'Every year, three million of us head to the Greek islands
'for our holidays.
'And it's easy to see why. '
This is Greece and look at that!
'I have a strong affinity with the islands...
'my mum is Greek.
'But I've only holidayed here.
'I've never really explored beyond the tourist trail... '
Ah! I think I've pulled!
'.. until now. ' Yamas!
'Every step of this journey has been a surprise. '
Wow!
'They say no one Greek island is like another
'and so far, this trip is proving it. '
Look, there's nobody here.
Hello, everybody!
'But now I'm nearing the end of my travels
'and I'm going well and truly off the beaten track. '
I am going native.
'To the island some say
'is Greece's best kept secret. '
This is a voyage of discovery...
and I'm taking you with me.
This island holds a lot of promise for me.
Chios is just 30 minutes from Turkey in that direction on a ferry,
and like so many of the Greek islands,
even though it's not particularly well known,
its history is tumultuous and colourful.
'It's an island of myth and mystery.
'Some people claim that Christopher Columbus was born here.
'Others speak of Chios as the birthplace of Homer.
'Whatever the truth, this rustic and rural island
'doesn't register on many tourist maps.
'And around 140 miles from mainland Greece,
'Chios is one of the most undiscovered and unspoilt
'of all the Greek islands. '
It's a significant place for me
because this is where my ancestors are from
and for this leg of my journey,
I've got a very special travel companion.
'Meet my mana mou - Chrissi Bradbury.
'Although her family name was Stephanakis.
'Chios is where her side of the family are from.
'I grew up hearing stories of this remote island far, far away.
'And now, now we're actually here. '
GLASSES CLINK
We finally made it to Chios, Mana mou.
We finally made it to Chios, Jules, and it's a huge adventure.
But every time I come to Greece, it's an adventure.
It's strange being here
because this island is a part of us,
it's a part of our family. Absolutely!
We stopped here on the way from I think it was Santorini.
So I was with you? Yes.
You were tiny...
you were either tiny, or non-existent.
So I have been here. Maybe.
You have been, just for an hour or two, not long, not long.
And that's the only time you've been here?
The only time I've ever been. Yep.
Gosh, what an adventure.
'This island is such a big part of our lives,
'and yet we know so little about it.
'So we are going to explore it together.
'And we are starting with the product Chios is most famous for.
'Mastica.
'Chios is called the Mastic Island.
'An ancient aromatic resin
'that is the engine of the island's economy.
'The world's only commercial producer of mastic,
'it is exported to over 50 countries
'and it's used in everything from food to medicine.
'Its story begins with an evergreen tree.
'Ilias and Maria from the Mastic Growers Association
'have brought us to the only place in the world
'where the mastica tree flourishes. '
As you see, mastica actually is the sap,
it's the sap of the tree
and actually, is the reaction of the tree
in order to avoid infections from insects, from fungus, from bacteria.
So when we make the incisions,
the tree automatically produce mastica in order to cover the wound.
So the sap comes out
and that's what you, that's what's harvested? Exactly.
We don't use it, actually, in Chios, it's not very common to use mastica,
because 85-90% of the annual production is being exported
mainly for pharmaceutical production,
so we treat it like diamond.
You don't keep it, you sell it.
'This rare resin is known as the Tears of Chios.
'And the microclimate of southern Chios, with its dry,
'barren soil is just perfect for this tree. '
So can I taste this?
Yes, but it's very soft and maybe you need a dentist after that.
I'll risk it. I'm going to have...
I'm trying to describe the thing, it's a slightly,
it's a slightly minty flavour.
What is he throwing on the ground?
It is calcium carbonate
and we use it in order to keep mastica clean
when it drops down to the surface of the tree.
How much mastica will you harvest off one tree?
And how often can you harvest one tree?
The average quantity let's say it's almost 150 to 200g.
But through the ages,
the Chian growers choose very productive varieties.
Yes. And this is the only variety that now produces mastica,
otherwise, trees you are able to find in the Mediterranean region
produces only, let's say, 1g per year
So that's such a difference, a mastic tree here in Chios
producing 150, maybe 300g and then 1g somewhere else in the world.
So they are, it's the magic of Chios as well
and how this plant has been cultivated over the years.
Exactly. So you have the monopolopolous on it.
THEY LAUGH
'The mastic tree has been grafted into the life of the islanders
'since ancient times.
'Today, some 4,500 people who live here are involved in its production.
'And most of them live in what are known as the mastic villages. '
So, apparently, there are 24 mastic villages all over the island.
All of those villages are reliant
and thrive off the mastic trade.
Yes. That's a lot, isn't it? It is a lot.
'As you walk through the streets, you feel as if you're
'in another time and place. '
Listen how quiet it is. Yeah. Listen. Shh... Nothing.
JULIA GASPS
Look how pretty this is, look at that.
Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it?
'Life goes on the way it has for hundreds of years. '
WOMEN CHATTER
'Whilst the men toil in the mastic fields,
'the women work hard in the village sorting it. '
CHRISSI SPEAKS IN GREEK
THEY LAUGH
So we're, we're sitting with the ladies cleaning the mastic
but what annoys me, is that my mum always says the reason
she didn't teach me Greek is that she doesn't speak Greek very well.
