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I'm embarking on a railway adventure that will take me | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
to the cradle of European civilisation. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:10 | |
I'll be using this, | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913, | 0:00:12 | 0:00:17 | |
which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
for the British tourist. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
It told travellers where to go, what to see, and how to navigate | 0:00:22 | 0:00:27 | |
the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the Continent. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:31 | |
Now, a century later, | 0:00:31 | 0:00:32 | |
I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy, | 0:00:32 | 0:00:36 | |
where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:41 | |
I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know | 0:00:43 | 0:00:47 | |
that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:52 | |
I'm continuing my Greek odyssey - | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
I arrived at the port of Piraeus, | 0:01:14 | 0:01:17 | |
from where it was a short ride | 0:01:17 | 0:01:19 | |
to the Greek capital, Athens, and the Acropolis. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
I headed west, in order | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
to pass through the Corinth canal, | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
a challenge of engineering that confounded man | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
for 2,500 years, | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
before striking north to Levadia. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:33 | |
Now I'll make an excursion to Delphi, | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
home of the famous Oracle. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:38 | |
I'll continue north to the port of Volos | 0:01:38 | 0:01:41 | |
and on to the mountain village of Milies. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
I'll finish my journey in the city of Thessaloniki. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
Along the way, like the ancients before me, I'll explore | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
the secret of the Oracle. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:55 | |
The world, the Mediterranean, came and met here in Delphi. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:00 | |
I'll ab-Zorba the Greek nightlife in Volos. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
And show strength that would rival Hercules. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:16 | |
THEY SHOUT | 0:02:16 | 0:02:18 | |
Done! | 0:02:22 | 0:02:23 | |
HORN TOOTS | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
Today, I've left the railway behind, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
to follow a Bradshaw's recommended excursion to Delphi, | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
newly rediscovered at the time of my guidebook. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:40 | |
I'm meeting Christina Stolis | 0:02:40 | 0:02:42 | |
to find out more about the home of the Oracle. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:45 | |
Christina, my first time in Delphi and what a stunning place! | 0:02:48 | 0:02:53 | |
Very special indeed! | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
Bradshaw's says, "On the site of Delphi stood the village of Kastri, | 0:02:55 | 0:02:59 | |
"which was removed to another spot | 0:02:59 | 0:03:01 | |
"in order that the necessary excavations could be made". | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
-So a whole village was taken away? -Completely moved. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
A whole village as of 1892 was relocated to round the corner, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:12 | |
a new modern village was built and the site is excavated. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:15 | |
And how did the villagers feel about it at the time? | 0:03:15 | 0:03:17 | |
-Not very happy to start with. -SHE LAUGHS | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
Can you imagine, people who essentially were goatherds, | 0:03:20 | 0:03:23 | |
who lived and died and were born in these houses, | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
not quite having the necessary education as well | 0:03:26 | 0:03:28 | |
to understand what it meant to live on top of Delphi. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
'Once the modern village of Kastri had been moved, works could begin. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:36 | |
'Train tracks were laid crisscrossing the site | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
'to take away thousands of wagonloads of earth.' | 0:03:39 | 0:03:43 | |
I'm trying to think, what would it have been like | 0:03:43 | 0:03:47 | |
for the 1913 traveller coming to Delphi, do you think? | 0:03:47 | 0:03:51 | |
Just imagine, Delphi's only been open to the public for ten years, | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
it's a brand-new site, | 0:03:54 | 0:03:56 | |
and all the scholars would be | 0:03:56 | 0:03:58 | |
willing to travel in the wilderness on mules | 0:03:58 | 0:04:01 | |
to get up here to see what they've | 0:04:01 | 0:04:03 | |
spent a lifetime, essentially, learning about. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
'One intrepid British lady did exactly that.' | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
Agnes Conway visited Delphi in 1913, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
which would be the same year that your book was written of course. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
-It was indeed. -She's a British archaeologist. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
'Agnes Conway came to study Greece's ancient sites | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
'and travelled widely throughout the Balkans, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
'keeping an account of her experiences.' | 0:04:27 | 0:04:29 | |
She describes Delphi. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:32 | |
"At Delphi Greek history becomes intensely alive." | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
And her own description of the days in Delphi is - "pure bliss". | 0:04:36 | 0:04:41 | |
It is true that it makes the history come intensely alive. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:46 | |
Of course, travellers like Agnes here to experience that history. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:51 | |
The Oracle of Delphi is essentially the whole site. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
And at the centre of this site, the sanctuary, the Temple of Apollo. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
