0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm embarking on a railway adventure that will take me
0:00:07 > 0:00:10to the cradle of European civilisation.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12I'll be using this,
0:00:12 > 0:00:17my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:20 > 0:00:22for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27It told travellers where to go, what to see, and how to navigate
0:00:27 > 0:00:31the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Now, a century later,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:47 > 0:00:52that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13On this journey, my guidebook takes me to Greece,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15the Kingdom of the Hellas.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23In 1913, modern Greece was less than a century old,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26a fledgling sea power of strategic interest
0:01:26 > 0:01:27to the great powers of Europe.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Ottomans,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Russians, Austro-Hungarians, Germans, French and British
0:01:38 > 0:01:42vied for influence and control over this new nation.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49About 80 years before this guidebook was published,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Greeks, who for centuries had been ruled from Istanbul,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57as part of the Ottoman Empire, established an independent state.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00They did so with military help from the British who,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04in a Romantic age, admired the Ancient Greece
0:02:04 > 0:02:06of Pericles and Plato.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Some Greeks hoped that they could have a great future
0:02:09 > 0:02:11to match their great past.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15But only if they could expand their tiny kingdom northwards
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and take in the millions of Greeks
0:02:17 > 0:02:21still stranded in the decaying Ottoman Empire.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Bradshaw's tells me that the population of Greece is 2.7 million
0:02:25 > 0:02:30but by late 1913, it had almost doubled as Greek troops
0:02:30 > 0:02:31captured territory,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35making it one of the most auspicious 12 months in modern Greek history.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45My journey following the expansion of Greece's northern border
0:02:45 > 0:02:48starts at the port of Piraeus, from where it's a short ride
0:02:48 > 0:02:51to the Greek capital, Athens, and the Acropolis.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I'll then head west
0:02:54 > 0:02:56to pass through the Corinth canal,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59a challenge of engineering that confounded man
0:02:59 > 0:03:02for 2,500 years,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04before I strike north to Levadia
0:03:04 > 0:03:07for a Bradshaw's recommended excursion to Delphi,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10home of the famous oracle.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14I'll continue north to the port of Volos
0:03:14 > 0:03:16and on to the mountain village of Milies.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I'll finish my journey in the city of Thessaloniki.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Along the way, I'll find out about the surprisingly ancient
0:03:28 > 0:03:32origins of our modern railways at the spectacular Corinth Canal.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38So this is incredible - 600 years BC, two parallel lines of stones,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42logs running between them and on top of the logs, the ships?
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Yes.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46'I trade the train seat for a saddle.'
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I'm having to hoof it through these beautiful olive groves.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53'And show strength that would rival Hercules.'
0:03:53 > 0:03:55HE SHOUTS
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Done.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14'I'm arriving in Greece
0:04:14 > 0:04:17'as the traveller would have just over 100 years ago.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:25In 1913, war raged to the north of here as Greece,
0:04:25 > 0:04:26and its Balkan allies,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30sought to evict the Muslim Ottomans from Europe
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and to expand their own states.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The only half-safe way to approach was by ship,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38to Athens' port of Piraeus.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45In October 1863,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Piraeus had been the site of a very significant moment
0:04:48 > 0:04:50in modern Greek history.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52The newly elected George I,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55brother-in-law of British King Edward VII,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and grandfather to the current Duke of Edinburgh,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00came ashore here
0:05:00 > 0:05:02declaring himself King of the Hellenes,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06ruler not just of Greece but of all Greeks.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Today, Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Up to 20 million pass through here every year.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29What a delightful railway station!
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It stands on the site of Greece's very first railway,
0:05:33 > 0:05:38opened in 1869, having been built with the help of British engineers.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43In 1904, it became the Hellenic Electric Railway Company
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and today it's been absorbed into Athens' metro system.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17According to Bradshaw's, "Athens, as it exists, is quite a modern city.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22"After centuries of degradation and neglect it was, in 1834,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25"little better than an impoverished village
0:06:25 > 0:06:27"of about 12,000 inhabitants".
0:06:28 > 0:06:33By 1913, that number had grown to 175,000.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Today, close to four million people live here,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39around a third of the population of Greece.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46In this lively metropolis, Bradshaw's is reassuring.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49"The stranger has no difficulty in finding his way about,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53"as the Acropolis is clearly seen in view all around,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56"and serves as a landmark."
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- Hello, Haris.- Hello Michael. Welcome to the Acropolis.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- The cradle of Western civilisation. - Exactly.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Wonderful!
0:07:04 > 0:07:08'And it's where I'm meeting academic and poet Haris Vlavianos.'
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I don't know whether to look at the Acropolis
0:07:10 > 0:07:12or whether to look at Athens.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's an absolutely wonderful view from here, isn't it?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Yeah, very impressive.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24The Parthenon, Greece's most famous ancient monument,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28was constructed in the fifth century BC by Pericles,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30during Athens' Golden Age.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Back in 1913, it was very attractive to tourists visiting Athens
0:07:38 > 0:07:41as the home of Plato, Socrates and democracy.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48The Parthenon is an extraordinary building, I think without any
0:07:48 > 0:07:51parallel and would be recognisable to anyone, anywhere in the world.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53What's your assessment of it?
