Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 1 Great Continental Railway Journeys

I'm embarking on a railway adventure that will take me

to the cradle of European civilisation.

I'll be using this,

my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,

which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel

for the British tourist.

It told travellers where to go, what to see, and how to navigate

the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.

Now, a century later,

I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,

where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.

I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know

that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.

On this journey, my guidebook takes me to Greece,

the Kingdom of the Hellas.

In 1913, modern Greece was less than a century old,

a fledgling sea power of strategic interest

to the great powers of Europe.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ottomans,

Russians, Austro-Hungarians, Germans, French and British

vied for influence and control over this new nation.

About 80 years before this guidebook was published,

Greeks, who for centuries had been ruled from Istanbul,

as part of the Ottoman Empire, established an independent state.

They did so with military help from the British who,

in a Romantic age, admired the Ancient Greece

of Pericles and Plato.

Some Greeks hoped that they could have a great future

to match their great past.

But only if they could expand their tiny kingdom northwards

and take in the millions of Greeks

still stranded in the decaying Ottoman Empire.

Bradshaw's tells me that the population of Greece is 2.7 million

but by late 1913, it had almost doubled as Greek troops

captured territory,

making it one of the most auspicious 12 months in modern Greek history.

My journey following the expansion of Greece's northern border

starts at the port of Piraeus, from where it's a short ride

to the Greek capital, Athens, and the Acropolis.

I'll then head west

to pass through the Corinth canal,

a challenge of engineering that confounded man

for 2,500 years,

before I strike north to Levadia

for a Bradshaw's recommended excursion to Delphi,

home of the famous oracle.

I'll continue north to the port of Volos

and on to the mountain village of Milies.

I'll finish my journey in the city of Thessaloniki.

Along the way, I'll find out about the surprisingly ancient

origins of our modern railways at the spectacular Corinth Canal.

So this is incredible - 600 years BC, two parallel lines of stones,

logs running between them and on top of the logs, the ships?

Yes.

I have a dream...of Olympic glory.

CHEERING

MUSIC: Chariots Of Fire Theme by Vangelis

'And I trade the train seat for a saddle.'

I'm having to hoof it through these beautiful olive groves.

'I'm arriving in Greece

'as the traveller would have just over 100 years ago.'

In 1913, war raged to the north of here as Greece,

and its Balkan allies,

sought to evict the Muslim Ottomans from Europe

and to expand their own states.

The only half-safe way to approach was by ship,

to Athens' port of Piraeus.

In October 1863,

Piraeus had been the site of a very significant moment

in modern Greek history.

The newly elected George I,

brother-in-law of British King Edward VII,

and grandfather to the current Duke of Edinburgh,

came ashore here

declaring himself King of the Hellenes,

ruler not just of Greece but of all Greeks.

Today, Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe.

Up to 20 million pass through here every year.

What a delightful railway station!

It stands on the site of Greece's very first railway,

opened in 1869, having been built with the help of British engineers.

In 1904, it became the Hellenic Electric Railway Company

and today it's been absorbed into Athens' metro system.

According to Bradshaw's, "Athens, as it exists, is quite a modern city.

"After centuries of degradation and neglect it was, in 1834,

"little better than an impoverished village

"of about 12,000 inhabitants".

By 1913, that number had grown to 175,000.

Today, close to four million people live here,

around a third of the population of Greece.

In this lively metropolis, Bradshaw's is reassuring.

"The stranger has no difficulty in finding his way about,

"as the Acropolis is clearly seen in view all around,

"and serves as a landmark."

-Hello, Haris.

-Hello Michael. Welcome to the Acropolis.

-The cradle of Western civilisation.

-Exactly.

Wonderful!

'And it's where I'm meeting academic and poet Haris Vlavianos.'

I don't know whether to look at the Acropolis

or whether to look at Athens.

It's an absolutely wonderful view from here, isn't it?

Yeah, very impressive.

The Parthenon, Greece's most famous ancient monument,

was constructed in the fifth century BC by Pericles,

during Athens' Golden Age.

Back in 1913, it was very attractive to tourists visiting Athens

as the home of Plato, Socrates and democracy.

The Parthenon is an extraordinary building, I think without any

parallel and would be recognisable to anyone, anywhere in the world.

What's your assessment of it?