And inside the temple once a month, a local woman, the Pythia, | 0:04:59 | 0:05:03 | |
would go into the basement to inhale the spirit of the god, | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
which came out the ground in the form of vapours, | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
and in doing so she would become enthusiastic. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
Divinely inspired, basically. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
The Pythia possessed by a god, | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
or enthous in Greek, | 0:05:17 | 0:05:20 | |
would then answer people's questions. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
Was there any scientific basis for this? | 0:05:25 | 0:05:29 | |
Well, nowadays geologists and geochemists will talk about | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
how fault lines intersect under the Temple of Apollo. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
And gases seeped out the ground. Methane, ethane, | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
ethylene is what they've identified. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
And that for the ancient Greeks would be divine manifestations | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
and so the Oracle was built. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
-And so a really very, very special place. -Very special. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
The world, the Mediterranean came and met here in Delphi. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
I'm making my way back to Livadia station | 0:06:05 | 0:06:09 | |
to catch my next train along the Athens-Thessaloniki line, | 0:06:09 | 0:06:13 | |
bound for the port of Volos. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
-Ah! A lovely, cool train. -Yes. -Thank goodness! | 0:06:35 | 0:06:39 | |
Joining me for the journey is Panagiotis Kakavas | 0:06:39 | 0:06:43 | |
from the Friends of the Greek Railway Association. | 0:06:43 | 0:06:47 | |
Panagiotis, the railways came quite late to Greece. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:51 | |
Tell me about the early developments in Greece. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:53 | |
We discover railway in...after 1885. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
And from that year until 1916 | 0:06:57 | 0:07:02 | |
there was a...railway explosion, | 0:07:02 | 0:07:07 | |
a railway revolution. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:08 | |
In every single part of Greece there was a line. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:12 | |
What was driving that railway revolution? | 0:07:12 | 0:07:15 | |
Greece was...wanted to be a modern country like the West, | 0:07:15 | 0:07:19 | |
so only with railways this can be done. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
Kharilaos Trikoupis, the Prime Minister at that time, | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
said, "We need railways." | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
Trikoupis began a far-reaching modernisation programme | 0:07:31 | 0:07:34 | |
to prepare the way for the absorption of the Greeks who | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
remained under Ottoman rule. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
During this time, the Greek railway network | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
expanded from seven to around 700 miles of track. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:49 | |
Tell me about this railway, | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
the main railway from Athens to the north of Greece, | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
a spectacular railway, when was this built? | 0:08:00 | 0:08:02 | |
This line we're on now, 1890-1916. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:07 | |
Now that's a very important period politically speaking, | 0:08:07 | 0:08:11 | |
because, of course, the cities to the north | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
that this train is travelling to | 0:08:13 | 0:08:14 | |
-were not part of Greece until 1912, 1913. -Yes, yes. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:18 | |
Greece was getting bigger and bigger. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:21 | |
-And so the railways followed those borders. -Yes, exactly. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
The Ottomans had always refused to | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
allow a rail connection between Athens and their empire. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:31 | |
So at the time of my Bradshaw's, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
travelling all the way to the newly reconquered Thessaloniki by train | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
would not have been possible. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
So when did a train first run between Thessaloniki and Athens? | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
The first train was the famous Simplon-Orient Express in 1920. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:48 | |
One and a half years after the connection. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
The connection was completed in...1919. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:58 | |
And one year later, we had the first train. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
In 1922, a new route for the Orient Express | 0:09:02 | 0:09:06 | |
was opened via the Simplon Tunnel | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
through the Alps between Switzerland and Italy. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
Now Greece was connected physically, | 0:09:12 | 0:09:15 | |
as well as culturally and politically, to Western Europe. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:19 | |
How did Greece afford all these railways? | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
Actually, we didn't afford it, | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
we had our first bankruptcy...caused by the railway. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:30 | |
-The country actually went bust? -Yes. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:32 | |
All the companies building the railway ran out of money. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:36 | |
The Greek government had no money, so bankrupt. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
-It sounds a bit like a modern story of Greece. -Yes. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
The history...repeats itself. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
'It soon becomes clear why building this railway proved so costly.' | 0:09:54 | 0:10:00 | |
Ah! | 0:10:00 | 0:10:02 | |
That is extraordinary! That is extraordinary! | 0:10:02 | 0:10:05 | |