0:07:53 > 0:07:57I think that Pericles wanted to build something that would
0:07:57 > 0:07:59symbolise the extraordinary culture
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and power that Athens had at the time and he was extremely
0:08:02 > 0:08:05successful because in 2,500 years, we are standing here
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and we know that the Parthenon hasn't lost any significance,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11any of its value, for western civilisation.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Wouldn't you say the same?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I would. It's absolutely the heart of it all.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18But astonishingly, the ruins
0:08:18 > 0:08:21of Greece's classical pre-Christian past
0:08:21 > 0:08:24lay neglected and buried for centuries.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Greece had 400 years of Ottoman rule, which makes Greece
0:08:29 > 0:08:33a country of the Orient. Before that, we had the Byzantine Empire,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37which stressed the identity of the Christian Orthodox.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40If you asked Greeks at the time of the Ottoman occupation
0:08:40 > 0:08:42to define themselves, they would say
0:08:42 > 0:08:45they were are Christians, Orthodox, I mean, and they are Muslims.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And in fact if you look at memoirs of people who fought in the Greek
0:08:48 > 0:08:51War of Independence they talk about this war, it's a kind of Jihad, it's
0:08:51 > 0:08:56we, the Orthodox Christians against the infidels, against the Muslims.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58It was only at the end of the 18th century,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01with the advent of European Romanticism,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05that Greece's classical culture was once again revered,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09by Philhellenes, or lovers of Greece, like the poet Lord Byron.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15When he arrived in Athens, he fell in love with a Greek lady.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18He wrote a few poems, the Maiden of Athens, for example.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22But Lord Byron was interested in politics
0:09:22 > 0:09:24as well as Athenian maidens.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27On March 25th 1821,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32the Greeks began their decade-long struggle for independence.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34And Byron came to join their war.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Byron, the poet, was not just a dilettante, was he?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42He was a man who actually made a difference
0:09:42 > 0:09:44to the issue of Greek independence.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Absolutely - he's one of the most important
0:09:46 > 0:09:50figures in this in this movement. His presence here was catalytic.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Byron was also instrumental in bringing money to Greece.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56I mean, the first London loan was raised through his assistance.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59In 1824, the London Greek Committee
0:09:59 > 0:10:06loaned Greece around £350,000 for the War of Independence.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Similar loans were raised from Philhellenic Committees
0:10:09 > 0:10:10across Europe.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Despite these efforts,
0:10:12 > 0:10:17Byron didn't live to see the Greeks achieve independence.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Just months later, in April 1824, he fell ill
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and died in the village of Missolonghi.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27To this day, this aristocratic English poet is still
0:10:27 > 0:10:30considered a Greek national hero.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33The fact he actually died here, I mean,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35it made such an impression to the whole world
0:10:35 > 0:10:37that this man, you know, comes from England
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and dies in this obscure village for this great cause.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The Greek struggle for independence
0:10:44 > 0:10:49had become an international cause celebre, and in 1832,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Greece was formally recognised by Britain, France and Russia.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58But the entire population of the new Greek state was smaller than
0:10:58 > 0:11:01the number of ethnic Greeks who lived under Ottoman rule.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And so the Great Idea was born -
0:11:06 > 0:11:11a desire to bring all Greeks into the Greek state, establish a
0:11:11 > 0:11:16capital at Constantinople and relive the glories of the Byzantine Empire.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19What changes?
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Why do the Greeks take an interest in their antiquity?
0:11:23 > 0:11:27There was a lot of interest in Greece.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Great classicists came to Greece,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32people who wanted to do excavations, they actually said to the Greeks,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35this is part of their heritage and they have to invest in it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39And so in 1913, there's no doubt by then that the Greek government,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41the Greek people, value their antiquity?
0:11:41 > 0:11:47Absolutely, I mean, we have 80 years between 1834 and 1913
0:11:47 > 0:11:49so there was a lot of excavation work.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51The Parthenon had been restored.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54People who arrived here probably saw something more spectacular
0:11:54 > 0:11:57than we see today because you had no scaffolding and no cranes
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and not too many tourists around so they felt a sense of awe
0:12:00 > 0:12:02when they were standing here.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- I feel it today. Shall we find some shade?- Yeah.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Along with just a few
0:12:12 > 0:12:15of the millions of tourists who visit the Parthenon every year,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I'm descending to explore the city.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33In 1913, Athens was still a new European capital,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35chosen after great national debate
0:12:35 > 0:12:40and proclaimed in 1834 by the first King of Greece, Otto.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The 17-year-old second son of the king of Bavaria had been crowned
0:12:45 > 0:12:49ruler of the newly formed Kingdom of Greece two years earlier.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52He was appointed not by the Greek people,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55nor by their government, but by Britain, France
0:12:55 > 0:13:00and Russia in order to cement their influence over Greece.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And, in what was becoming a recurring theme,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05the German king arrived with a loan
0:13:05 > 0:13:08equivalent to over £100 million today.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12This is Syntagma Square,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16which Bradshaw's refers to as "Place de la Constitution".
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Constitution Square. "This is the strangers' quarter.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24"Here, or close by, are the principal hotels and cafes."
0:13:24 > 0:13:26And behind me is the Palace
0:13:26 > 0:13:29that was built for the first king of Greece, King Otto,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33which for many years now has been the Greek parliament.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Quite recently, it became famous all over the world
0:13:36 > 0:13:38during the Greek Euro crisis.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44And between the square and the parliament building march a symbol
0:13:44 > 0:13:48of Greece's historic struggles for independence - the Evzones.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05The Evzones are traditionally the elite soldiers of Greece.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09They're now used for ceremonial duties such as, here, guarding
0:14:09 > 0:14:11the tomb of the Unknown Warrior.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The uniform they're wearing now in the summer
0:14:15 > 0:14:19represents the Balkan wars of 1912 to 1913.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24One of their other uniforms involves a kilt which has 400 pleats,
0:14:24 > 0:14:29each representing a year of the Ottoman occupation of Greece.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32So that Greek nationalism is literally
0:14:32 > 0:14:34sewn into the fabric of the regiment.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41'And over 100 years later, it seems the Balkan Wars still resonate.'
