Keramitsa

Keramitsa (Greek: Κεραμίτσα) is perched 620m, half way up Mount Velouna, in the rugged mountains of Eastern Mourgána (1806m). On the foothills of which many a bloody battle of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

(1943 to 1949) were fought. After the 2011 administrative division reforms “Kalikratis”, it is part of the municipality of Filiátes, in the regional unit of Thesprotía,

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is located between the villages of Kokkinolithári, Ravení, and Maloúni, situated 22km northeast of

Filiates Filiates ( el, Φιλιάτες; ) is a town and a municipality in Thesprotia, Greece. It is located in the northernmost part of the regional unit, bordering western Ioannina regional unit and southern Albania. Name The region of Filiates was kno ...

, 55km west of

Ioánnina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative ...

, and 35km northeast of the busy port of the regional capital, Igoumenítsa, on the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. Nowadays, it’s a relatively small village with approximately 150 permanent residents, including those of its hamlets - Préspa, Zovóri, and Hoúria. Not so long ago however, it was the largest regional hub, equipped with a playground, basketball court, recreation hall, primary school, high school, police station, postoffice, telecommunications office, mini market, a butcher store, and 3 taverns. It had a staggering 500 permanent residents, 100 of which resided in the aforementioned hamlets. Nevertheless, during summer this number could reach 1500 when

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

and their descendants would visit from other parts of Greece (mostly

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

), as well as other countries:

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

The United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, among others. Times have changed nonetheless, yet it is renowned in the area for its perpetually running crystal-clean

natural spring A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

water at the quaint hewn stone Pigádi (water-well) under the omnipresent Plane & Pine trees. Additionally, the main square in the centre of the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

(mesohóri), dominated by the historical hewn stone bell tower erected in 1828, is where you can enjoy a quick coffee break at the local

Kafenio A kafenio (Greek καφενεíο(ν), also rendered as ''cafenio, cafeneon''; plural ''kafenia'') is a Greek café. A ''kafenio'' typically serves various types of Greek coffee, including Greek coffee and frappé, as well as beer, retsina, a ...

, or a relaxed food stop at the

Taverna A taverna (Greek: ταβέρνα) is a small Greek restaurant that serves Greek cuisine. The taverna is an integral part of Greek culture and has become familiar to people from other countries who visit Greece, as well as through the establishmen ...

under the thick cool shade of the bicentennial

Plane trees ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...

. During the 1800s, the Skala of Keramitsa, a cobbled path once part of the old Egnatia Odos was one of the biggest intersecting stations, (hánia - Inn’s), on the historical trails where countless caravans supported the flow of commerce, information, and people, across a network of trade routes through the mountains covering all northern Greece. Connecting the coasts of Thesprotía with

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

- all the way to Moldavlachia. - Travel to Epirus, to Constantinople, to Albania and to several other parts of the Ottoman Empire — ''François Pouqueville (1770-1838)'' {{Filiates div Populated places in Thesprotia