The small island in the lake Pamvotis offers relative peace at a time when crossing the lake was not so easy. Perhaps this is why Michael selected it in the late 13th century. He was a member of the illustrious Byzantine family of Philanthropenoi, but he came here to establish (or renovate) the monastery of Agios Nikolaos. His example was followed by the powerful Byzantine family of Stratigopouloi, who founded a second monastery dedicated to Agios Nikolaos. Gradually the island became a center of monasticism, a small floating Holy Mountain. The monasteries declined in the early 19th century, so they were turned into prisons. Ali Pasha escaped here but he was discovered by the representatives of the Sultan and was executed. Today there no monks here, but the monasteries preserve the memory with their austere stone facades and the bright colorful images of the saints that adorn their walls.