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Hello, sir. You're a Greek, aren't you?
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- Yes, yes.- But you still come to see the Evzones?
0:14:46 > 0:14:47Yes.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52I come from time to time because I feel proud about that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Also because my grandfathers, they fought in the Balkan War
0:14:56 > 0:14:58and I feel as a tribute to them,
0:14:58 > 0:15:03and to all the people who fought for our independence.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It represents one of our highest moments.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17In the shadow of the Acropolis is the oldest part of Athens - Plaka.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22It's hard to believe that this small cluster of streets
0:15:22 > 0:15:26was almost all that existed when Athens was declared the capital.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- Hello!- Hello.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Would you like to join us for some coffee or lunch?
0:15:32 > 0:15:36- Lunch, please. A table for one. - For one. Here.- Thank you very much.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41- Here you go.- Thank you. Something traditional and Greek?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Moussaka. It's the most famous.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Moussaka. The most famous. And what's in that?
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Minced beef, aubergine, potato, bechamel. It's delicious.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53It sounds great. I'll have moussaka. Thank you.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- Wow! That's huge! - Moussaka. Enjoy!
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- I'm not going to be hungry, am I! - No. For two days! For sure!
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Thank you!
0:16:07 > 0:16:08Bechamel.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11It's a French word, it's a French food.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13So obviously at some point,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15the traditional Eastern ingredients
0:16:15 > 0:16:20of minced beef and aubergine and potato were married together
0:16:20 > 0:16:22with a French product - bechamel.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25So even in the most famous of all Greek dishes, East meets West.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I'm stepping back into antiquity
0:16:37 > 0:16:39across the city at the Panathenaic Stadium.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Also known as Kallimarmaro,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45meaning "the beautifully marbled",
0:16:45 > 0:16:47it's where I'm meeting Spyros Capralos,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55Spyros, this is the most beautiful, the most spectacular stadium.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57What is the origin?
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Well, this stadium was built 2,500 years ago,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06in 338 Before Christ by Lycurgus.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Lycurgus was a pupil of Plato,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12who had the idea to construct this stadium in the most beautiful
0:17:12 > 0:17:15part of Athens in order to host the Panathenian Games.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Panathenian Games were games where people competed nude
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and they were part of a bigger celebration of the city of Athens.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Now, the stadium was obviously rebuilt at some time. When was that?
0:17:31 > 0:17:36The stadium was rebuilt for the first modern Olympic Games.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41That's when Greece was awarded in 1894 the Olympic Games.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Greece at that time was bankrupt.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The government was afraid to take over and do the games.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52However, there were lots of private people who put their own money
0:17:52 > 0:17:58to rebuild the stadium and host the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The revival of the ancient Olympic Games was
0:18:02 > 0:18:06brought about by Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And the Greeks were more than happy to host,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12keen to promote themselves on the world stage as heirs
0:18:12 > 0:18:15to their newly rediscovered classical heritage.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23The opening ceremony was steeped in symbolism. On March 25th, 1896,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25the anniversary of Greek independence,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29at the foot of the Acropolis, the reigning monarch, King George I,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33declared: "Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."
0:18:34 > 0:18:38What was the scale of the 1896 games?
0:18:38 > 0:18:41The scale has nothing to do with today's scale of the games.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44There were only 311 athletes participating,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48from 13 different countries, in nine different sports.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52So it was athletics, gymnastics, weightlifting,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54wrestling that were all held in this stadium.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Was Greece successful in the games?
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Oh, Greece was very successful
0:18:59 > 0:19:02because obviously the majority of the athletes came from Greece.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The marathon, so steeped in ancient history,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12was THE event the entire nation wanted a Greek to win.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18A shepherd's son, Spyros Louis, came in first
0:19:18 > 0:19:21and the whole stadium was standing
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and was thrilled about this victory.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28And I suspect Spyros Louis was pretty thrilled too.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31It's said that in celebration of his victory,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33he was offered free rail travel for life,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36with space for his bicycle in the goods van.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Lucky fellow.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48I wonder how he felt, all those years ago,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50in this extraordinary place?