I think that Pericles wanted to build something that would

symbolise the extraordinary culture

and power that Athens had at the time and he was extremely

successful because in 2,500 years, we are standing here

and we know that the Parthenon hasn't lost any significance,

any of its value, for western civilisation.

Wouldn't you say the same?

I would. It's absolutely the heart of it all.

But astonishingly, the ruins

of Greece's classical pre-Christian past

lay neglected and buried for centuries.

Greece had 400 years of Ottoman rule, which makes Greece

a country of the Orient. Before that, we had the Byzantine Empire,

which stressed the identity of the Christian Orthodox.

If you asked Greeks at the time of the Ottoman occupation

to define themselves, they would say

we are Christians, Orthodox, I mean, and they are Muslims.

And in fact if you look at memoirs of people who fought in the Greek

War of Independence they talk about this war as a kind of Jihad, it's

we, the Orthodox Christians against the infidels, against the Muslims.

It was only at the end of the 18th century,

with the advent of European Romanticism,

that Greece's classical culture was once again revered,

by Philhellenes, or lovers of Greece, like the poet Lord Byron.

When he arrived in Athens, he fell in love with a Greek lady.

He wrote a few poems, the Maiden of Athens, for example.

But Lord Byron was interested in politics

as well as Athenian maidens.

On March 25th 1821,

the Greeks began their decade-long struggle for independence.

And Byron came to join their war.

Byron, the poet, was not just a dilettante, was he?

He was a man who actually made a difference

to the issue of Greek independence.

Absolutely - he's one of the most important

figures in this in this movement. His presence here was catalytic.

Byron was also instrumental in bringing money to Greece.

I mean, the first London loan was raised through his assistance.

In 1824, the London Greek Committee

loaned Greece around £350,000 for the War of Independence.

Similar loans were raised from Philhellenic Committees

across Europe.

Despite these efforts,

Byron didn't live to see the Greeks achieve independence.

Just months later, in April 1824, he fell ill

and died in the village of Missolonghi.

To this day, this aristocratic English poet is still

considered a Greek national hero.

The fact he actually died here, I mean,

it made such an impression to the whole world

that this man, you know, comes from England

and dies in this obscure village for this great cause.

The Greek struggle for independence

had become an international cause celebre, and in 1832,

Greece was formally recognised by Britain, France and Russia.

But the entire population of the new Greek state was smaller than

the number of ethnic Greeks who lived under Ottoman rule.

And so the Great Idea was born -

a desire to bring all Greeks into the Greek state, establish a

capital at Constantinople and relive the glories of the Byzantine Empire.

What changes?

Why do the Greeks take an interest in their antiquity?

There was a lot of interest in Greece.

Great classicists came to Greece,

people who wanted to do excavations, they actually said to the Greeks,

this is part of their heritage and they have to invest in it.

And so in 1913, there's no doubt by then that the Greek government,

the Greek people, value their antiquity?

Absolutely. I mean, we have 80 years between 1834 and 1913

so there was a lot of excavation work.

The Parthenon had been restored.

People who arrived here probably saw something more spectacular

than we see today because you had no scaffolding and no cranes

and not too many tourists around so they felt a sense of awe

when they were standing here.

-I feel it today. Shall we find some shade?

-Yeah.

Along with just a few

of the millions of tourists who visit the Parthenon every year,

I'm descending to explore the city.

In 1913, Athens was still a new European capital,

chosen after great national debate

and proclaimed in 1834 by the first King of Greece, Otto.

The 17-year-old second son of the king of Bavaria had been crowned

ruler of the newly formed Kingdom of Greece two years earlier.

He was appointed not by the Greek people,

nor by their government, but by Britain, France

and Russia in order to cement their influence over Greece.

And, in what was becoming a recurring theme,

the German king arrived with a loan

equivalent to over £100 million today.

This is Syntagma Square,

which Bradshaw's refers to as "Place de la Constitution".

Constitution Square. "This is the strangers' quarter.

"Here, or close by, are the principal hotels and cafes."

And behind me is the Palace

that was built for the first king of Greece, King Otto,

which for many years now has been the Greek parliament.

Quite recently, it became famous all over the world

during the Greek Euro crisis.

And between the square and the parliament building march a symbol

of Greece's historic struggles for independence - the Evzones.

The Evzones are traditionally the elite soldiers of Greece.

