Original subtitles

(THEME MUSIC)

Well, I can't believe we're already into series six

and this year we're travelling

to the Central Cycladic,

the most popular islands in Greece.

And if we're lucky,

we'll see some of these beasts

that have been high hibernating for the winter.

These guys, they can't get into the nooks and crannies

that we can get to, so Mia Zoi is going to take us

right into those lovely islands.

We'll see the famous one, Mykonos,

but also the tiny ones that you know nothing about.

I'm really looking forward to this.

I'm about to jump out of my skin.

PETER VOICEOVER: In this episode,

I'm going to show you a side of Mykonos

that most visitors never see,

from the mines that brought the island so much wealth

to the hidden stories of local life

that helped to retain the island's culture.

I'm also headed to the ancient island of Delos

to walk amongst spectacular ruins,

and Kyriako is cooking a sweet biscuit that takes me back

to being in the kitchen with my mother.

There's one thing that everyone thinks

of when you mention Mykonos, and that's party time.

The island is famed for its nightlife

and loved by so many people from all over the world

because you can spend your days living a glamorous life,

swimming at gorgeous beaches,

lounging around seaside bars with a cocktail,

and then dance the night away.

But there's a whole other side to the place

that adds so much more depth to it.

If you're a morning person like me,

you'll be up and about

while the party goers are sound asleep,

recovering from their big night-out.

So, that means you get to see some of the peaceful,

more traditional aspects of the island.

Yes, Mykonos is cosmopolitan

and it seems to have lost its authenticity as a Greek island.

There's this image that really isn't a Greek island,

but people love it.

So, I come here early in the morning at the old port

and come to places like this,

the Gialos Bakoya, which is a cafe that locals come to.

When you see them behind me, they can't stop talking.

One over the other. There's no conversation.

It's just dialogue on dialogue.

I don't think they're listening to each other,

frankly, but the good thing about it is

they come early in the morning

because they want to avoid the tourists,

and then as soon as the tourists come,

they disappear.

You will not see them.

There's a significantly deep layer of glitz and glamour

that has covered this island, smothering it of almost

all its Greek traditions and authenticity.

However, if you dig beneath the coating of tourist traps

and superficial clutter, you find elements

where locals have managed to accommodate the modern development,

yet keep some traditions alive.

One of those is the making of louza,

which are cold cuts, unique to Mykonos.

Hey, Nico.

It's been a long time, mate.

How are you? At least two years.

At least two years. Yeah.

Mate, I'm here for your louza.

Can I try the louza before I buy some?

Because Kyriako has asked for something.

He wants to... Of course.

..serve the guests with it.

He knows you can only get it in Mykonos.

Have a taste. Awesome stuff.

Oh, look at that.

You can only get this in the Mykonos.

And you guys make it?

Yeah.

Wow. Wow.

Can you tell me how do you make this anyway?

I'd love to know.

That's a piece of pork sirloin.

We put it in salt. We wash the salt away.

And after that, we put the spices.

We let it in the dry age for at least 15 days.

Now, because it's a controlled environment,

and the old times,

we used to have it in the sand for about one month.

Yeah. But now...

Fantastic. ..we do it faster.

Well, buddy, can I take 2kg of it, please?

Get it for me, man.

Right away.

This is a third-generation business.

People have been coming here to this shop

to get louza for ages, and I'm one of them.

So, it's like prosciutto, but it tastes better.

Sorry, Italians.

It's so good.

No-one's watching. I'll have a bit more.

Nico spends his days here at Madoupas Meats

serving customers and helping

to make some of the three tonnes of louza

that they churn out every year.

He's the third generation of his family to do so.

Adding to the long history that Mykonos has with this delicacy.

It's made throughout the Cyclades

with subtle variations everywhere you go.

But the stuff that comes from here is probably my favourite.

I've tried for years to get them

to reveal the special mix of herbs they use,

but it remains a tightly held secret.

The techniques they use have changed little over the years.