And yet we sit down here with the lovely ladies
and her Greek is amazing.
I get by.
OK, you get by. I'd like to be able to get by.
Oh! Ohh! Efcharisto!
WOMAN SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
At this stage, the mastica has been harvested from the trees
and as you can see, when it arrives into the village,
it's got quite a lot of debris still.
During the winter time, ladies gather around on this square
and they do this talking and drinking and...
CHRISSI CHUCKLES
'The most famous of the mastic villages is Pyrgi,
'where buildings are covered in black and white sgraffito,
'a centuries-old technique where geometric patterns
'are etched into concrete. '
Now, I thought they were tiles.
Yes, it looks like tiles, but it's not.
It's not, it's painted-in concrete.
It's plaster... And the concrete from underneath.
I like that!
'The level of detail in the design was a sign of the wealth
'of the owner of the house.
'And mastic has certainly brought a lot of privilege and prosperity
'to the island over the years.
'No wonder they say it's like diamonds. '
So we've seen the trees, the sap, the mastica ladies...
and let's go and see what they turn it all into.
'Apparently, mastic
'has over 150 different uses. '
After you. WOMAN GREETS THEM IN GREEK
'Thought to be the world's first chewing gum,
'it's long been a culinary staple in Turkey and the Middle East.
'And it's commonly used in beauty care
'and cosmetics.
'Marilena is going to show us the many faces of mastic. '
OK, face creams. Yes, OK, we all love a good face cream.
Of course. I'm loving that,
"whitening and anti-wrinkle super sheet mask"
I'm taking one of those!
It's really hydrating.
Yeah, that's lovely! Spicy garlic spread, ooh!
Doggy chocolate. A doggy chocolate? It's just dark chocolate.
I mean, I can see pasta over there and toothpaste over there!
There are the traditional mastica products. Yes.
You know, there are the candies... The spoon. The spoon!
The spoon in the glass. Ypovrichio. Yes!
We call it Submarine because you take, like, a spoon of that,
you put it in a glass and you add some water.
'The Submarine is a classic Greek dessert.
'So called because it is submerged in the water. '
Wow, OK, Mum, you try it, cos this is, this is what you used to do,
yes? When you were little.
So this was the equivalent of a lollipop.
Yes, but it was like the traditional dessert
when someone arrived at your home
and you would like to treat him something you haven't baked.
God forbid that anybody should arrive in your house in Greece
and you don't offer them something. Unacceptable.
Unacceptable, unacceptable. It is, that's what we've been doing.
Takes me back to my childhood sitting in funny old parlours
with all these Greek women sitting around.
JULIA CHUCKLES
Mm!
Mm... That's lovely! Yes. Chewy.
OK, this is going to sound wrong, but imagine if you could eat
toothpaste, but lovely, minty, herby sort of toothpaste.
It's really nice. Yes, it is!
And good for you.
'The Submarine isn't the only tradition
'we're going to sink our teeth into. '
FIDDLES PLAY
'The medieval town of Mesta beckons.
'And we'll need to get our dancing shoes on!'
CLAPPING AND CHEERING
'I've reached the final destination of my Greek odyssey.
'The little-known island of Chios...
'home to my ancestral past.
'My mum and I have travelled to the south of the island,
'to the Mastic region, for a glimpse of the real Greece.
'Chios is one of the few Greek islands
'that's been untouched by mass tourism.
'So, this island's culture and traditions are as pure
'and as unchanged as it gets.
'And I've been told that if I want to find the true Chios,
'the Medieval village of Mesta is the place to head for.
'Local hotelier Anna has offered to show us around town. '
Why is Mesta famous? Because it's not just for its beauty.
It's a coastal village,
closed from outside, no cars, like it was 100 years ago.
'Built to protect itself from foreign invaders
'and pirate attacks, Mesta, with its impenetrable stone walls
'and maze of cobbled streets feels suspended in time. '
So it's lovely and cool, Anna, in these passages, isn't it?
Five degrees different from outside.
Ah, so it's five degrees cooler? Yes.
How many people live here now?
In winter, less than 300. That's tiny!
Yeah, but in summer we have plenty. So who lives here still?
Mostly old people. The old yayas and papus.
Yayas and papus, yeah.
'Greece is among the top countries in terms of life expectancy,
'perhaps due to the Mediterranean diet and the warm sunny climate.
'My yaya is 102!
'The neighbouring island of Ikaria is one of the five designated
'places in the world where people live the longest.
'A blue zone.
'Marianthe is 92 and still going strong. '
Marianthe is going to sing us a song about mastica.
MARIANTHE SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
'A lot of Greek woman like Marianthe dress in black.
'It's a custom here for widows in mourning to wear black...
'Not just for one day, but often, for the rest of their lives. '
JULIA AND CHRISSI CLAP Oh, bravo! Bravo.
Efcharisto poli.
Tell me about the song, what did you understand?
That she doesn't want her daughter to work...
.. in the mastica fields...