0:19:51 > 0:19:55MUSIC: Chariots Of Fire theme by Vangelis
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Exhausted by the extreme summer heat of Athens,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35I feel it's time to find somewhere for the night.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Bradshaw's recommends a "first-class house" -
0:20:38 > 0:20:39Hotel de la Grande Bretagne.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Thank you very much indeed.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Bradshaw's promised me a hotel in a good situation
0:20:56 > 0:21:00and, really, my view of the Parthenon is unbeatable.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04I can also look down here on the Greek parliament.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08So I'm looking up to democracy classical style
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and looking down on modern Greek democracy.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Today, my route takes me 50 miles west of Athens,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39to the city of Corinth in the Peloponnese,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42and one of the great wonders of 19th-century engineering.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Now, if you imagine Greece like that,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00with the Peloponnese down here and northern Greece here,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03the two are just joined by a little piece of land here.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07And for many centuries man has been tantalised by the idea
0:22:07 > 0:22:10that if you could just cut a canal through this little isthmus,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14you could travel from the Ionian Sea to Athens
0:22:14 > 0:22:17without having to go all the way round the bottom.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36The Corinth Canal, Bradshaw's tells me,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40is nearly four miles long, cutting the Isthmus where it is narrowest,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43and it's used mainly by Greek coasting vessels.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49'Theodora Filandra,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52'who works for the company which operates the canal today,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54'has kindly offered to take me through it.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58'It's not the first time I've been here.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:01When I was 20 years old, I was on a cruise ship
0:23:01 > 0:23:03and we came through the Corinth Canal.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04And it was so exciting cos,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06of course, the ship is higher up by the cliffs,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09you fill the entire canal from side to side,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12it was easily most the most exciting part of the voyage.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It's quite exciting and I'm really happy that you enjoyed it.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18When was there first the idea of making a canal?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20We're talking about 2,500 years ago
0:23:20 > 0:23:23when Periander, the tyrant of Corinth,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25one of the Seven Sages of antiquity,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28first perceives the idea of cutting through the isthmus of Corinth.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Periander failed to build the canal
0:23:30 > 0:23:33because the engineers were unequipped to perform the task.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Instead he built Diolkos.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Diolkos is the...origin of the modern railway.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43- The origin of the modern railway? - Yes.- 600 BC?- Yes.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- Tell me about it.- Well, he constructed a road parallel to
0:23:46 > 0:23:48the canal that we are transiting now
0:23:48 > 0:23:50and it was built with big blocks of stones.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54So the vessels, they were stopping on the one side of one bay,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56they were unloading the cargos,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59which was transported by carriages and slaves,
0:23:59 > 0:24:04and the vessels were lifted on logs, tree logs,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and they would slide through the isthmus.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10So this is incredible, 600 BC,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13two parallel lines of stones,
0:24:13 > 0:24:18- logs running between them, and on top of the logs the ships?- Yes.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19SHE LAUGHS
0:24:19 > 0:24:24That's even more extraordinary than the canal, I think.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Despite the ingenious Diolkos,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30over the following centuries Roman Emperors, ancient Macedonian kings,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and Venetians would all try and fail
0:24:33 > 0:24:37to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Just looking up at these enormous cliffs,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47this was a huge construction task.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Give me an idea of the scale.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54The excavations began in 1882 and the work completed in 1893.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57More than 2,000 workers were employed here.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01The most modern equipment and mechanics were used.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06It was one of the first projects that nitroglycerine was used.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08And imagine it was more
0:25:08 > 0:25:11than 12 million cubic metres of earth that has been removed,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15been excavated during the 11 years of the works.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20'And the result was as revolutionary as it is spectacular.'
0:25:21 > 0:25:26Well, it saves vessels approximately more than 150 nautical miles,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29otherwise they circumnavigate the Peloponnese,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- saving in fuel and time.- How extraordinary.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41I'm ready to carry on my journey north-east via Athens.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Road improvements have taken priority in Greece
0:25:45 > 0:25:50and left the rail network today even smaller than it was in 1913.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Trains no longer service the station
0:25:54 > 0:25:57that my guidebook recommends for my next excursion.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02I'm making my way instead to what Bradshaw's describes
0:26:02 > 0:26:05as the "delightfully situated town" of Livadia.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07HORN SOUNDS
0:26:11 > 0:26:15This train to Livadia has been climbing steadily,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19soon it will be running through the valley alongside Parnassus,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23the sacred mountain of Orpheus and Apollo.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27I'm travelling into Greek mythology.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28HORN
0:26:35 > 0:26:38My destination was declared by the god Zeus
0:26:38 > 0:26:41to be the centre of the world.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45According to myth, to locate that centre
0:26:45 > 0:26:47the Father of the Gods released two
0:26:47 > 0:26:50eagles from opposite ends of the world,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55and they crossed here in these very mountains at Delphi.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59And so one of the most sacred ancient sites was built.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03From the end of the eighth century BC,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05people from all over the ancient world
0:27:05 > 0:27:09would come to Delphi to consult the famous Oracle.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20In truth, there's no railway station
0:27:20 > 0:27:24very near to my destination of Delphi.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And, indeed, Bradshaw's recommends
0:27:26 > 0:27:30taking a ferry and then continuing by carriage or on horseback.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33In the village, I couldn't find a carriage
0:27:33 > 0:27:36and so I'm having to hoof it
0:27:36 > 0:27:40through these beautiful olive groves, serenaded by cicadas.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42CICADAS CHIRRUP
0:27:56 > 0:28:00'Today, I'm guided by Christina Stolis.'
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Christina, my first time in Delphi and what a stunning place!
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Very special indeed!
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Bradshaw's says, "On the site of Delphi stood the village of Kastri,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14"which was removed to another spot
0:28:14 > 0:28:17"in order that the necessary excavations could be made".
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- So a whole village was taken away? - Completely moved.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25A whole village as of 1892 was relocated to round the corner,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28a new modern village was built and the site is excavated.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30And how did the villagers feel about it at the time?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- Not very happy to start with. - SHE LAUGHS
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Can you imagine, people who essentially were goatherds,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39who lived and died and were born in these houses,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42not quite having the necessary education as well
0:28:42 > 0:28:45to understand what it meant to live on top of Delphi.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49'Once the modern village of Kastri had been moved works could begin.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53'Train tracks were laid crisscrossing the site
0:28:53 > 0:28:56'to take away thousands of wagonloads of earth.'
0:28:56 > 0:29:00I'm trying to think, what would it have been like
0:29:00 > 0:29:04for a 1913 traveller coming to Delphi, do you think?