It's a hands-on process

and automation couldn't produce

the same quality and richness of flavour

that the human touch can.

It came about through the need to preserve meat

for the winter months long before refrigeration existed.

Similar methods are used all around the world,

but what makes this so unique

is that special blend of herbs and spices and of course,

Nico's personal touch.

When it's hanging in the cool room for drying,

it might not look the best,

but in a few weeks from now when it's served up,

it sure tastes great.

A little bit of salad and some bread

and you've got the perfect afternoon snack.

Assuming you can hold out that long.

I can eat this stuff any time of the day.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you, buddy. Bye-bye.

Bye.

As the sleeping tourists

start to emerge from their post party slumber,

the streets and beaches begin to come alive.

First to appear are usually the older travellers.

They're typically earlier to bed

and head to the seaside for a morning dip

and some sun before it gets too hot.

By late morning, you have the younger crowd

still in a haze and keen to find a spot to work on their tan.

By that time, I'm usually back from my morning exercise.

I've had breakfast and I'm ready to do some exploring.

In this instance,

you would see me heading to the other side of the island

away from the crowds and into the darkness.

(THEME MUSIC)

Over the years,

I've seen almost all of Mykonos,

and I can't help

but liken it to a James Bond movie.

On one side,

there's the glitz and glamour of the jet set,

and then here on the other, you'll find an abandoned mine

that could be the cover

for a fictional terrorist organisation like SPECTRE.

Fortunately, it's not quite so dramatic.

The reality is that this barren wasteland

and the dilapidated buildings

are a remnant of a time when in the mid-20th century,

thousands of years of seafaring trade became obsolete.

As Mykonos began deriving its wealth

from the exploitation of a very rare mineral,

a mining boom that lasted around 40 years totally transformed

not only the landscape

but the fortunes of many of the people of the island.

Tasos, after World War II and the Civil War

and we're talking early '50s,

Greece generally was in a very poor state.

Mykonos, even worse.

I understand this mine significantly changed that.

Yes, because it came

at the right time where the people

that were immigrating to other places

since the place couldn't feed them.

So, when they came here,

they must have employed a lot of the islanders?

About 300 the maximum.

And then there was... 250 to 300 maximum.

And there was other people

that gained in value from this as well?

Sure.

All people around leasing the land,

making contracts, little contracts,

the grocery stores.

All the community around here was benefit.

So, how long did this mine last for?

How long was it exploited for?

It was started in 1955 and finished it in 1986.

About 30 years.

And by that time,

the island was getting a bit of tourism coming in.

Sure. We had the tourist development.

And the tourist development was absorbing every activity,

let's say, for the people who are living here.

At the end, when the mines finished,

it was easy for most of the people to go to tourist business,

and most of them they did.

And so, we're talking about a period

that has basically turbocharged the economy and helped Mykonos,

and Mykonos is probably

one of the wealthiest islands in Greece now.

Yes, it is today. It is today.

What was Mykonos like when you first came here

as a young mining engineer?

What was Mykonos like?

It was a very beautiful island downtown.

It was very impressive mining operation for me

as a young engineer

because it was everything underground,

deep mine, ship loading.

It was very interesting as a job.

And I enjoyed, let's say, from the beginning, my job.

So, what we see behind us, it's not the mine.

It's actually the tailings, isn't it?

Yeah.

It's the result of the process of the mining,

which we're taking from underground.

Right.

This is the waste material we throw away.

The mineral we take is from underground,

from drifts or tunnels.

Well, I'd love to go and have a look at the drift.

Come on, let's go and have a look at the drift.

It's a mine basically, is a drift. Yes.

The 1950s saw the exploitation of minerals

on not only Mykonos but several Greek islands.

The unfortunate flipside for the wealth that was brought

is the environmental devastation.

The companies that came here for 30 or 40 years left the islands

with these horrible scars.

Waste and tailings weren't remediated,

and the infrastructure was abandoned and left to ruin.

Oh, here is barite.

That's what the mineral we're mining here.

That's the white stuff is the barite.

