Thousands of people turned up on Sunday at an indoor arena in Piraeus, south of Athens, to watch a spectacular display of Epirus culture.
The annual gathering of the Panepirotic Association of Greece was a great opportunity for Epirotes to showcase their dance, songs and costumes to a huge audience at the Peace and Friendship Arena.
More than 3,000 dancers from 110 dance groups performed wearing traditional Epirus costumes.
This year, the annual gathering was dedicated to tourism. Organizers say that Epirus is lagging behind other parts of Greece and initiatives need to be taken to advance its image worldwide.
A rugged and mountainous region, Epirus is in the north-west area of Greece. It’s one of the poorest regions in the EU due to its geographical isolation.
The modern Egnatia highway, which links Ioannina to the Greek province of Macedonia and terminating at Igoumenitsa, is the only highway through the Pindus mountains and has served to greatly reduce the region’s isolation from the east.
Also, the Ionia highway, connecting Epirus with Western Greece, helped in reducing the region’s isolation from the south.