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Just imagine, Delphi's only been open to the public for ten years,
0:29:08 > 0:29:09it's a brand-new site,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11and all the scholars would be
0:29:11 > 0:29:14willing to travel in the wilderness on mules
0:29:14 > 0:29:16to get up here to see what they've
0:29:16 > 0:29:19spent a lifetime, essentially, learning about.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23'One intrepid British lady did exactly that.'
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Agnes Conway visited Delphi in 1913,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28which would be the same year that your book was written of course.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32- It was indeed.- She's a British archaeologist.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37'Agnes Conway came to study Greece's ancient sites
0:29:37 > 0:29:40'and travelled widely throughout the Balkans,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42'keeping an account of her experiences.'
0:29:44 > 0:29:45She describes Delphi.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49"At Delphi Greek history becomes intensely alive."
0:29:49 > 0:29:54And her own description of the days in Delphi is pure bliss.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58It is true that it makes the history come intensely alive.
0:30:06 > 0:30:07What are the other constructions?
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Obviously, I can see a theatre, but what were the other main buildings?
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Well, other than the theatre and the stadium,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16they created the oracle dedicated to Apollo, Zeus' favourite son,
0:30:16 > 0:30:18the god of light, the god who can
0:30:18 > 0:30:20best understand the will of his father,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22therefore advise you on what to do.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25I'm not sure I know what an oracle is.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Is it a person or a thing?
0:30:27 > 0:30:30The Oracle of Delphi is essentially the whole site.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34And at the centre of this site, the sanctuary, the Temple of Apollo.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37And inside the temple once a month a local woman, the Pythia,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41would go into the basement to inhale the spirit of the god,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43which came out the ground in the form of vapours,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46and in doing so she would become enthusiastic.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Divinely inspired, basically.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52The Pythia possessed by a god,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54or enthous in Greek,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57would then answer people's questions.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04Was there any scientific basis for this?
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Well, nowadays geologists and geochemists will talk about
0:31:07 > 0:31:10how fault lines intersect under the Temple of Apollo.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12And gases seeped out the ground. Methane, ethane,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15ethylene is what they've identified.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18And that for the ancient Greeks would be divine manifestations
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and so the oracle was built.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- And so a really very, very special place.- Very special.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27The world, the Mediterranean came and met here in Delphi.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43I'm making my way back to Livadia station
0:31:43 > 0:31:48to catch my next train along the Athens-Thessaloniki line
0:31:48 > 0:31:50bound for the port of Volos.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14- Ah! A lovely, cool train.- Yes. - Thank goodness!
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Joining me for the journey is Panagiotis Kakavas
0:32:18 > 0:32:22from the Friends of the Greek Railway Association.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Panagiotis, the railways came quite late to Greece.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Tell me about the early developments in Greece.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32We discover railway in...after 1885.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37And from that year until 1916
0:32:37 > 0:32:42there was a...railway explosion,
0:32:42 > 0:32:43a railway revolution.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46In every single part of Greece there was a line.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50What was driving that railway revolution?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Greece was...wanted to be a modern country like the West,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57so only with railways this can be done.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01Kharilaos Trikoupis, the Prime Minister at that time,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03said, "We need railways."
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Trikoupis began a far-reaching modernisation programme
0:33:09 > 0:33:12to prepare the way for the absorption of the Greeks who
0:33:12 > 0:33:14remained under Ottoman rule.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19During this time, the Greek railway network
0:33:19 > 0:33:23expanded from seven to around 700 miles of track.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32Tell me about this railway,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34the main railway from Athens to the north of Greece,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37a spectacular railway, when was this built?
0:33:37 > 0:33:42This line we're on now, 1890-1916.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Now that's a very important period politically speaking,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48because, of course, the cities to the north
0:33:48 > 0:33:50that this train is travelling to
0:33:50 > 0:33:52- were not part of Greece until 1912, 1913.- Yes, yes.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Greece was getting bigger and bigger.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59- And so the railways followed those borders.- Yes, exactly.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The Ottomans had always refused to
0:34:02 > 0:34:06allow a rail connection between Athens and their empire.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08So at the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12travelling all the way to the newly reconquered Thessaloniki by train
0:34:12 > 0:34:14would not have been possible.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19So when did a train first run between Thessaloniki and Athens?
0:34:19 > 0:34:23The first train was the famous Simplon-Orient Express in 1920.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26One and a half years after the connection.
0:34:26 > 0:34:32The connection was completed in...1919.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37And one year later, we had the first train.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40In 1922, a new route for the Orient Express
0:34:40 > 0:34:43was opened via the Simplon Tunnel
0:34:43 > 0:34:47through the Alps between Switzerland and Italy.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50Now Greece was connected physically,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54as well as culturally and politically, to Western Europe.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57How did Greece afford all these railways?
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Actually, we didn't afford it,
0:34:59 > 0:35:05we had our first bankruptcy...caused by the railway.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07- The country actually went bust? - Yes.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10All the companies building the railway ran out of money.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13The Greek government had no money, so bankrupt.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16- It sounds a bit like a modern story of Greece.- Yes.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21The history...repeats itself.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34'It soon becomes clear why building this railway proved so costly.'
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Ah!
0:35:36 > 0:35:39That is extraordinary! That is extraordinary!
