Original subtitles

NARRATOR: This is Greece,

as it's never been seen before, from above.

We'll reveal the ancient civilization

that was the cradle of European culture

where ancient myth and legend collide with the modern world

in a vast landscape of contrasts and surprises.

♪♪

In this series,

we'll take an aerial tour across Europe

filmed over the course of a single year

and through the changing seasons.

We will uncover the culture, history, and engineering

that built the great European nations we see today.

♪♪

Greece is located

at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

It's a nation with two personalities--

the mountainous mainland and an island archipelago

that sprawls out across the Aegean Sea.

Greece is rich in color, spectacle, and beauty.

It's the birthplace of democracy,

Western philosophy, drama, and the Olympic Games.

The stories of this nation stretch back to before history began.

Every new year begins with the whole country

undergoing a dramatic transformation.

In the north, rocky gorges fill with rich greenery

and lush low-lying valleys across the nation

explode into a shimmering carpet of colorful blossom,

as spring comes to Greece.

♪♪

Across the country,

Greek cities are gearing up for a busy tourist season.

One in ten jobs rely on the 33 million visitors

that come to Greece every year.

And one city attracts more tourists

than any other: the capital, Athens.

They city's long history spans more than 6,000 years

and today, it's home to more than three million people.

A closer look from above reveals an ancient structure

that stands proudly over the capital.

This is the Parthenon.

It's an ancient temple dedicated to Athena,

the Greek Goddess of Wisdom.

This masterpiece of Greek engineering,

architecture, and sculpture,

was built over 2,500 years ago

and has stood proudly over Athens ever since.

It rests on the shoulders of architect Vasiliki Eleftheriou

to make sure it survives far into the future.

(Vasiliki Eleftheriou speaking foreign language)

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI ELEFTHERIOU: These monuments are our cultural heritage

and we owe it to the people to maintain them

at their absolute best.

NARRATOR: The Parthenon has been targeted in wars,

looted, and hit by earthquakes.

The fact so much of it still stands is testament

to its extraordinary engineering.

Vasiliki heads an ambitious project

to put as much of the Parthenon's surviving stone

as possible back in place.

They need to reinstall hundreds of ancient stones,

and new marble blocks, to complete the walls.

Today, the team are working on the west pediment,

the iconic face of the structure.

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI: The west side of the Parthenon

is the most iconic.

This is the site a visitor would see first,

from ancient times till this day.

♪♪

NARRATOR: The team face many challenges

to restore this temple stone by stone.

Not least, maneuvering a multi-ton crane around

inside the ancient columns.

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI: This is a very specific procedure

and it needs to be done quite early in the morning,

before any visitors arrive on site.

NARRATOR: This new marble block is being crafted

to match the broken surface of an original block.

It's slow, patient, high-precision work

and fitting a block this heavy,

into just the right spot, is far from easy.

This extraordinary undertaking gives Vasiliki a great appreciation

of the engineering skills of the Ancient Greeks.

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI: Certainly for us that work

so close to the monument, the astonishing thing is

how they managed to handle such big marble pieces,

that weighed up to 12 tons in order to build it.

NARRATOR: Manhandling the blocks

isn't the team's only challenge.

The Ancient Greeks packed the Parthenon

with a series of unusual visual design tricks

that Vasiliki must copy.

To the naked eye, the Parthenon appears to be perfectly square,

but in fact, there are almost no straight lines

or right angles in its design.

It's a masterclass of optical illusion.

The secret to this visual trick

is that the whole temple is actually domed.

The four corners droop gracefully downwards.

The outer columns bulge in the center

and lean slightly inwards towards the middle of the structure.

Together, these optical illusions

mean the Parthenon appears truly flawless

with a quality of perfection worthy of Athena.

(Vasiliki Eleftheriou speaking foreign language)

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI: How they saw all these details,

the symmetry and the repetition, that leaves us all speechless.

NARRATOR: After an hour of adjustments,

the team finally heave the new marble block

into its new resting place.

It's painstaking work.

They estimate it'll be another 15 years

before they complete the job.

But for Vasiliki, each block is a small victory.

(Vasiliki Eleftheriou speaking foreign language)

TRANSLATOR FOR VASILIKI: I do consider myself lucky

to be able to do a job I love and that satisfies me.