.. because it's too hard.
Can you ask Marianthe how, how often do the,
do the ladies meet? Every day. Every day?
Every day. Kathe mera.
BELL TOLLS
VILLAGERS SING
'The people of Mesta, young and old, regularly get together to sing
'and dance.
'Nothing has a more powerful presence in Greek culture
'than traditional dance.
'especially on the islands. '
THEY SING IN OWN LANGUAGE
'Dance is an expression of their cultural identity
'and it's passed down from generation to generation. '
THEY SING IN OWN LANGUAGE
'There are more than 10,000 traditional dances
'around the country
'And every island has its own variation. '
THEY APPLAUD
Bravo!
MAN CALLS IN OWN LANGUAGE
Oh, gosh, no!
It's going to be too hard.
'We've been invited to join in one of the most popular
'dances of the island... the Syrto. '
Ahh! Go, go, Mamma!
Oh, thank you! Oh, what do I do?
MAN SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
'Now it's time for me and my two left feet to have a go. '
RECORDED MUSIC PLAYS
'The dancers link hands to form a chain
'or a circle, headed by a leader who I'm trying to follow.
'It's not as easy as it looks. '
Oh, look at that, beautiful!
Oh, I've lost it again.
'Traditional dancing has always been my Achilles heel. Get it?!'
Now I feel Greek!
How you feeling, Mamma? Oh, this is complicated!
It's going, it's like dancing, it's like dancing with the sheep.
SHE LAUGHS
I don't think I'm a natural.
APPLAUSE
Tell you what, you need to be fit to do this Greek dancing thing,
ooh, I'm out of breath. How you doing, Mana mou?
Well, I'm fine, but he wants to do another energetic dance with me
and I can't do it, I'll have a heart attack.
Let's not kill her. THEY LAUGH
Ah, efcharisto poli! THEY CLAP
'Now I'm feeling connected with the culture of Chios,
'there's one last place we have to explore.
'We're heading north to the town of Vrontados.
'It's also known as Homeropolis,
'because the legendary Greek writer Homer
'was believed to have been born here.
'The writer of The Odyssey, old Homer is one of the most famous
'poets in the world.
'And there's a solitary rock perched above Vrontados beach
'where he supposedly sat and composed his work...
'It's been dubbed Homer's Seat. '
We're here. We're here. Oh, look!
Right amongst the pines, how lovely!
I tell you what, why don't we... two little seats!
There you go.
How's that, comfy?
I'm slipping! I'm slipping right down!
Do you need to come up?
Hang on a minute, hang on a minute, there you go.
THEY CHUCKLE
'Now you've heard of a Greek tragedy,
'Greek comedy, anyone?'
How old, how old was Homer? THEY LAUGH HARDER
Right... Now wait a minute. Get your feet in position.
I want to get my feet in position.
I know, it's very slippy as well, watch out.
Get yourself in... Ready? One, two, three...
There's a way to sit: you put a foot there, ooh!
And another foot there. Another foot... I don't think you wear...
well, he probably did wear a skirt
and he probably did wear sandals like this.
And he would sit here. Lecturing.
Well, I don't know.
Communicating. Yes.
His words of love and wisdom about pride and...
It's incredible isn't it,
it's so beautiful. It is. It is.
'I never got to the end of Homer's Odyssey.
'But I've nearly reached the end of mine.
'Our final stop is a personal one. '
We're here in Vrontados,
this is where... It all began!
It all began. So, Anthony and?
Arietta.
'Anthony and Arietta, my mother's grandparents...
'my great grandparents, were born and raised here
'in the late 19th Century.
'Anthony was a sailor
'and he married Arietta in Vrontados in 1910,
'a year before they fled the Turkish occupation
'and emigrated to South Wales,
'where my mother was born 26 years later.
'Records state that when the couple married, they were gifted a house
'and a farm in place called Mesovouni.
'Somewhere here in Vrontados. '
So from the pictures you've seen, this is it? Yes!
It's a hefty old chunk of property, Mamma!
Look at the size of it!
It's huge! It's definitely a fixer-upper, isn't it?
Definitely a fixer-upper.
So as far as we know, this house was left to... Her.
To your grandmother, and look, this is you!
Look at your chubby little feet! I was a chubby, happy baby.
She looks happy, Yaya. She was lovely.
So what do you think of the house? Um...
Well I've got a vivid imagination,
and I can see what it was like because it's a very beautiful house
and a very large house in those days.
Well it hasn't been lived in for a very, very long time, has it?
Very long time.
Look at it from here.
Imagine living in that. Wonderful!
'On my travels I've been trying to learn a bit of Greek
'to try and impress my mum
'and I think now is the moment. '
Mana mou, efcharisto.
She said, "I love you. "
Make me cry.
Thank you, Yaya! Thank you, Papu!
I'm feeling much more Greek.
It's been a lovely adventure, hasn't it?
It's been a great adventure.
'Finding my ancestral home
'is a fitting finale to my Greek voyage.
'I've learnt so much about the islands -
'their culture, their history, and my own.
'And before I do...
'I think I'd better book myself some Greek lessons. '