3 Best Sights in Epirus and Thessaly, Greece

The main attraction on Nissi is the 16th-century Ayios Pandelimonos Monastery, now the Ali Pasha Museum. Ali Pasha was killed here in the monks' cells on January 17, 1822, after holding out for almost two years. In the final battle, Ali ran into an upstairs cell, but the soldiers shot him through its floorboards from below. (The several "bullet" holes in the floor were drilled there when the original floor had to be replaced.) A wax version of the assassination can be seen at the Pavlos Vrellis Museum of Greek History in Bizani, south of Ioannina. A happier (and significantly less dead) Ali Pasha, asleep on the lap of his wife, Vasiliki, can be seen in the museum's famous portrait. The Ali Pasha Museum also houses the crypt where Vasiliki hid, some evocative etchings and paintings of that era, an edict signed by Ali Pasha with his ring seal (he couldn't write), and his magnificent narghile water pipe standing on the fireplace. The community-run museum is generally open as long as boats are running; if the doors are shut, ask around to be let in. The local ticket taker will give a brief tour of the museum (supplemented by an English-language printed guide). A tour is free, but do leave a tip.

Located in the center of town, this museum is the best in the area. It houses exhibits from the greater Epirus, such as Paleolithic tools, inscriptions, statues, headstones, and a collection of coins, all presented in a contemporary exhibition space with multimedia facilities.

Within the larger citadel is the fortress, called Its Kale by the Turks, where Ali Pasha built his palace; these days the former palace serves the city as the Byzantine Museum. The museum's small collection of artworks, actually almost all post-Byzantine, includes intricate silver manuscript Bible covers, wall murals from mansions, and carved wooden benediction crosses covered in lacy silver, gathered from all over the countryside of Epirus. It's carefully arranged in the front half of the museum with good English translations. The second half of the museum houses an important collection of icons and remarkable iconostases, painted by local masters and salvaged from 16th- and 17th-century monasteries. The most interesting section is devoted to silver works from Ali Pasha's treasury from the seraglio. Within the fortress grounds is a very pleasant little café—why not enjoy some light snacks and desserts as you take in the views of the lush gardens around the Byzantine Museum and the impressive old ruins? Nearby is the Fethiye (Victory) Mosque, which purports to contain Ali Pasha's tomb.