A picturesque mountain township east of Yannina on the main road across the Pindus range to Thessaly, Metsovo held a unique place in the Turkish dominions thanks to a story of hospitality and gratitude which seems to be taken straight from the pages of the Arabian Nights. In the 16th century a Grand Vizier incurred the Sultan's disfavour and considering prudence to be the sport ter part of valour he took refuge in the remote mountains of Epirus. For one year he was entertained by a Greek villager who remained ignorant of his visitor's identity. When at last restored to favour the Vizier promised his host anything he might desire. But instead of the expected request for money, the Greek begged freedom from Turkish rule for his home town. The demand was unprecedented but the Vizier kept his word. Four f irmans with golden seals in the Town Hall bear proof of the autonomy granted by successive sultans.
The inhabitants, most of whom still wear the local costume of dark-blue homespun, speak Vlach, a Latin dialect used in several of the mountain village of Epirus. On Sunday afternoons the sturdy peasant girls, dressed in their colourful finery, dance in the shady square. Metsovo is the birthplace of Tositsa and Averoff, both of whom were great benefactors of modern Greece. Visit the Tositsa mansion, rebuilt in 18th-century traditional style. It houses a collection of Epirote arts and and crafts.
Metsovo is a good centre for excursions into the wild Pindus region. The inns are clean and provide tolerable accommodation. There is trout fishing in the Metsovitis rivers. Fishing, as elsewhere in Greece, is free.