'In the hearts of us Brits.
'Every year, three million of us head there for our holidays,
'and it's easy to see why.'
This is Greece. Look at that!
'I have a strong affinity with the islands -
'my mum is Greek...
'..although she despairs that I still can't speak the lingo.'
SPEAKS GREEK
CORRECTS HER
I'm proud of my Greek heritage, my Greekness.
Look at my nose.
THEY GIGGLE
'But I've only holidayed here,
'and I've never really explored beyond the tourist trail.'
Here we go.
'Until now.
'I'm going to see the hidden side.'
Wow, it's so beautiful.
Hello, everybody! Look at it, it's so lush!
'From the historical and rugged terrain of Crete...'
Ah, I think I've pulled!
Ya mas.
'..To the glamour of a sunset in Santorini.'
Isn't it gorgeous? Thank you. Oh, look.
'But, I'll also be taking in the lesser known islands,
'from the architectural splendour of Symi,
'to the natural wonder of Skopelos.'
It makes me proud to be just that little bit Greek.
'Before ending my journey on the island
'where my family's story first began.'
This is a voyage of discovery, and I'm taking you with me.
Crete is the largest of the Greek islands,
and I've been here before, walking.
People flock for the gorgeous white sandy beaches
and the abundance of ancient ruins.
'It marks the start of my travels
'around nine of the most varied of the Greek Islands,
'towards my journey's end, back home in Chios.
'And where better to begin, given that it's the most popular
'of the islands with British holidaymakers?
'But there is so much more to Crete than meets the eye.'
To discover the real Crete, you need to head inland.
'Known as the rustic and rugged island,
'Crete's vast interior is dominated by epic mountain ranges
'that reach 8,000 feet over sea level.
'And it's home to the Samaria Gorge, Europe's longest and deepest canyon.
'And the natural beauty is matched by its rich history.
'Crete is full of ancient treasures and mythic sites,
'like the Palace of Knossos.
'In fact, history is at the centre of everything here.'
Crete's an enormous island.
I've done a little bit of walking, but...
I'm cheating a bit today. I've got myself a lift.
Jay- Hi, Julia.
Hello, hello, how are you? Good.
'I'm half Greek, but even I'm going to need a guide,
'who can not only navigate the toughest of terrain,
'but the language, too.'
Right.
Vane vane, as they say. Vane vane!
'As we're going well and truly off the beaten track.'
'Jay swapped Manchester for Crete over 20 years ago.
'He's taking me out from the resort of Malia, in eastern Crete,
'to go off-road in the Dikti Mountains.'
So, what am I going to see today?
Well, from here now, we're going to head up into the mountains.
We're going to get to an altitude of about 1,200 metres,
so on par with Ben Nevis back in the UK.
My ears will be popping a bit, then? They might be, possibly.
We're going to get chance to see the true Cretans.
'Crete is one of the few Greek islands
'that can support itself independently
'with most rural people producing fruit and vegetables,
'or breeding sheep and goats.
'We are stopping at the Lasithi Plateau,
'renowned for its exceptional produce,
'and it's known by the locals as the Plateau of Windmills.'
Up until the '50s, there was over 10,000 of these water windmills,
which span the whole plateau.
'After their introduction in the early 20th century,
'these windmills transformed Crete's agricultural landscape.'
This is the most fertile place on Crete.
What would happen, the cloth sails would spin,
it would bore down, nine metres to the water level.
Are you familiar with Archimedes' screw?
Of course, another good Greek. That corkscrews the water up,
and that would irrigate all the fields.
Now a lot of farmers are re-renovating the old windmills.
We're going to try and get it back to what it used to be,
which was the oldest eco-park in the world.
Amazing! I love that.
So, yeah, just give it a pull... OK.
...and you can find where it attracts to the wind.
Right, OK, let's find that.
Where is it? That's it, perfect.
Clever, the old Greeks, aren't they?
What's this here? Look at that. There's a man with his van, look.
Hey, he's brilliant.
That's the village shop. I love that, a shop on the move!
What you'll find throughout today
is that they are Cretan first, then they are Greeks. Right.
So, what makes a Cretan a Cretan?
They are just so welcoming and warm.
We have a cultural word here called filoxenia.
Filoxenia!
If we stopped at someone's house now, they would feed you,
they'd welcome you with open arms. Absolutely beautiful people.
'We are now climbing high up into the dusty Dikti Mountains.
'This is the Cretan wilderness.
'Home to griffon vultures and golden eagles
'and mountain goats.'
Ooh, don't drive over the edge.
'Jay has brought me here to meet Giannis,
'a local shepherd whose family have been farming sheep and goats
'at the top of this mountain for decades.
'You don't get more rustic than this.'
Hello. Yassou, Giannis. Kalimera.
Yassou.
Julia.
That's as far as I go. So, this is where you live?
SPEAKS GREEK
So, he's originally from Kastamonista, the village...
Yeah. ..and what happens is,
he brings all the goats up the mountain for the whole summer.