♪♪

NARRATOR: Beyond the busy cities,

agriculture dominates the spring countryside.

The climate helps nurture a variety of crops,

everything from tomatoes to tobacco.

Greece is one of the only cotton producers in the European Union.

And it grows more than a hundred varieties of olives.

This abundance of crops leads to an astonishing aerial sight.

In the north, a vast mountain range

shelters a fertile plain from the rest of the country.

Here, rainwater, flowing down from the highlands,

nourishes the land and paints the fields

with a unique springtime patchwork of pink squares.

This is Veria, peach country.

Our unique aerial perspective

reveals a fleeting springtime phenomenon.

The whole valley glows an iridescent pink

as the peach trees that fill the fields

burst into full blossom.

Tasos Halkidis is one of the nearly 9,000 farmers

that tend to the different orchards in the valley.

(Tasos Halkidis speaking foreign language)

TRANSLATOR FOR TASOS: I love this place very much,

because I was born here.

So when the spring comes and all these trees bloom,

for us this is happiness.

It is a blessing.

NARRATOR: The spring bloom is the starting pistol

for Tasos and his team to get to work.

To ensure the biggest crop of peaches later in the season,

they prune all but the strongest branches.

This concentrates the trees' energy on growing bigger fruit,

rather than new leaves.

If Tasos doesn't trim every tree, they might produce undersized fruit

which will be harder to sell.

♪♪

NARRATOR: Tasos has thousands of peach trees in his care

spread out over more than 60 hectares of North Greece.

Taking to the air reveals the scale of his monumental task.

He snakes his tractor up and down the orchard maze,

taking care not to miss a single tree.

It's taken hours, but he finally reaches the last row of trees.

And he and his team begin to prune the final branches.

He won't know whether all of his hard work has paid off

until the peaches ripen in about three months.

As spring moves on,

the fuchsia pink peach blossoms in northern Greece

transform into acres of ripened fruit.

The picking team assembles as the sun rises.

Orchard owners across the valley are all harvesting their peaches.

The region of Veria exports half a million tons of peaches

to the rest of Europe every year.

TRANSLATOR FOR TASOS: We have been cultivating peaches

for so many years, because the climate is very good

and this is why we produce quality peaches

and export almost all over the world.

NARRATOR: The team have reached their target

and send today's harvest to market.

For the pickers, it's a time for celebration

but Tasos can't wait for next spring,

where they will go through the whole process again.

TRANSLATOR FOR TASOS: We collect the fruit

and there is a continuity, it is beautiful,

the entire cycle is beautiful.

Of course I love peaches,

because those are the tastiest in the world.

♪♪

NARRATOR: Beyond the lush inland valleys,

Greece has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean.

It's home to more than 6,000 islands

and each forms its own unique colorful shoreline:

The lunar white landscape of Milos island;

the pale green lagoons of Crete;

the red volcanic sands of Santorini;

and the turquoise waters of Kefalonia.

As the year marches on, visitors rush to these pristine sandy bays

to soak up the warming sun as summer arrives in Greece.

Traveling by sea is central to Greek history.

Today, Greece has the largest merchant navy in the world

and the largest fishing fleet in the European Union.

This national obsession with the sea has led to one of the world's

most spectacular engineering achievements.

The Peloponnese Peninsular forms the southern part of Greece.

For centuries, this rocky land mass

required a 700-kilometer voyage to circumvent.

But a closer look today reveals something extraordinary:

a razor-straight slice through the peninsular's thinnest section.

This is the Corinth Canal, an enormous man-made waterway.

The steep walls soar 79 meters tall,

making this the world's deepest canal.

But in places, the narrow water channel is less than 25 meters wide.

The canal is a vital artery for more than 11,000 ships a year.

Engineer Haris Saroglou inspects the canal

to ensure the steep sides remain secure and safe.

HARIS SAROGLOU: The Corinth Canal is a very important place

because it's the gates to the Peloponnese.

And it's also a crossroads for the sea and for the land.

NARRATOR: When engineers completed the canal

in 1893, boats were a lot smaller.

Today, daring skippers run the gauntlet in ships

that only just fit the canal's steep sides.

