Syrrako and Kalarrytes
Two twin Vlach villages in the northern Tzoumerka, separated by the ravine of the Chroussias.
- Syrrako
- About 1,200 m, 391 residents (2021)
- Kalarrytes
- 1,170 m, 236 residents (2021)
- Language
- Aromanian (Vlach)
- Distance
- Syrrako: about 52 km from Ioannina
Syrrako and Kalarrytes are twin villages of the Tzoumerka, in the Ioannina regional unit, today municipal units of North Tzoumerka. They are separated by the deep ravine of the river Chroussias, a tributary of the Arachthos.
Syrrako
It lies about 52 km southeast of Ioannina, at 1,200 m, on the slopes of Peristeri. It had 391 residents in 2021. After 1480 it was the capital of the self-governed Malakasioi federation of 42 villages. Its economy grew from herding into trade in wool textiles; its capes were in high demand. The Ottomans destroyed it on 10 July 1821. The poet Kostas Krystallis (1868–1894) was born here. Nearby are the 13th-century Kipina Monastery and the Anemotrypa cave with an underground river.
Kalarrytes
It lies at 1,170 m and had 236 residents in 2021. The community speaks Aromanian; elderly residents are bilingual, while younger ones understand the language without using it. The climate is temperate oceanic, with about 1,493 mm of rain a year. Sotirios Voulgaris (1857–1932), founder of the Bulgari fashion house, was born here.