They're now used for ceremonial duties such as, here, guarding

the tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

The uniform they're wearing now in the summer

represents the Balkan wars of 1912 to 1913.

One of their other uniforms involves a kilt which has 400 pleats,

each representing a year of the Ottoman occupation of Greece.

So that Greek nationalism is literally

sewn into the fabric of the regiment.

'And over 100 years later, it seems the Balkan Wars still resonate.'

Hello, sir. You're a Greek, aren't you?

-Yes, yes.

-But you still come to see the Evzones?

Yes.

I come from time to time because I feel proud about that.

Also because my grandfathers, they fought in the Balkan War

and I feel as a tribute to them,

and to all the people who fought for our independence.

It represents one of our highest moments.

In the shadow of the Acropolis is the oldest part of Athens - Plaka.

It's hard to believe that this small cluster of streets

was almost all that existed when Athens was declared the capital.

-Hello!

-Hello.

Would you like to join us for some coffee or lunch?

-Lunch, please. A table for one.

-For one. Here.

-Thank you very much.

-Here you go.

-Thank you. Something traditional and Greek?

Moussaka. It's the most famous.

Moussaka. The most famous. And what's in that?

Minced beef, aubergine, potato, bechamel. It's delicious.

It sounds great. I'll have moussaka. Thank you.

-Wow! That's huge!

-Moussaka. Enjoy!

-I'm not going to be hungry, am I?

-No. For two days! For sure!

Thank you!

Bechamel.

It's a French word, it's a French food.

So obviously at some point,

the traditional Eastern ingredients

of minced beef and aubergine and potato were married together

with a French product - bechamel.

So even in the most famous of all Greek dishes, East meets West.

I'm stepping back into antiquity

across the city at the Panathenaic Stadium.

Also known as the Kallimarmaro,

meaning "the beautifully marbled",

it's where I'm meeting Spyros Capralos,

the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee.

Spyros, this is THE most beautiful, THE most spectacular stadium.

What is the origin?

Well, this stadium was built 2,500 years ago,

in 338 Before Christ by Lycurgus.

Lycurgus was a pupil of Plato,

who had the idea to construct this stadium in the most beautiful

part of Athens in order to host the Panathenian Games.

Panathenian Games were games where people competed nude

and they were part of a bigger celebration of the city of Athens.

Now, the stadium was obviously rebuilt at some time. When was that?

The stadium was rebuilt for the first modern Olympic Games.

That's when Greece was awarded in 1894 the Olympic Games.

Greece at that time was bankrupt.

The government was afraid to take over and do the games.

However, there were lots of private people who put their own money

to rebuild the stadium and host the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The revival of the ancient Olympic Games was

brought about by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France.

And the Greeks were more than happy to host,

keen to promote themselves on the world stage as heirs

to their newly rediscovered classical heritage.

The opening ceremony was steeped in symbolism.

On March 25th, 1896,

the anniversary of Greek independence,

at the foot of the Acropolis, the reigning monarch, King George I,

declared: "Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."

What was the scale of the 1896 games?

The scale has nothing to do with today's scale of the games.

There were only 311 athletes participating,

from 13 different countries, in nine different sports.

So it was athletics, gymnastics, weightlifting,

wrestling that were all held in this stadium.

Was Greece successful in the games?

Oh, Greece was very successful

because obviously the majority of the athletes came from Greece.

The marathon, so steeped in ancient history,

was THE event the entire nation wanted a Greek to win.

A shepherd's son, Spyros Louis, came in first

and the whole stadium was standing

and was thrilled about this victory.

And I suspect Spyros Louis was pretty thrilled too.

It's said that in celebration of his victory,

he was offered free rail travel for life,

with space for his bicycle in the goods van.

Lucky fellow.

I wonder how he felt, all those years ago,

in this extraordinary place?

MUSIC: Chariots Of Fire theme by Vangelis

Exhausted by the extreme summer heat of Athens,

I feel it's time to find somewhere for the night.

Bradshaw's recommends a "first-class house" -

Hotel de la Grande Bretagne.

Thank you very much indeed.

Bradshaw's promised me a hotel in a good situation

and, really, my view of the Parthenon is unbeatable.

I can also look down here on the Greek parliament.

So I'm looking up to democracy classical style

and looking down on modern Greek democracy.