This is the Gorgopotamos Viaduct. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:10 | |
At over 100m, it's one of the highest railway bridges in Greece. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:15 | |
After a change at Larissa, | 0:10:33 | 0:10:35 | |
I continue on the branch line east to Volos. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:38 | |
I've arrived in Volos, | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
which Bradshaw's tells me is the chief seaport of Thessaly, | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
with a thriving population. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
This is one of the loveliest railway stations I've come across in Greece. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:14 | |
After this province became part of Greece in 1881, | 0:11:14 | 0:11:18 | |
it was a playground for foreign railway builders. | 0:11:18 | 0:11:21 | |
And here the Germans laid the tracks | 0:11:21 | 0:11:23 | |
and so they constructed a Bavarian-style railway station. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:27 | |
And what I find a bit of a joke | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
is that here we have a kind of alpine chalet | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
with palm trees outside it. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:34 | |
Modern Volos is built on the site of three ancient cities, | 0:11:42 | 0:11:46 | |
including the homeland of the mythological hero Jason | 0:11:46 | 0:11:50 | |
and his band of Argonauts. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
And luckily for me, I've arrived at dinner time. | 0:11:54 | 0:11:57 | |
The little harbour here is full of fishing boats, | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
so I'm very willing to believe | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
that this lovely seafood is entirely fresh. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:08 | |
So...let's try a little squid. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
Ooh! Look at that, all those little tentacles. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
Delicious. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:19 | |
TRADITIONAL GREEK MUSIC | 0:12:19 | 0:12:22 | |
And Volos has another traditional treat in store for me. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:25 | |
-Bravo! -Thank you, guys. APPLAUSE | 0:13:08 | 0:13:11 | |
As you may have noticed, I don't find it easy to ab-Zorba the Greek. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
Today, my journey continues 16 miles south-east of Volos | 0:13:33 | 0:13:38 | |
at the station of Lehonia. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
I want to visit the mountaintop village of Milies. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
And according to Bradshaw's, there's a train from Volos. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
But no, the line has been discontinued, | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
so I've come to the station of the Lehonia. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
And in 1913 the journey time was one hour and 15 minutes. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:59 | |
But judging by the age of this wonderful vintage rolling stock, | 0:13:59 | 0:14:03 | |
I think I'll be lucky to do it in that time today. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
This line is only one foot, 11 and 5/8 of an inch wide, | 0:14:13 | 0:14:17 | |
making it one of the narrowest gauges in the world. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
It was extended to my destination, Milies, in 1903. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:25 | |
I don't want to say that this train is slow, but a lame dog is faster. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
Although it looks old, this locomotive is a disguised diesel, | 0:14:36 | 0:14:41 | |
installed after the coal-fired locomotives | 0:14:41 | 0:14:43 | |
caused numerous fires along the track. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
It's called Moudzouris, which means "smudger" in Greek, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:51 | |
a reference to the smoky engines of the past. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
Our little narrow-gauge train has been winding through olive groves | 0:15:04 | 0:15:09 | |
and the passengers have been leaning out and seizing the fruit. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
We've been passing streams and valleys, over bridges and viaducts. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:16 | |
This is the wonderful Kalorema viaduct. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:20 | |
We have fantastic views of the sea | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
and now we're winding up into the mountains. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:26 | |
Our little train has climbed a long way towards Mount Pelion. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:35 | |
This was the summer residence | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
of the 12 gods of Olympus in Greek mythology. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
This was also the playground of the centaurs, | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
those mythological beasts that were half man and half horse. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:48 | |
We've arrived at Milies station, | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
but my ride isn't quite over yet. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
MEN SHOUT IN GREEK | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
A single track means that everyone | 0:16:05 | 0:16:07 | |
must help to turn the engine around for its descent. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:11 | |
MEN SHOUT IN GREEK | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
MAN SHOUTS IN GREEK | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
Done! | 0:16:19 | 0:16:21 | |
HORN TOOTS | 0:16:21 | 0:16:23 | |
Hello. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:37 | |
TRADITIONAL GREEK MUSIC PLAYS | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
THEY TOAST IN GREEK | 0:17:14 | 0:17:16 | |
Have you lived here all your life? | 0:17:19 | 0:17:21 | |
I live all my life here. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:23 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
The church is a big part of your life? | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
And Michalis is not alone. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
Modern Greece's national identity | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
was defined by the Orthodox Church. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
Today, about 97% of Greece's population | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
are still practising Orthodox Christians. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:19 | |
