Original subtitles

FRANCESCO: I've been at sea for the last two months, travelling aboard the Black Swan.

We're approaching the last of the Greek islands -

the Dodecanese.

1,000 years ago, these peaceful waters

were broken by ships heading from Italy towards Palestine.

On board was a collection of knights and peasants

from all over Europe.

Their mission, to claim Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims.

The Crusaders left their mark on this part of the Mediterranean.

Ever since, this whole area

has been caught again and again in a territorial tug of war.

East versus west,

Christian versus Muslim.

A melting pot of people,

culture and art.

I'm sailing from Venice to Istanbul,

following the trading routes of my ancestors.

We're arriving at one of the most popular islands in the Dodecanese -

Rhodes.

Port control, this is Black Swan, do you read me, over?

We're putting into port in Rhodes Town.

It was once home to the most glamorous and fearless soldiers in history.

Even today, its military feel is unmistakable.

This was the power base of the Knights Of St John -

the most powerful of all Crusading armies.

They were an international supergroup of warriors and doctors.

A cross between Russell Crowe in Gladiator

and George Clooney in his ER days.

Every girl's dream.

The old walled city was built in the 14th century.

The architecture is unlike any other in the Dodecanese.

A town built by soldiers for soldiers.

Along this street are all the lodges where the Crusaders stayed.

Although the order drew knights from many different nationalities,

they were all united in one belief -

that Christianity should be restored to Jerusalem

and the Muslim infidel driven out of the Holy Land.

In the heart of the old town lies the Crusader hospital.

Here, the Knights Of St John would tend their crushed Crusader brothers

who had returned from the wars.

This was one of the wards.

You have to imagine this vast room packed with wounded knights,

groaning in pain,

their bodies laid out in rows.

People joined the Crusades for glory, adventure and salvation.

But often all they got was a lonely death in a foreign land,

far from their families and loved ones.

Rhodes finally fell to Muslim Turks in the 16th century.

And one of the first things the Turks did

was build a mosque right here in the heart of the town.

It was a symbol that the Christian Crusaders' dream was over.

SAILOR TALKS INTO RADIO

This is the Black Swan. Do you read me?

'Reading you loud and clear. Go ahead.'

We have been in Greek waters for over a month.

Now at last we have reached Turkey.

This is known as the Turquoise Coast.

Here the waters are too shallow for the Black Swan to continue.

So I'm swapping boats.

A local guide is going to take me to my next destination.

Are you Francesco? Yeah.

Come on. Should I come in? Please.

Perfecto.

Let's go.

Are we going far?

Not really, we're going to go around 20, 25 minutes from here,

then we're going to turn the Cape

and we're going to get in the freshwater river.

As I travel on, I'm on the lookout for a rare and wonderful sight.

These waters are the breeding ground of the endangered loggerhead turtle,

are slim.

Francesco, the fishermen,

they're going to feed the turtles, we may see the turtles there.

So go and have a look? Yes, go up front and have a look.

Look, look, look - there.

Wow!

It's enormous.

How many kilos?

This part of Turkey was once home to a mysterious civilisation,

the kingdom of Lycia.

Little remains, but I'm told what does survive is breathtaking.

Look, Francesco, those are the tombs.

These are the Lycian rock tombs.

The Lycians had a reputation as fierce warriors.

Rather than surrender in battle,

they would set fire to their towns and themselves.

They believed the souls of the dead

were taken to the afterlife by a winged creature.

By building these tombs into cliffs,

this journey would be easier for them.

Yes, easier for them but not for me.

The facades are like Greek temples.

It suggests an exchange of ideas as well as trade

between the Lycians and the Ancient Greeks.

You can walk all around the back of these free-standing tombs.

By keeping them detached from the rock face, the Lycians

thought it would be easier for their souls to leave this earth.

Inside the burial chamber, you can still see the stone beds

where the bodies of the dead were laid.

These places are far more than tombs - they are temples.

Like many ancient cultures, they worshipped the dead.

All this space was necessary

so they could come up here and pray.

Lycia was eventually conquered by the Romans.