And their passage provides one of Greece's most spectacular aerial sights.

♪♪

NARRATOR: An enormous 195-meter-long

cruise ship, called "Braemar,"

is about to make the crossing through the Corinth Canal.

The ship weighs 24,344 tons.

It's the largest ship to ever attempt this tight squeeze.

Our unique aerial view allows us to see this astonishing feat.

It takes incredible nerve and skill to guide the ship through.

At the narrowest points,

there's less than a meter of space on either side.

♪♪

When ships pass through the canal, they fulfill an ancient ambition

that took more than 2,000 years to realize.

HARIS: The Ancient Greeks wanted a channel here

because they knew that it was a very important strategic point.

They could increase the trade and they could get more out of this

in terms of developing their civilization.

NARRATOR: The Roman Emperor Nero

started work on the canal in the 1st Century, AD.

But he only managed to scratch the surface before he died.

After a tense six-kilometer squeeze,

the "Braemar" finally reaches the other side

and the mighty ship glides out into open water.

Today, a carving of Nero watches over the channel

and is all that remains of the Roman efforts to build the canal.

HARIS: If Nero was here nowadays,

I think he would really not believe

this view of big ships crossing the canal.

This piece of engineering, it's a masterpiece.

It's really an example of what engineering can achieve.

NARRATOR: The crystal-clear waters surrounding the Greek coast

hide rocky outcrops which pose a threat to any seafarers.

There are thousands of shipwrecks here,

both ancient and modern.

In 1980, bad weather left a 452-ton wreck

on the white sands of Zakynthos.

But shipwrecks aren't the only thing clogging up the azure Greek seas.

Like many places in the Mediterranean,

the waters are littered with underwater ocean pollution.

The Mediterranean Sea is almost completely surrounded

by land on all sides.

Swirling currents sweep up ocean waste

and can deposit it in the waters

surrounding the Mediterranean's inlets and islands.

Like here, on the island of Lefkada.

Lefkada is a typical Greek port.

Pleasure boats bob in the gentle tides

and dolphins frolic in the water.

But this serenity hides a disturbing problem

that lurks beneath the surface.

George Sarelakos leads a pioneering project

to clean up the island's underwater junk.

GEORGE SARELAKOS: When we are above the sea,

the sea level, we have no idea what is going on.

You may be in a magical small gulf,

in an ideal location of an island, and, at the same time,

the sea floor could look like a landfill.

NARRATOR: Today, the clean-up team

have received reports of multiple

abandoned fishing nets at a deserted cove,

nearly 10 kilometers away.

First, a team of divers head out to investigate the reports.

Once in position, they jump straight into the water.

MAN: One, two!

NARRATOR: It doesn't take long for the divers

to discover the first of the abandoned nets

and soon, the enormity of their challenge becomes clear.

The team discover an astonishing array of underwater hazards:

old fishing nets, rubber tires,

loose plastic and scrap metal.

The water here is more than 20 meters deep,

as tall as a five-story building.

GEORGE: Whenever we are in the sea bottom,

we have a different picture, let's say, of what's going on down there.

♪♪

NARRATOR: Below the surface,

it's clear why abandoned fishing nets are called "ghost nets."

These nets could trap and kill dolphins, seals,

and many other creatures if left alone.

The team hope that clearing the ocean floor of debris

will improve underwater ecosystems,

fish stocks and, ultimately, local economies too.

Inflatable bags effortlessly raise the nets to the surface.

The nets weigh more than two and a half tons

so the team uses a specialized winch

and a bigger boat to recover the ghost nets from the water.

They return to the port triumphant

and offload their catch to the dockside.

By laying the debris out on the ground,

the scale of the hidden problem is revealed.

The untangled ghost nets sprawl out, covering the dockside.

The team also recover piles of scrap metal and 66 rubber tires.

After decades of sailors dumping waste into the waters

all around the Mediterranean, Greece is taking concrete steps

to ensure healthy seas for future generations.

GEORGE: I think we are nature.

We are the nature and therefore,

it is important for us to keep the nature clean and protected.

NARRATOR: As the year progresses,

the island air cools,

the tourists disperse and, in the north,

the gorges and canyons of the mainland

undergo a dramatic transformation.

