard to say that the tapes are aware of – at home from wild stone have 2-3 floors, the churches are well-groomed, and narrow stairs streets, curly between the tiny pales, often smaller and cleaner than in large cities. The character of the horses and their amazing architecture, according to the canons of which even a barn for livestock was built of large stone blocks literally for centuries, attract thousands of people here. There is an unshakable rule – even the restoration of houses goes only with the use of the same materials and technologies as in antiquity – no brick and metal roofs, so the appearance of local villages has been preserved exactly in the same form as many centuries ago. Interestingly, the internal layout of houses here is closer to Turkish than to Greek. Instead of furniture Low benches and pillows on both sides of a closed fireplace, the walls are lined with panels and carpets, and even wooden ceilings and niches for storage of dishes are often painted in the most unexpected colors. In addition, most houses have the so-called "Bimsz" – Powerful basement, more similar to safe or bomb shelter, in which, in case of danger, all the family was hidden. In general, you can choose any of the local villages and spend it all day here, because in addition to colorful local architecture, they will certainly like numerous old bridges, and the green slopes of mountains, and many opportunities for outdoor activities.
One of the main attractions of the region is the magnificent Gorge Vikos (Vikos) and the Astraka pass, through which beautiful trails are withdrawn to the Alpine Lake of the same name. Many picturesque places can be found on the slopes of the Hamila ridges (2480 m), barracks (1803 m) and Smolikas (2637 m, the second in the height of the country’s peak), and at the VoidHomatio, Voidhomatis River (Voidhomatis) , paragliding, mountaineering and environmental recreation. Since 1975, the National Park protects and the Gios Gorge with its walls to a kilometer, and the equally majestic Canyon of the AOOS river north of Mount Hamila.
Region north of the river AOOS is much less visiting tourists than gasport. Nature here is not worse here than in the south, and natural beauty is no less, but local villages are unlikely to offer something like famous fortress houses. In the period of World War II, almost all local settlements were burned by the Nazis, and the population, for the most part – Slavs, fled to Janin and on the island.
A small market town of Konitsa (Konitsa) is famous for its huge bridge over AOOP (built about 1870., Restored in 1913.) and Monastery Stomiu (XVIII in.). And the stretching south of the city, the sorrow of the Smolikas Mountains are one of the last habitats of the ryx and roe in this region. The tiny mountain village of Molyvdoskpastion, or Dipalitsa (23 km west of the city), inhabited mainly by the Albanians and is famous for the monasteries of the XV-XVI centuries, abundance scattered in the surrounding slopes. And lying on the eastern slope of Smolikas Village Distion (Dhistraton) lately becomes more and more famous thanks to the small ski center with two tracks.