0:35:42 > 0:35:45This is the Gorgopotamos Viaduct.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50At over 100m, it's one of the highest railway bridges in Greece.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10After a change at Larissa,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13I continue on the branch line east to Volos.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39I've arrived in Volos,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43which Bradshaw's tells me is the chief seaport of Thessaly,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45with a thriving population.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49This is one of the loveliest railway stations I've come across in Greece.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52After this province became part of Greece in 1881,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56it was a playground for foreign railway builders.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58And here the Germans laid the tracks
0:36:58 > 0:37:02and so they constructed a Bavarian-style railway station.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And what I find a bit of a joke
0:37:04 > 0:37:07is that here we have a kind of alpine chalet
0:37:07 > 0:37:09with palm trees outside it.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Modern Volos is built on the site of three ancient cities,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25including the homeland of the mythological hero Jason
0:37:25 > 0:37:27and his band of Argonauts.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32And, luckily for me, I've arrived at dinner time.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36The little harbour here is full of fishing boats,
0:37:36 > 0:37:38so I'm very willing to believe
0:37:38 > 0:37:42that this lovely seafood is entirely fresh.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46So...let's try a little squid.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Ooh! Look at that, all those little tentacles.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54Delicious.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57TRADITIONAL GREEK MUSIC
0:37:57 > 0:38:00And Volos has another traditional treat in store for me.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46- Bravo!- Thank you, guys. APPLAUSE
0:38:48 > 0:38:52As you may have noticed, I don't find it easy to ab-Zorba the Greek.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13Today, my journey continues 16 miles south-east of Volos
0:39:13 > 0:39:15at the station of Lehonia.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23I'm catching the Little Train of Pelion to the village of Milies,
0:39:23 > 0:39:29before travelling the final 150 miles of my Greek railway journey
0:39:29 > 0:39:32to the city of Thessaloniki.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37I want to visit the mountain top village of Milies.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40And according to Bradshaw's there's a train from Volos.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43But, no, the line has been discontinued,
0:39:43 > 0:39:45so I've come to the station of the Lehonia.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49And in 1913 the journey time was one hour and 15 minutes.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54But judging by the age of this wonderful vintage rolling stock,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57I think I'll be lucky to do it in that time today.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08This line is only one foot, 11 and 5/8 of an inch wide,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11making it one of the narrowest gauges in the world.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15It was extended to my destination, Milies, in 1903.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23I don't want to say that this train is slow, but a lame dog is faster.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31Although it looks old, this locomotive is a disguised diesel,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34installed after the coal-fired locomotives
0:40:34 > 0:40:36caused numerous fires along the track.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41It's called Moudzouris, which means 'smudger' in Greek,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44a reference to the smoky engines of the past.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Our little narrow-gauge train has been winding through olive groves
0:40:59 > 0:41:03and the passengers have been leaning out and seizing the fruit.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07We've been passing streams and valleys, over bridges and viaducts.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10This is the wonderful Kalorema viaduct.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13We have fantastic views of the sea
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and now we're winding up into the mountains.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26Our little train has climbed a long way towards Mount Pelion.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28This was the summer residence
0:41:28 > 0:41:31of the 12 gods of Olympus in Greek mythology.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34This was also the playground of the centaurs,
0:41:34 > 0:41:38those mythological beasts that were half man and half horse.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49We've arrived at Milies station,
0:41:49 > 0:41:52but my ride isn't quite over yet.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55MEN SHOUT IN GREEK
0:41:55 > 0:41:58A single track means that everyone
0:41:58 > 0:42:01must help to turn the engine around for its descent.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05MEN SHOUT IN GREEK
0:42:07 > 0:42:09MAN SHOUTS IN GREEK
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Done!
0:42:12 > 0:42:13HORN SOUNDS
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Hello.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47TRADITIONAL GREEK MUSIC
0:43:05 > 0:43:06THEY TOAST IN GREEK
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Have you lived here all your life?
0:43:11 > 0:43:14I live all my life here.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16My home is behind the church
0:43:16 > 0:43:18and I was born in this church...
0:43:18 > 0:43:22- 76 years ago. - HE LAUGHS
0:43:22 > 0:43:25The church is a big part of your life?
0:43:25 > 0:43:31I like this, because I forget my problems.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35If I am in the church, I leave more happy.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38If I go out of the church, I am very unhappy
0:43:38 > 0:43:41because I have many problems,
0:43:41 > 0:43:45for my family, for my economic and everything.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48It gives me...hope.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54And Michalis is not alone.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56Modern Greece's national identity
0:43:56 > 0:43:59was defined by the Orthodox Church.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Today, about 97% of Greece's population
0:44:05 > 0:44:09are still practising Orthodox Christians.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12Your church is extraordinarily beautiful. It's wonderful.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Beautiful and very interesting.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18In the time of the building of the church 400 years ago,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21the Greek state live under the Turkish state.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26So they made the church very, very secret from outside.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Not look like church from outside.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32First without windows down, no windows down,
0:44:32 > 0:44:37only small and high, nobody can see easy inside.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40- Second without bang-bang.- Bell?
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Bell and cross on the roof of the church. Nothing.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48When constructing this clandestine church,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51its builders were able to create another special thing,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54a unique acoustic.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56SOFT THUDDING
0:44:56 > 0:44:58That's extraordinary!
0:44:58 > 0:45:01Because there is not echo inside of the church.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05If sing five person, hearing five different voices.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Oh, beautiful!
0:45:07 > 0:45:10MICHALIS SINGS IN GREEK
0:45:40 > 0:45:43- I am not singer. - MICHALIS LAUGHS
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Bravo!
0:45:45 > 0:45:49I do...I do only for the church.