An auburn blanket of orange and gold envelops the land

as the season drifts into autumn.

Temperatures stay warm through the autumn

and Greeks love spending their free time outdoors.

As the birthplace of the Olympic Games,

Greece is no stranger to outdoor sport.

The national games are football and basketball

but extreme sports thrive here too.

The steep natural cliffs on the coast

form ideal launching spots for paragliders.

And the calm, crystal-clear sea is perfect for kayaking.

But busy modern Greek life

is never too far away from reminders of the classical age.

Ancient ruins dot the countryside.

And at one site, a team is working to make this history

rise from the earth.

NARRATOR: The Peloponnese Peninsular

was home to many of Ancient Greece's most powerful city-states:

Sparta, Corinth, Argos,

and the original Olympic Games at Olympia.

But tucked into the hills in the east

lie the circular remains of something completely unique.

This is the sanctuary of Epidaurus,

a place where, in Ancient times,

sick travelers would come for healing.

These ruins are the remains of temples, hospitals,

and even a theater.

The site was dedicated to the God of Medicine, Asclepius.

At the heart of Epidaurus,

a modern metal structure stands on the footprint

of one of ancient Greece's few circular buildings.

This is where archaeologist Vassilis Lambrinoudakis

works to bring history back to life.

VASSILIS LAMBRINOUDAKIS: Ancient Greece is

part of the identity of modern Greece.

It influences modern thought and so it is part of the modern world.

NARRATOR: This is the Tholos.

Its exact purpose is uncertain,

and from our unique aerial perspective,

it's possible to see the most mysterious part

of the structure.

Beneath the original floor,

three concentric walls form a pitch-dark

underground maze of corridors.

Archaeologists speculate that the center

may have contained a pit of snakes,

long associated with Asclepius and ancient medicine.

Above the mysterious basement,

ancient writers describe the Tholos

as one of the finest buildings of the time.

In its prime, a ring of 26 columns

surrounded the structure.

Reaching into the air,

they held aloft an ornate sculptural roof

that was the centerpiece of this sanctuary.

Vassilis is part of a project to rebuild the Tholos

with as much of the original marble as possible.

VASSILIS: For Greek architecture, it was very important,

It created a school for later architects

because it was one of the most elegant buildings in antiquity.

NARRATOR: First, they must reassemble

each column, like a giant historic jigsaw.

The team use special utensils

that emulate the tools used by ancient workers.

But they winch each piece of the Tholos

into position with a modern scaffold and crane

And once the pieces are placed on the monument,

they must be carefully measured.

VASSILIS: The work we are doing here

is so meticulous,

that you have to do it exactly in order

to make each stone fit to the other.

NARRATOR: The ancient block

slots into place with millimeter perfection.

This one is a complete success.

But restoring a building this complex is going to take patience.

The team estimate it will take many years to complete the job.

VASSILIS: It is a very, very important

part of our identity, not only of Greece,

but also of whole Europe, of the whole Western world.

NARRATOR: From the mainland's rocky hills,

to the islands' pristine beaches,

and from volcanic craters

to Europe's largest palm tree forests,

the Greek people have learned to adapt

and live within the country's vastly varied landscape.

But there's one place that takes this idea to the extreme.

In the center of the Greek mainland,

our unique aerial perspective reveals something truly remarkable...

a collection of colossal pillars

rises straight out of the ground like giant stone fingers.

A closer look reveals a group of structures

precariously balanced on top of the sheer cliffs.

These are the monasteries of Meteora.

They form one of the world's most extraordinary complexes

of Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries.

From the ground, they are hard to see.

But taking to the air reveals their staggering solitude.

It's a sky-high sanctuary from the outside world.

At its peak, there were more than

20 separate monasteries here, cut off from the ground below.

Today, more than 65 people live here,

spread across six of the cliff-top monasteries.

Monks inhabit four of them, and two are home to nuns.

The devout have called these incredible stone pillars home

for nearly a thousand years.

But how did they form?

And why did the early Christians come here to worship God?

♪♪

NARRATOR: Geologist Markos Vaxevanopoulos

believes the story behind the floating monasteries of Meteora

is linked to the unique geology of the pillars.