SPEAKS GREEK
They bring them here, and this is where they get milked,
and this is where the cheese is made.
His grandad, his dad and him. OK, so generation after...
Three or four generations.
Can I ask, why the hairnet?
Part of the traditional Cretan dress as well.
Traditional black boots. Yes. Oh, I like those.
OK, let's go and see some cheese being made. Ela.
'This little hut is where the magic happens,
'where Giannis transforms goat's milk
'into a Cretan cheese called mizithra.'
So, what's going on in here?
Salt.
Underneath here, we've got the fire.
He wants it hotter. Hotter, hotter.
You can feel the heat now.
He is now separating the curds from the whey.
He has to get it into decent-sized portions
to then transfer it into whatever mould he's making.
He gets as much out as he can with his hand,
he'll then force it out.
Look at the smile on his face. He loves it.
Can I have a go? Yeah.
Giannis.
What do I do? Squash it down?
Squash it down. Try and do it with your arms.
That is not the texture I was expecting.
It's quite rubbery.
It's like my kids' play dough.
Oh, that's good.
A little taste.
Mmm.
Such a mild taste, yeah.
Mmm, fresh as you like.
Eating your curds and whey. That's it.
'Over the summer, Giannis says he makes about 25 cheeses a day.
'That's a whopping 3,000 a year.
'He sells some of them straightaway to the local shops
'for about ten or 15 euros a kilo, and he leaves the rest to mature.'
This is the hard cheese? This is the hard cheese.
So, you just let that mature?
Two or three months left just on a wooden shelf.
Then it becomes like this...
Then it becomes that... Parmesan, Cheddar,
really good for pasta sauces. And what have we got here?
This is Raki, a traditional Cretan drink. Ya mas.
Everybody drinks Raki.
Oh, that's pure. Beautiful.
And with a bit of cheese. A bit of cheese, perfect.
There's nothing that can't be cured from Raki.
Very good.
Ya mas.
Right, dancing on the tables next. Oh, Lord.
Nothing that can't be cured with Raki, apart from drunkenness.
You can't cure drunkenness with Raki.
Ya mas.
Ya mas!
Look at this man. I love this man, look at that face.
Oh! I think I've pulled. Steady on.
'Two Rakis are my limit,
'so best to head back down the mountain towards the coast now.
'But on the way, there's a piece of history
'that I have to tread on.
'The Minoans, one of the oldest civilisations in Europe,
'originated here on the island of Crete.
'Signs of their innovation can still be seen all over the place.'
This is the Minoan Path built by the Minoans 4,000 years ago.
Look, you can see the fortification of the road along the side.
It's a cracking bit of architecture. And it's still here.
I had to just jump out and put my feet on here.
'Who knows, I might even be treading the same path
'as the mighty Theseus did when he came to Crete to slay the Minotaur.
'And it's the Minoans themselves,
'who are leading me back down to the coast,
'to the historic town of Rethymno, one of the first settlements.'
It's very easy to get lost in the maze
of beautiful little cobbled streets here.
'The Roman and Ottoman Empires left their mark,
'so it's no surprise that it's home
'to some of the most time-honoured and age-old traditions.
'One of the oldest is one of my favourites.'
This is baklava.
Filo pastry, dripping in honey, smothered in nuts.
Utterly delicious and quite calorific.
The Greeks and the Turks have had some disagreements over the years,
but you might not have heard of the Baklava Conflict.
Essentially, the Turks claim the baklava began with them
and the Greeks claim the same.
Whoever is right, it's just to die for.
'When I was young, my mamamoo used to make heaps of dishes
'with filo pastry, including spanakopita, spinach pie.
'And I can't get enough of it.
'I've heard tales of a living legend hidden in these backstreets -
'the last traditional filo pastry master in Crete.
'Yiorgos Hatziparaskos. What?!
'Try saying that with a mouthful of baklava.'
So, this is the magic flour.
This is, sort of,
a large pizza-sized shape of the filo pastry.
But it's about to become much, much larger at the hands of Yiorgos.
'Yiorgos has been honing his art for over 75 years.'
How old are you?
'He's keeping alive an age-old technique
'that's gone largely unchanged since the time of Homer's Odyssey.'
I desperately want to touch it, but I'm... restraining myself.
'Today, he's helped by his son.'
Do you think you're as good as your papa yet?
Not yet. Nearly?
Look at that, look at the skill.
This keeps you fit.
'His aim is to get the pastry ultra thin,
'so Yiorgos is tossing and spinning the dough to stretch it out.
'Then, his party trick.'
Wow! It's so beautiful.
'This man really is a pastry magician.'
So, what is the secret?
So this is a real art.
It's so lovely to watch.
This is how thin the filo pastry becomes.
It's like a fine tissue.
Listen to that. RUFFLES GENTLY
Look how delicate that is.
That is an art, come on.
'The word filo translates as leaf,
'and it takes many leaves of this ultra fine pastry to make baklava.'
The moment of truth.
Mmm.
That really is so special. Like crispy tissues.
'Sweet tissues. It's like tasting a piece of Greek history.'