0:45:49 > 0:45:50MICHALIS LAUGHS
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Thank you. Bye-bye.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58I join the railway line back at Volos
0:45:58 > 0:46:02to continue my journey north to the city of Thessaloniki.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15I can't help noticing that I'm the only person on this train
0:46:15 > 0:46:19over the age of 25 and not carrying a rucksack.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22And I'm just wondering what is going on.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26Excuse me. May I ask you, there are a lot of young people on this train,
0:46:26 > 0:46:28a lot of young people with rucksacks. Why?
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Where are you coming from or where are you going to?
0:46:30 > 0:46:31We are coming from a festival
0:46:31 > 0:46:34and we're returning back to our home city, Thessaloniki.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- So did you all have a good time? - Yes!- Amazing time, yes.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40Is that a Bible?
0:46:40 > 0:46:42No, this is not a Bible,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46this is a 1913 guidebook.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49- Original?- Absolutely original. Look.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52We have all the timetables of the trains of 100 years ago.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55And here we have all the hotels of 100 years ago.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58And in the middle we have all the text
0:46:58 > 0:47:01about the different countries of Europe including Greece,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04but there's no mention of any festivals.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Oh.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08- There's also a lot of dust in there. - There is.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:47:25 > 0:47:30I don't envy the editor of Bradshaw's Guide 1913.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32There was war in the Balkans
0:47:32 > 0:47:36and international frontiers were changing fast.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41Of the city of Thessaloniki, listed here under Turkey,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Bradshaw's says that it's been
0:47:43 > 0:47:46captured by the Greeks since November 9th, 1912.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50But in the year of publication, the Turks were mounting
0:47:50 > 0:47:55an effective counterattack and seizing back territory in Europe.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Where would the border between Christendom
0:47:58 > 0:47:59and the Islamic world end up?
0:48:01 > 0:48:05'I shall find out tomorrow, after a night's rest in Thessaloniki.'
0:48:20 > 0:48:22- Good morning! - Hello, how are you?
0:48:22 > 0:48:25'I've reached the final stop on my railway journey
0:48:25 > 0:48:28'across Greece, on the northern shores of the Aegean Sea.'
0:48:31 > 0:48:33A beach-side breakfast in Thessaloniki.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37It's said that when British 19th-century Romantics,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39who were full of this notion that Classical Greece was
0:48:39 > 0:48:44the cradle of Western civilisation, actually came to modern Greece,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47they were shocked to find the local people performing dances that
0:48:47 > 0:48:51were clearly Ottoman in origin, and smoking hookahs.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56And here is the typical Greek breakfast - yoghurt and honey,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00much as you might be served in Istanbul or Damascus or Beirut.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02And here is Greek coffee...
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Thick and grainy
0:49:05 > 0:49:08because actually it's Turkish coffee.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13So whilst the Greeks resented the occupation by a foreign power,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16they actually absorbed Ottoman customs.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Thessaloniki, or Salonika in Bradshaw's,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27is now Greece's second city.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33But in 1913, fewer than a third of its inhabitants were Greek.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38In fact, my guidebook notes - "About half the population are Jews,
0:49:38 > 0:49:40"descendants of those driven out of Spain."
0:49:41 > 0:49:46Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians and Turks also lived here,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50making turn-of-the-century Thessaloniki
0:49:50 > 0:49:52a most extraordinarily diverse society.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56Mr Hatzis, how nice to see you.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Hello. You're welcome.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01And one clue to this fascinating past can be
0:50:01 > 0:50:05found in Chousein Hatzis' pastry shop.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Wow! This is absolutely a beautiful shop.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- You have an astonishing variety...- Yeah!
0:50:11 > 0:50:13..of different sweets here.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14What are these?
0:50:14 > 0:50:17This is typical baklava with walnuts.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20What really is baklava?
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Baklava is a typical Ottoman sweet.
0:50:23 > 0:50:29We make it with pastry, with eggs, milk, sugar, butter.
0:50:29 > 0:50:35And in Greece we eat it with walnuts, not with pistachio.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37With almost all the peoples of the
0:50:37 > 0:50:41Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, and Central Asia
0:50:41 > 0:50:44claiming baklava as their national dessert,
0:50:44 > 0:50:47its history is hotly contested.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49But there is evidence that its current form was
0:50:49 > 0:50:53developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Sultan's palace.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59I want to see for myself how this dish, so loved in Greece, is made.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Take up the rolling pin, right.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09'First, roll out your filo pastry.'
0:51:10 > 0:51:13No comment from the lady, so I think that may be OK.
0:51:13 > 0:51:14SHE SPEAKS GREEK
0:51:14 > 0:51:18Keep doing it all the way round, I've got the general idea.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Oh, my goodness! A bigger weapon, altogether!
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Ah...
0:51:25 > 0:51:28'Be sure to flour liberally between each
0:51:28 > 0:51:30'sheet of pastry, to prevent sticking.'
0:51:32 > 0:51:34I really think I've got the hang of this.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36I'm on a roll!
0:51:38 > 0:51:42The pastry is so thin, I can see my hand through it.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46And every time they put another layer into the baking dish,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50they put yet more butter into it.
0:51:55 > 0:51:56Here go the walnuts.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59Seems like pretty large quantities of walnuts, too.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01More?
0:52:01 > 0:52:03'And here's one I made earlier...'
0:52:03 > 0:52:04That looks wonderful!
0:52:04 > 0:52:09'Now, while it's warm, add the all-important sugar syrup.'
0:52:09 > 0:52:10This much?
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Oh, my goodness! All this on top?!
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'To give our baklava its distinctive sticky texture.'
0:52:16 > 0:52:19Huge quantities of syrup going on top now.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21I've got to cover each one as I go.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23More? More?!
