Konitsa

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Konitsa is a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border located at Mertzani near Melissopetra. It lies amphi-theatre shaped on a mountain slope of the Pindos mountain range, overlooking the valley where the river Aoos meets the river Voidomatis. The valley is used for farming.
Κonitsa is referred for first time in the "Chronicle of Ioannina"(1380). The castle of Konitsa was stregthened by the ruler of Epirus, Thomas II Preljubović. During the ottoman period Konitsa became seat of the homonymous kaza (district) attracting also Turks and Albanians inhabitants. Konitsa was liberated in 1913. Greek general and politician Konstantinos Dovas as well as the Albanian intellectual Faik Konica were born in the town.
Konitsa is a regional centre for many small Pindos villages, and there are shops, schools and a hospital. It is a good starting point for tourists who want to explore the Pindos mountains, or who want to go rafting in the river Aoos or parapenting.