ICCMSE2003 - Information about the city

Kastoria is located in the northwestern side of the Western Macedonia region of Greece. The city of Kastoria is built in a peninsula surrounded by the lake Orestiada and has 16,000 inhabitants. Lake Orestiada has been announced a Monument of National Beauty by the Ministry of Culture. At the lakeshore there are parks and recreation areas. The natural basin of the lake which is enclosed by mountains of excellent geomorphology, constitutes a unique hydrobiotope. It maintains a rich birds fauna, which includes rare and menaced species. In the lake there are great quantities of various fish species and offers the possibility of fishing, both with the traditional boats in the deep waters and with fishing rods on the lake shores.

Kastoria and the surrounding area are internationally known as the centers of manufacturing and trading of furs. Fur manufacturing dates back more than a thousant years and the economic activity of the prefecture centers around furs. Every year an international fur exhibition takes place in Kastoria.

Rich elements of Byzantine culture (Byzantine walls and churches) as well as traditional mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries unique for their architectural design are located in the city of Kastoria. Places of interest are the Byzantine museum, the 74 Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches and the Folklore Museum housed in the Mansion of Nerantzis Aivazis.

Kastoria was occupied in the prehistoric times, 4 kilometers away from the city, by the lake was found a Neolithic settlement that dates back to the 6th millennium BC. Now there is a recreation of the Prehistoric Lake Settlement in an area of 20 acres, where one can walk on the wooden platforms and visit the households, which are build in the lake according to the architecture of the period and with the same materials and see the every day life of the prehistoric inhabitants.

The conference programme includes an excursion on Sunday 14th, we are going to visit the Prehistoric Lake Settlement and two byzantine churches dated back to the 11th and 16th century as well as a traditional mansion by the lake.
Furthermore, the organisers are going to arrange a cultural programme for the accompanying persons, this will include visit to the folklore museum, other traditional mansions and the permanent fur exhibition.

The city of Kastoria is 565 kilometers away from Athens (the capital of Greece) and 200 kilometers away from Thessaloniki (the second larger city in Greece). There is a regular direct flight connection between the prefecture of Kastoria and the capital city Athens.

To arrive at El. Venizelos International Airport of Athens. From Athens one has two options:
either to fly to Kastoria (the duration of flight is 55 minutes),
or can take the shuttle bus from the airport to the central coach station (approximately one hour drive) and travel by coach to Kastoria (the duration of travel is 8 to 9 hours).
To arrive at Macedonia International Airport of Thessaloniki, this is a smaller airport but most major European Airlines fly there (e.g. Olympic, KLM, Swiss, Austrian). Then one can take the shuttle bus to the central coach station (approximately 30 min drive) and travel by coach to Kastoria, which takes at most 3 hours.