0:52:23 > 0:52:24More!
0:52:24 > 0:52:27I always knew baklava was sweet,
0:52:27 > 0:52:29but I had no idea it had this quantity of syrup in it.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31Here we go. More!
0:52:33 > 0:52:38And now to see whether my efforts would be fit for an Ottoman emperor.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44I'm about to ingest an insane amount of sugar...
0:52:46 > 0:52:47which will provide me
0:52:47 > 0:52:53with a very sweet reminder of a happy day spent in Thessaloniki.
0:52:56 > 0:52:57Wow!
0:53:07 > 0:53:11But back in 1913, things weren't so agreeable.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14I'm meeting local historian Anastasia Gaitanou,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18better to understand the city's history.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Anastasia, at the time of my guidebook there are wars going on.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23What are they about?
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Well, this war, er, wars, are the so-called Balkan Wars.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29They took place on the Balkan Peninsula.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30This is where we are.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33We are the south tip of the Balkan Peninsula.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36And they were wars led mainly by the new countries that were being
0:53:36 > 0:53:39established and formed on the Balkan Peninsula,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43trying to get as much as they could from the decaying Ottoman Empire...
0:53:43 > 0:53:47that was referred to as the "sick man of Europe".
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Of course, they were trying to get access to the Aegean Sea,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53trying to get as many of the ports as they could,
0:53:53 > 0:53:58as much territory as they could, but also establish national states.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02And was Thessaloniki an important strategic objective?
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Absolutely.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06It was considered, already in the Ottoman Empire,
0:54:06 > 0:54:07the third most
0:54:07 > 0:54:11important port after Constantinople, Istanbul today, and Izmir.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15It is in the south tip of the Balkan Peninsula,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19connecting, practically, Europe to Asia, to Africa.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24At the outbreak of the First Balkan War, Greece pushed north.
0:54:26 > 0:54:31In an unexpectedly rapid campaign, on the 26th October, 1912,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35under the heir to the throne, Prince Constantine, the Greek army
0:54:35 > 0:54:40rode into Thessaloniki claiming this all-important city for Greece.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Did the king manage to visit the city after it was liberated?
0:54:44 > 0:54:48He came to Thessaloniki three days after it was liberated,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52to show royal presence and to make it clear to everybody that this is
0:54:52 > 0:54:57a Greek city now, because everybody wanted to have it and it was a huge
0:54:57 > 0:55:01competition with the Bulgarians, who arrived only a few hours later.
0:55:01 > 0:55:02He loved the city.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06He loved the promenade of Thessaloniki and the seafront,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09and he would walk many times along this promenade.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12And usually he would walk without really that many escorts,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15or bodyguards, just one or two which, of course,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18at the end proved to be quite fatal.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23Less than six months after the annexation of this city,
0:55:23 > 0:55:27a horrific event would unexpectedly throw Greece into turmoil.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31On these streets,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35the reign of the beloved King George I of the Hellas
0:55:35 > 0:55:37came to a tragic end.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47Well, this is the very spot where he was assassinated in March of 1913.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51He was shot through the heart by a teacher who was
0:55:51 > 0:55:55jobless at the time, who was called a socialist and an anarchist,
0:55:55 > 0:55:58and it was not a good thing to be called that in 1913.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01And it was said that he had asked for financial support
0:56:01 > 0:56:04by the king. It was not given to him, so he wanted revenge.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07What were the political consequences of the assassination?
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Well, the worst thing that happened afterwards
0:56:09 > 0:56:12was the so-called National Schism.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16Greece divided. Half of the population were supporting the ideas
0:56:16 > 0:56:21of George I, who was a supporter of Russia, England and France.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24He had ties to the British royal house,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28his sister, Alexandra, was the wife of King Edward VII.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32While his son and successor, King Constantine I,
0:56:32 > 0:56:36was a supporter of Austria-Hungary and Germany.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38His wife was the sister of Kaiser Wilhelm at the time.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41So, two completely different approaches
0:56:41 > 0:56:46and two completely different ideas that really tore Greece in two.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02After nearly of century of nation-building under
0:57:02 > 0:57:05the influence of the European powers, it was the breakdown
0:57:05 > 0:57:10in their relationships that would ultimately divide Greek society.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13A division that would have repercussions for Greek politics
0:57:13 > 0:57:16up to the Second World War and beyond.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22Greek history is steeped in blood.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Assassinations and numerous battles to gain
0:57:25 > 0:57:28independence from the Ottoman Empire.
0:57:28 > 0:57:33And after my Bradshaw's Guide, two world wars and civil war.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37Modern Greece has suffered from inflated expectations.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41For example, some British Romantics hoped for a reincarnation
0:57:41 > 0:57:44of Classical Greek virtues and perfection.
0:57:44 > 0:57:49No nation could live up to such an inflated ideal.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55On my next journey, I'll hear how Black Forest fairytales
0:57:55 > 0:57:57unified the Germans.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00The forests came to stand for German-ness,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03so they were really, really important in building up
0:58:03 > 0:58:06this common heritage.
0:58:07 > 0:58:08CLOCK CUCKOOS
0:58:08 > 0:58:13'I'll try for a place amongst Germany's master carvers.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14Not quite as clean as yours, but...'
0:58:14 > 0:58:17But not too bad for the first one.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20'And I'll get wind of an early-20th-century innovation
0:58:20 > 0:58:23'still shaping German transport today.'
0:58:23 > 0:58:25HE GROANS
0:58:25 > 0:58:27Oh, blow me down!
0:58:27 > 0:58:29Three, two, one...