Your church is extraordinarily beautiful. It's wonderful. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:21 | |
Beautiful and very interesting. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
In the time of the building of the church 400 years ago, | 0:18:23 | 0:18:28 | |
the Greek state live under the Turkish state. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
So they made the church very, very secret from outside. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:36 | |
Not look like church from outside. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
First without windows down, no windows down, | 0:18:38 | 0:18:42 | |
only small and high, nobody can see easy inside. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:46 | |
-Second without bang-bang. -Bell? | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
Bell and cross on the roof of the church. Nothing. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
When constructing this clandestine church, | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
its builders were able to create another special thing, | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
a unique acoustic. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
SOFT THUDDING | 0:19:04 | 0:19:06 | |
That's extraordinary! | 0:19:06 | 0:19:07 | |
Because there is not echo inside of the church. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
If sing five person, hearing five different voices. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:15 | |
Oh, beautiful! | 0:19:15 | 0:19:16 | |
MICHALIS SINGS IN GREEK | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
-I am not singer. -MICHALIS LAUGHS | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
Bravo! | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
I do...I do only for the church. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:58 | |
MICHALIS LAUGHS | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
Thank you. Bye-bye. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:01 | |
I join the railway line back at Volos, | 0:20:05 | 0:20:07 | |
to continue my journey north to the city of Thessaloniki. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:12 | |
I can't help noticing that I'm the only person on this train | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
over the age of 25 and not carrying a rucksack. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
And I'm just wondering what is going on. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
Excuse me. May I ask you, there are a lot of young people on this train, | 0:20:31 | 0:20:35 | |
a lot of young people with rucksacks. Why? | 0:20:35 | 0:20:37 | |
Where are you coming from or where are you going to? | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
We are coming from a festival | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
and we're returning back to our home city, Thessaloniki. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
-So did you all have a good time? -Yes! -Amazing time, yes. | 0:20:43 | 0:20:47 | |
Is that a Bible? | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
No, this is not a Bible, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
this is a 1913 guidebook. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:55 | |
-Original? -Absolutely original. Look. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
We have all the timetables of the trains of 100 years ago. | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
And here we have all the hotels of 100 years ago. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
And in the middle we have all the text | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
about the different countries of Europe, including Greece, | 0:21:07 | 0:21:10 | |
but there's no mention of any festivals. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:13 | |
Oh. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
-There's also a lot of dust in there. -There is. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
MICHAEL LAUGHS | 0:21:17 | 0:21:19 | |
I don't envy the editor of Bradshaw's Guide 1913. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:40 | |
There was war in the Balkans | 0:21:40 | 0:21:41 | |
and international frontiers were changing fast. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
Of the city of Thessaloniki, listed here under Turkey, | 0:21:45 | 0:21:50 | |
Bradshaw's says that it's been | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
captured by the Greeks since November 9th, 1912. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
But in the year of publication, the Turks were mounting | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
an effective counterattack and seizing back territory in Europe. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:04 | |
Where would the border between Christendom | 0:22:04 | 0:22:07 | |
and the Islamic world end up? | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
'I shall find out tomorrow, after a night's rest in Thessaloniki.' | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
Thessaloniki, or Salonika in Bradshaw's, | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
is now Greece's second city. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
But in 1913, fewer than a third of its inhabitants were Greek. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:45 | |
In fact, my guidebook notes - "About half the population are Jews, | 0:22:45 | 0:22:50 | |
"descendants of those driven out of Spain." | 0:22:50 | 0:22:52 | |
Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians and Turks also lived here, | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
making turn-of-the-century Thessaloniki | 0:22:58 | 0:23:02 | |
a most extraordinarily diverse society. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
But back in 1913, things weren't so agreeable. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
I'm meeting local historian Anastasia Gaitanou, | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
better to understand the city's history. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:19 | |
Anastasia, at the time of my guidebook there are wars going on. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
What are they about? | 0:23:22 | 0:23:24 | |
Well, this war, er, wars, are the so-called Balkan Wars. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
They took place on the Balkan Peninsula. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
This is where we are. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:31 | |
We are the south tip of the Balkan Peninsula. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
And they were wars led mainly by the new countries that were being | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
established and formed on the Balkan Peninsula, | 0:23:37 | 0:23:40 | |