'And I'm about to discover more of Crete's past
'when I visit the atmospheric island of Spinalonga,
'an island with a story.'
'I'm in Crete, the largest of the 6,000 Greek islands.
'Each year, two million tourists flock to its 650 miles of coastline,
'and descend upon the seaside hotspots,
'such as Agios Nikoslaos and Phalasarna.
'I've left behind the rugged landscapes of the Dikti Mountains,
'and headed west to the coastal town of Rethymno.
'This ancient port is a magnet for artists and artisans.
'It's brimmed full of authentic artefacts and curios.
'Like a lyra.
'The Cretan lyra is a legendary instrument
'unique to this island, that pre-dates the violin.
'And to this day, the sound of the lyra is the soundtrack of Crete.
'And here in the town resides one of its master makers.'
Nikos. Hello! Hi, how are you?
'Nikos is a bit of a Greek God, isn't he?
'He was taught by his father
'and he's been making Cretan lyra since he was a child.
'Today, his lyra sell for up to 1,000 euros each.'
How long does it take to make a lyra?
You need almost 100 hours. 100 hours?
Yes, it's more than ten days of work.
That is really incredible. Exactly. You have three parts, OK?
The backsid,e we use one piece.
We use the front and the tie, OK? Yeah.
This work is always work with your mind.
The thing is that you always need your heart, because it's a passion.
How important is this music to Crete, to Cretans?
The music is inside... inside us.
We love it so much, we can speak with music for everything.
So, music is your language?
I think for all the people. Would you like to hear it?
I'd love to hear. Of course I want to hear it.
VIOLIN-LIKE SOUND
PLAYS MELODY
SLIDES NOTES AND PLAYS HARMONICS
Bravo!
I don't know if I fell in love with the lyra or Nikos then.
THEY LAUGH
'Before I wrench myself away from Nikos,
'I want to take the opportunity to try and learn some more Greek
'to impress my mum with her mother tongue.'
So, you need to teach me one thing in Greek.
The gods want to bless you. OK, so, how do I say that?
THEY SPEAK AND REPEAT GREEK
Oh, that's hard. SHE SPEAKS GREEK
Excellent, excellent. Exactly. SHE SPEAKS GREEK
HE CORRECTS HER
HE LAUGHS So good.
I'll try. Yes.
Thank you, Nikos. OK.
Just a chance to hug him. Yes.
'The Cretan lyra is an emotive instrument
'that echoes the island's turbulent past.
'Throughout history, the Cretans have suffered
'at the hands of the Romans, the Turks and, most recently,
'the Nazis during the Second World War.
'A short boat ride from the coast of eastern Crete
'is a little prison island with a haunting past.
'Spinalonga wasn't home to criminals,
'it was Europe's last leper colony.
'Widely believed to be the world's oldest disease,
'leprosy causes severe disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage.
'Lepers were stigmatised and treated as outcasts.
'In Greece, if you caught leprosy, you were sent here to Spinalonga,
'for good.'
It's such a short boat ride over from the mainland,
but imagine if you knew that this was your last boat trip.
That you were leaving your family, your friends...
...and your new life was waiting here.
A new life with strangers.
And this would be the place to die.
You can't really imagine it,
because now it all seems so pretty and so adventurous.
'Since Victoria Hislop wrote a global bestseller about Spinalonga,
called The Island, it's become a tourist hotspot.
'That's how I heard about this tragic story.'
Spinalonga was called the Island of Tears.
If you fell pregnant while you were here,
they would check your baby for leprosy...
...and if they didn't have leprosy,
obviously, you'd be crossing your fingers,
then your child would be taken away from you
and taken back to the mainland to live with your family there.
So you'd never see them again.
This was a completely self-sufficient island.
There were about 400 people that lived on the island,
and there are lots of signs that people here
were getting on with as normal a life as possible.
The Nazis, during the occupation of Crete,
wouldn't step foot on the island.
They had no need to and they were frightened as well.
Apparently, snipers would sit on the mainland
and take pot shots at the residents here.
As if life wasn't bad enough here on Spinalonga.
I mean, it looks very beautiful, doesn't it? But...
...there's a very eerie feel here.
Because, you know, behind all of these doors,
that there would always be
that shadow of sadness in your heart, wouldn't there?
The life that you used to have.
The last person left this island in 1957.
That's not so long ago, is it? 60-odd years.
'Spinalonga will leave a lasting impression on me.
'Crete has a rich history,
'passionate soul and beautiful landscapes.
'My next Greek island will certainly have a lot to live up to.
'Next time, my Grecian grand tour takes me to Corfu.'
What a special, magical place.
'The island renowned for being the least Greek of them all.'
Oh, come on! Seriously? It's as if I'm in Venice.
'I'll be trekking into its hidden heart in search of secret villages.'
Because of the pirate attacks on the island...
Pirates? Like real-life pirates? Real-life pirates.
'And exploring the unique character
'which makes it the melting pot of the Med.'
The flavours, Katarina, are incredible.
Corfu on a plate.
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