Their tombs are almost the only trace left

of a once-prosperous kingdom.

After my sweaty climb, I need to freshen up,

so it's the perfect moment to do something

I've been avoiding for weeks.

I like, OK?

Turkish barbers are famous for their close shaves,

but I'm a little nervous about what to expect.

Galip, the barber, has built a reputation as a real perfectionist.

I'm clearly in good hands.

I have to say, it's a really new experience.

It was fantastic.

I'll come back.

We'll be back in Turkish waters soon.

But for now, it's back to the Dodecanese.

Our next destination is the island of Leros.

Buongiorno.

Leros isn't like other Greek islands,

it has a slightly sinister air to it, even now.

And one that sends shivers down my spine.

It was part of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's plan

to spread his rule as far as North Africa and the Middle East.

Porto Lago, now called Lakki, was built in just four years.

It was more than a town,

it was a manifesto for the new Italian empire.

The streets are straight and wide

because Mussolini loved cars and military parades.

And he didn't like fussy ornaments,

so the buildings are bright, white and simple.

Everything here has Mussolini's imprint,

from the church...

to the cinema.

But 60 years on, the town is in a state of decay.

Constantinos Kumalis, now in his seventies,

is the local scooter mechanic.

He remembers the Italian occupation well.

After Mussolini was toppled, the Germans invaded Leros.

Their occupation was brutal and cruel.

So, perhaps it's not so strange that the islanders

feel more fond of Mussolini than most of us.

Just 20 miles from Leros is Patmos.

WHISTLE PEEPS

Patmos is a beautiful and peaceful little place.

So, it's all the more surprising

that God chose this island to reveal how the world was going to end.

It was here on Patmos that St John wrote his Book Of Revelation,

the frightening prophecies at the end of the Bible.

From it comes the Whore Of Babylon, 666, the Number Of The Beast

and the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse.

I read the Book Of Revelation when I was a teenager

and it gave me nightmares.

In it, St John The Divine,

describes the terrible evils of Satan and his cohorts.

It's hard to believe this is where St John lived and worked.

It's still known as the Cave Of The Apocalypse.

It is said that God spoke to John through this crack in the cave.

But in spite of the terrifying images in the Book Of Revelation,

ultimately, God promised that Christ would triumph.

Good would succeed over evil.

St John's reputation grew

and in the 11th century, a monastery was founded in his name.

The monks here still revere him.

Good morning,

I'm Father Martinianos.

Francesco. Welcome to our monastery.

Father Martinianos grew up in Brighton

but left England over 30 years ago.

He's one of 20 monks who live here.

He's offered to show me the monastery's greatest treasure.

We have wonderful frescos, they're around 16th century.

Of course, because they didn't have in the old days,

the means to restore and clean, they used to take paint,

and paint the whole wall and repaint it again.

So, when we were trying to clean it,

appeared this.

This is 12th century.

So, this is the original one? Yes.

Here...

we're in the dining room of the monastery.

Was built at 12th century too.

So, there sits the abbot

with the monks, and the abbot when he comes in,

he knocks this so the prayer starts and we start eating.

The moment this bell rings, BELL RINGS

doesn't matter if you have eaten or not,

you just get up and make a polite prayer, and you leave.

Because food should not become a pleasure.

Food is something to sustain yourself, to be alive,

and nothing more than that.

So, we eat very fast.

How much time do you have to eat?

Well, enough to finish a plate.

This is one of my favourite views.

It's very nice. Marvellous.

How long have you been a monk?

Oh, it's only, I'm a baby monk, it's only 15 years.

How was your life?

I was a very normal person, like you,

in fact I had no connection whatsoever about church, religion,

and as a matter of fact, if you'd told me 20 years ago that,

you know, how about becoming a monk?

I would have told you, go and jump from that.

So those click,

those things are very unexplainable sometimes.

It's been two long months since I left Venice.

But now my family has come to Patmos to see me. I can hardly believe it.

We still have a long way to go

until we reach our final destination in Istanbul.

But tonight, it's nice to forget it

and just enjoy being with my family and good friends.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk