After here are the villages of Pontokomi, Mavrodendri, and Drepano, the line climbing to its hight point of 701meters. Kozani has a population of around 35,000. It is little visited by foreign travellers, and is the communications and transport center for western Macedonia and Ipirus, as well as an agricultural market and military center. There are old wooden mansions here, nice squares and curving pedestrian streets, and several museums. There was a serious earthquake here in 1995. This town was created by voluntary population transfers from Ipirus during the 14th and 15th centuries, and later settlers from Agrafa during the 17th century. A city much favored by the sultan's mother, artitisan converged here during the 18th century: tanners, weavers, bronze and fur workers. From here traders radiated out into Central Europe and the consequent wealth financed fountains, churches, cobbled streets and the arhondika, or upper class mansions, these being two storeyed and timber framed. The schools here, and the first public library in western Macedonia (endowed by an Archbishop) helped foster Hellenism, but the city waited until 1912 for liberation from the Ottomans; Greek cavalry used it as a base when struggling with the Bulgarians during the First Balkan War soon thereafter. There is a good archaeological museum; there is also plenty of accommodation.
A road leads south from Kozani over the Alakmon River hydroelectric lake via a 2km bridge, which used to be the longest in Greece, until the Rio Andiro bridge was finished. At the foot of Mt. Pieria is the village of Velvendio, with Byzantine churches and a cave with a waterfall concealing its entrance. This road leads to Servia (pop. around 3500) , which got its name from the colony of Serbs who were re settled here in the 7th century as a buffer against invaders. The Pass of Sarandoporos was the main north-south route between Thessaly and Macedonia before the modern era. A road going west from Kozani gives access to Ipirus, as well as to two interesting towns. Siatista (pop. Around 7,000) is a fur trading town, most likely settled during the 15th or early 16th century by Ipirit immigrants. It was a prosperous town from which, like Kozani, business radiated into central Europe; with nearby Kastoria, it organized foreign financial and political support for the struggle against Ottoman rule in the 18th century. It was hidden from the main roads, unknown to the Turks for decades after their seizure of the rest of western Macedonia. There are two platias (town squares)-an upper and a lower-linked by a long street with the town's only hotel. The mountains which surround the town were covered with vineyards wiped out by a plant disease in the 1920s, and are now barren, but the excellent, sweet local wine is still produced on a small scale. There are 18th century arhondika in the town with overhanging second floors aned wattle-and-daub finish over stone foundations, which have been restoed and can be viewed. Especially interesting is the Keratzis mansion, which has a wall painting of a harbor scene with peacocks up in the clouds; there are two 17th century churches, and a fine public library founded by a 19th century scholar. A nationally known two-day long paneyiri (saint's day festival) is held here, during the major annual 15 August (Dekapend-avgousto) paneyiri celebrated all over Greece. Locals parade in costume on horses also adorned for the occasion, some of them dancing to live traditional music on the horses' backs. The festival goes on without a break during those two days.
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