trying to get as much as they could from the decaying Ottoman Empire... | 0:23:40 | 0:23:44 | |
that was referred to as the "sick man of Europe". | 0:23:44 | 0:23:47 | |
Of course, they were trying to get access to the Aegean Sea, | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
trying to get as many of the ports as they could, | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
as much territory as they could, but also establish national states. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:59 | |
And was Thessaloniki an important strategic objective? | 0:23:59 | 0:24:03 | |
Absolutely. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:05 | |
It was considered, already in the Ottoman Empire, | 0:24:05 | 0:24:07 | |
the third most | 0:24:07 | 0:24:08 | |
important port after Constantinople, Istanbul today, and Izmir. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:12 | |
It is in the south tip of the Balkan Peninsula, | 0:24:12 | 0:24:16 | |
connecting, practically, Europe to Asia, to Africa. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:20 | |
At the outbreak of the First Balkan War, Greece pushed north. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:25 | |
In an unexpectedly rapid campaign, on the 26th October, 1912, | 0:24:27 | 0:24:32 | |
under the heir to the throne, Prince Constantine, the Greek army | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
rode into Thessaloniki claiming this all-important city for Greece. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:40 | |
Did the king manage to visit the city after it was liberated? | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
He came to Thessaloniki three days after it was liberated, | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
to show royal presence and to make it clear to everybody that this is | 0:24:49 | 0:24:53 | |
a Greek city now, because everybody wanted to have it and it was a huge | 0:24:53 | 0:24:58 | |
competition with the Bulgarians, who arrived only a few hours later. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:02 | |
He loved the city. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:03 | |
He loved the promenade of Thessaloniki and the seafront, | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
and he would walk many times along this promenade. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
And usually he would walk without really that many escorts, | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
or bodyguards, just one or two which, of course, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
at the end proved to be quite fatal. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:19 | |
Less than six months after the annexation of this city, | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
a horrific event would unexpectedly throw Greece into turmoil. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
On these streets, | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
the reign of the beloved King George I of the Hellas | 0:25:32 | 0:25:36 | |
came to a tragic end. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
Well, this is the very spot where he was assassinated in March of 1913. | 0:25:44 | 0:25:48 | |
He was shot through the heart by a teacher who was | 0:25:48 | 0:25:52 | |
jobless at the time, who was called a socialist and an anarchist, | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
and it was not a good thing to be called that in 1913. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:59 | |
And it was said that he had asked for financial support | 0:25:59 | 0:26:01 | |
by the king. It was not given to him, so he wanted revenge. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:05 | |
What were the political consequences of the assassination? | 0:26:05 | 0:26:08 | |
Well, the worst thing that happened afterwards | 0:26:08 | 0:26:10 | |
was the so-called National Schism. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
Greece divided. Half of the population were supporting the ideas | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
of George I, who was a supporter of Russia, England and France. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:22 | |
He had ties to the British royal house, | 0:26:22 | 0:26:25 | |
his sister, Alexandra, was the wife of King Edward VII. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:29 | |
While his son and successor, King Constantine I, | 0:26:29 | 0:26:33 | |
was a supporter of Austria-Hungary and Germany. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:36 | |
His wife was the sister of Kaiser Wilhelm at the time. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
So, two completely different approaches | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
and two completely different ideas that really tore Greece in two. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:47 | |
After nearly of century of nation-building under | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
the influence of the European powers, it was the breakdown | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
in their relationships that would ultimately divide Greek society. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:11 | |
A division that would have repercussions for Greek politics | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
up to the Second World War and beyond. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
Greek history is steeped in blood. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:23 | |
Assassinations and numerous battles to gain | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
independence from the Ottoman Empire. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
And after my Bradshaw's Guide, two world wars and civil war. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:34 | |
Modern Greece has suffered from inflated expectations. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
For example, some British Romantics hoped for a reincarnation | 0:27:37 | 0:27:42 | |
of Classical Greek virtues and perfection. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
No nation could live up to such an inflated ideal. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:49 | |
On my next journey, I'll hear how Black Forest fairytales | 0:27:52 | 0:27:56 | |
unified the Germans. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:58 | |
The forests came to stand for German-ness, | 0:27:58 | 0:28:01 | |
so they were really, really important in building up | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
this common heritage. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
CLOCK CUCKOOS | 0:28:08 | 0:28:09 | |
'And I'll try for a place amongst Germany's master carvers.' | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
Oops, not quite as clean as yours, but...' | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
But not too bad for the first one. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 |