Today, my route takes me 50 miles west of Athens,

to the city of Corinth in the Peloponnese,

and one of the great wonders of 19th-century engineering.

Now, if you imagine Greece like that,

with the Peloponnese down here and northern Greece here,

the two are just joined by a little piece of land here.

And for many centuries man has been tantalised by the idea

that if you could just cut a canal through this little isthmus,

you could travel from the Ionian Sea to Athens

without having to go all the way round the bottom.

The Corinth Canal, Bradshaw's tells me,

is nearly four miles long, cutting the Isthmus where it is narrowest,

and it's used mainly by Greek coasting vessels.

'Theodora Filandra,

'who works for the company which operates the canal today,

'has kindly offered to take me through it.

'It's not the first time I've been here.'

When I was 20 years old, I was on a cruise ship

and we came through the Corinth Canal.

And it was so exciting cos,

of course, the ship is higher up by the cliffs,

you fill the entire canal from side to side,

it was easily most the most exciting part of the voyage.

It's quite exciting and I'm really happy that you enjoyed it.

When was there first the idea of making a canal?

We're talking about 2,500 years ago

when Periander, the tyrant of Corinth,

one of the Seven Sages of antiquity,

first perceives the idea of cutting through the isthmus of Corinth.

Periander failed to build the canal

because the engineers were unequipped to perform the task.

Instead he built Diolkos.

Diolkos is the...origin of the modern railway.

-The origin of the modern railway?

-Yes.

-600 BC?

-Yes.

-Tell me about it.

-Well, he constructed a road parallel to

the canal that we are transiting now

and it was built with big blocks of stones.

So the vessels, they were stopping on the one side of one bay,

they were unloading the cargos,

which was transported by carriages and slaves,

and the vessels were lifted on logs, tree logs,

and they would slide through the isthmus.

So this is incredible, 600 BC,

two parallel lines of stones,

-logs running between them, and on top of the logs the ships?

-Yes.

SHE LAUGHS

That's even more extraordinary than the canal, I think.

Despite the ingenious Diolkos,

over the following centuries Roman Emperors, ancient Macedonian kings,

and Venetians would all try and fail

to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth.

Just looking up at these enormous cliffs,

this was a huge construction task.

Give me an idea of the scale.

The excavations began in 1882 and the work completed in 1893.

More than 2,000 workers were employed here.

The most modern equipment and mechanics were used.

It was one of the first projects that nitroglycerine was used.

And imagine it was more

than 12 million cubic metres of earth that has been removed,

been excavated during the 11 years of the works.

'And the result was as revolutionary as it is spectacular.'

Well, it saves vessels approximately more than 150 nautical miles,

otherwise they circumnavigate the Peloponnese,

-saving in fuel and time.

-How extraordinary.

I'm ready to carry on my journey north-east via Athens.

Road improvements have taken priority in Greece

and left the rail network today even smaller than it was in 1913.

Trains no longer service the station

that my guidebook recommends for my next excursion.

I'm making my way instead to what Bradshaw's describes

as the "delightfully situated town" of Livadia.

HORN SOUNDS

This train to Livadia has been climbing steadily.

Soon it will be running through the valley alongside Parnassus,

the sacred mountain of Orpheus and Apollo.

I'm travelling into Greek mythology.

HORN

My destination was declared by the god Zeus

to be the centre of the world.

According to myth, to locate that centre

the Father of the Gods released two

eagles from opposite ends of the world,

and they crossed here in these very mountains at Delphi.

And so one of the most sacred ancient sites was built.

From the end of the eighth century BC,

people from all over the ancient world

would come to Delphi to consult the famous Oracle.

In truth, there's no railway station

very near to my destination of Delphi.

And, indeed, Bradshaw's recommends

taking a ferry and then continuing by carriage or on horseback.

In the village, I couldn't find a carriage

and so I'm having to hoof it

through these beautiful olive groves, serenaded by cicadas.

CICADAS CHIRRUP

'Continuing my journey next time,

like the Ancients before me,

I'll explore the secrets of the Oracle.

The world, the Mediterranean, came and met here in Delphi.

I'll ab-ZORBA the Greek nightlife in Volos...

..and show strength that would rival Hercules.

Away!

Coming.

Done.

BELL RINGS, HORN TOOTS