MARKOS VAXEVANOPOULOS: It's a special feeling when you come here

and I think that was the first feeling of people

when they came here.

NARRATOR: Sixty million years ago,

the land here was a giant slab of rock

made from an ancient seabed.

Millenia of earthquakes and wind erosion

left behind the stone pillars we see today.

But this process of erosion

left something else behind in the soft rock: caves.

Our view from above reveals the caves

that became a magnet for a new religion

that was sweeping across Europe.

MARKOS: Here in Meteora, there are so many caves.

The first monks used to stay in these caves

and they used to enlarge all these cavities

in order to stay there.

NARRATOR: Early Christians sought out

these caves to live a life of solitude.

They devoted their lives to prayer,

completely cut off from the rest of the world.

MARKOS: The life of the first monks,

the first hermits, is almost like

the life of the first cavemen.

When people started to live in caves,

they used to live in the same conditions

and, I think, trying to reach their limits,

maybe they're trying to reach the connection with God.

NARRATOR: Today, one abandoned Christian cave

is decorated with flags and scarves.

These are offerings from locals,

brought every year in exchange for good luck,

a tradition that goes back more than 300 years.

Later, in the 15th Century,

another very different wave of Christians arrived at Meteora.

The Muslim Ottoman Empire invaded Greece

and Christians, fearing theft and persecution, fled to the mountains.

Instead of living in caves, they founded these remote monasteries

on top of the tall stone pillars

and filled them with their religious treasures.

MARKOS: During the Ottoman Empire,

these rock giants provided a lot of safety

and it was very difficult to approach these monasteries.

NARRATOR: Living up to 550 meters in the air,

the monks were safe from attack.

The only way to reach the monasteries

was to climb a series of long ladders,

which could be drawn up whenever the monks felt threatened.

But a life this remote comes with challenges.

Everything used to build the monasteries

had to be carried up ladders, or pulled up in nets with ropes.

The monks still use a system of pulleys and ropes

to move goods around today.

They lower nets to the ground to work like elevators.

And use cable cars to move between monasteries

perched on different rocks.

MARKOS: I love this place, I'm so amazed

every time I come here.

I can totally understand the feelings of the first men

when they came here.

Even when you are not a monk,

you feel the greatness of nature.

♪♪

(bell ringing)

NARRATOR: As the year moves on,

seasonal change across most of the country is subtle.

The temperature drops

and the mountain monasteries of Meteora

are covered in a gentle blanket of snow.

But in the warm south,

the first rainfall in months soaks the thirsty land

and the dry yellow hills come alive

with vibrant greenery as winter arrives.

Greece is a land of juxtaposition.

Here in the seaside towns of the north Peloponnese,

beachgoers bask all-year-round, even in the winter sun.

But at this time of year, they have another option.

A rail service connects the low-lying beaches with fresh snow

at a high-altitude ski resort.

But to deal with the steep slopes,

it's a train like no other.

The Odontotos railway snakes effortlessly through the canyons

and gorges of the northern Peloponnese

and climbs more than 700 meters.

The winter ski resort at the top

relies on visitors from lower down the mountains.

And it's Dimitrios Giannopoulos's job

to keep this vital leisure lifeline open.

TRANSLATOR FOR DIMITRIOS GIANNOPOULOS: There is something special

about navigating this train.

Every train is different

and this one has a special way of steering it.

NARRATOR: The train sets off

on a 22-kilometer journey from its beachside station

and powers towards the mountains.

It can carry more than a hundred people at a time

and our unique aerial view allows us to follow them

through some of the most remarkable and romantic scenery in the country.

TRANSLATOR FOR DIMITRIOS: The natural landscape alone

can leave you speechless.

The track itself, the tunnels you go through,

the river underneath the tracks, the trees where they are green,

every season has its beauty.

NARRATOR: This historic railway

was first opened in 1896,

and has been in operation for more than 120 years.

The track is only 75 centimeters wide,

much narrower than a standard European train.

This allows it to squeeze through tight tunnels

and cut straight through the side of vertical cliffs.

A huge advantage in such a mountainous part of Greece.

This scenic route through the gorge attracts hikers and sightseers

looking for an easy route through the steep rocky hills.

But no one has it easier than Dimitrios and his passengers

as his train approaches the first incline.

