Kyra-Vasiliki

Kyra-Vasiliki Kitsou was the Christian Greek wife of Ali Pasha, ruler of Albania and a great part of modern-day Greece.

Vasiliki Kitsou was born in 1789 in the village of Plisivitsa near Filiates. She met Ali Pasha at the age of 12, when she sought an audience with him to beg him to spare her father's life. The much-older Ali spared her father's life and in 1808 married her, making her his official wife (he had over 600 women at his harem). Despite the fact that she was Ali Pasha's wife, Kyra-Vasiliki was allowed to retain her Christian faith and even converted one of the palaces rooms into a chapel where she could pray.

Kyra-Vasiliki is said to have had great influence over Ali Pasha, an influence she used to save the lives of many Greeks.

When Ali Pasha was captured and executed in 1821, Kyra-Vasiliki was sent as a prisoner to the Sultan in Constantinople. Her life was spared and she was allowed to return to Greece.

She died in Aitoliko, Central Greece, on December 11, 1834.