TRANSLATOR FOR DIMITRIOS: The first part of the journey

is quite mild, no incline, that's the first five kilometers.

Once you enter the main part of the gorge,

then the landscape is full of mountains and cliffs

and, of course, the river.

NARRATOR: But to climb the steep slopes

to the ski resort at the top,

this mountain train needs a secret weapon.

NARRATOR: The Odontotos train

can scramble up the steepest mountain slopes,

thanks to a clever piece of engineering.

Thousands of small teeth stick up from a third rail in the center

and special toothed wheels fit into this third track

like the gears of a fine Swiss watch.

TRANSLATOR FOR DIMITRIOS: The passengers are from

all over the world.

I've met people from every corner of this earth,

any place you can imagine.

They dreamt of coming to Greece

and, amongst other places to visit, they also want to visit this little train.

NARRATOR: After only one hour,

the train pulls into the station at the base of the winter ski resort

and the passengers head for the slopes.

But after a brief stop,

Dimitrios is back on track for the return journey.

TRANSLATOR FOR DIMITRIOS: I never, never get bored of it, never.

I get up happy every day to do my route, great joy, honestly.

♪♪

NARRATOR: The Greek landscape is dotted

with legendary sites

that have seen thousands of winters pass:

Knossos, the palace of the mythical king Minos

and said to house the Labyrinth of the Minotaur;

Delphi, where Ancient Greeks would come to consult the Oracle

and learn about their futures;

and Olympia, home of the Olympic Games.

But there's one place of legend in mainland Greece

that eclipses them all: Mount Olympus.

In winter, a thick blanket of snow covers the mountain

and our unique aerial perspective reveals some of the most

unspoiled and majestic scenery in the country.

Mount Olympus is one of the most prominent peaks in Europe.

It rises nearly three kilometers into the sky.

A landscape of myth and legend,

this is the home of the Gods.

The enormous mountain covers more than 500 square kilometers

with 52 tall peaks and deep gorges.

But a closer look reveals something extraordinary,

a lonely building, poking out of the deep winter snow.

At nearly 2,700 meters , this isolated lodge

sits just below the summit of Mount Olympus.

It's a refuge for climbers and mountaineers

and it needs to be maintained and stocked with supplies

before the new climbing season starts in May.

The winter snow is almost impenetrable,

but Lazaros Botelis and the team he leads

know that their work is vital

to ensure the refuge is fit for purpose in time for spring.

(Lazaros Botelis speaking foreign language)

TRANSLATOR FOR LAZAROS BOTELIS: It is just part of the mountain life.

If you work there, you have to walk to do the job.

NARRATOR: Today, Lazaros and his team

are setting off on their annual pilgrimage

to spring clean the home of the gods.

Nearly 10,000 people take on the challenge

to climb Mount Olympus every year.

But only Lazaros and his team aim for the summit in winter.

TRANSLATOR FOR LAZAROS: During winter it's very cold.

Winter can be very cold on the mountain.

The lowest temperature I've ever experienced

was around minus 30 degrees Celsius.

NARRATOR: It takes six hours for the team

to reach the refuge.

Our unique aerial perspective reveals the scale of Lazaros's job.

He must clean the solar panels,

which provide power for everything in the refuge,

and make sure the cabin is ready for climbers

due to arrive in the spring.

TRANSLATOR FOR LAZAROS: Here there is a bit of cloud

under our feet,

which is really an indescribable feeling.

NARRATOR: The refuge was built

for climbers to shelter from bad weather

and stay overnight on the mountain

and, thanks to Lazaros,

it's always open to rescue anyone in need.

The team's work is done.

It might take six hours to ascend,

but coming down is a lot quicker.

TRANSLATOR FOR LAZAROS: For sure the mountain is like a magnet.

It's man's search for a higher being,

whatever their religion might be,

and they're usually searching the highest peaks.

NARRATOR: Greece is a country

where history and legend collide,

a sacred and storied land.

Home to icons and innovation.

Thousands of islands, each with their own personality,

come together to form a diverse nation that pushes boundaries,

while preserving its history and protecting its future.

The varied landscapes and climate help to cultivate a culture

that has inspired the entire Western world

and built the great European nation we see today.