And that's what we take from underground.

Wow, that's heavy. That's heavy.

Wow. That's heavy too.

That's the same. Right. OK.

So, it's the white product? Yes.

But the rest is just granite, right?

The rest is iron. Right. OK.

But very light form of the iron.

And that's the entrance of the drift where we are taking the ore outside

with the loaders, OK?

Then let's go and have a look.

Let's go inside and have a look on the drift.

Now, I noticed there's no shoring,

no support here because this is all granite.

Yes. It's granite. It's very hard.

It's very stable. Right.

So, we don't have to shore it.

Yes.

Is the whole island granite?

Yes. The whole island is granite... Right.

..and as a result, all the beaches,

there are finds from the grind...

Oh, right. ..from the granite.

And as a result of that, there is no clay in the beach.

Right. In the sand of the beach.

That's why they would have so clear water.

That's why the Mykonian beach is sandy.

Beautiful.

It took an engineer to tell me that.

I've always wondered.

I thought they just got flushed really well and cleaned well.

But the facts are there's no clay in the sand.

Right, OK. Now, how deep does this go?

How deep does this thing go?

The longest we drove it was 2km.

2km. Not this one.

This is about 300, 400 metres.

Is there more than one?

Yes, there used to be about 10, 15 at the time.

Right, OK.

But altogether must be about 30, 40...

Wow. Wow. ..through the years.

The longest we drove it was 2km, all the way through the island.

And you're following a vein all the way through the island?

Yeah. Yeah.

And you're following a vein basically for this white stuff?

Yeah. Right. OK.

The ore was inside here.

Right. Oh, so, there's... Oh, you can see it there.

And we're pulling with the bucket of the loader.

We are pulling the ore from there.

That's waste now because we pulled the ore

and now the waste which fall.

Right. OK. It's very interesting.

Let's keep going.

Not that I can go too far in

because I want to be able to see the end...

And I don't think I can see the end of the tunnel anymore.

I think I'm getting a little bit claustrophobic now.

Here you can see the way we mine.

You see all those tunnels, small tunnels?

You see, we pulled the ore from there.

The ore goes up above. Up above here.

Wow.

There's a lot more, is there, Tasos?

Yes. We can go farther in?

I think we've seen enough now,

Tasos, because I'm starting to get a bit claustrophobic.

You might need to hold my hand in a minute, my friend.

Because, you know...

It's OK. It's one of those things.

I can't see. Where's the... Is it out this way?

Yeah. This way. The way we came.

Wow. Amazing. Yeah.

Amazing. Look at this.

Barite's primary use is as a weighting agent

in oil and gas drilling.

There seems to be a bit of an irony here

because this mine was worked

so that we could sustain other mines.

That's a safe drift.

I mean, it's 40 years now it has been open.

40 years. Look at that shaft.

Wow.

If it wasn't for this barite mine,

Mykonos probably wouldn't be what it is today.

The landscape may have been damaged,

but I like to look at the glass half full as well.

Overall, the island benefitted

helping the economy through a very difficult period.

And in the years ahead,

this land will become valuable and get redeveloped.

They may well create a museum on the site

and tourists will marvel at the underground world,

much like I did.

So, perhaps someday this old mine

will once again bring some money to Mykonos.

Tasos, that was fantastic.

I learned a lot today, not just about the barite mine

but about the economy of Mykonos and how this has changed it all.

Yes. Yeah.

Well, from my side,

I feel it's my pleasure of course to take you around.

But it's my duty to describe to you what actually took place here.

At that time, it was very helpful for the Mykonos society.

Yeah, thank you, mate. Thank you very much.

Let's go for a coffee, I think... Yes, yes.

..after that, big day.

(THEME MUSIC)

(SPEAKS GREEK)

What are we making? Melomakarona.

Melomakarona.

Now, that's a lot of syllables, but it's a sweet biscuit

that my mother used to make for me.

And if he makes it anywhere near where the way my mother made,

I'll be so happy.

(SPEAKS GREEK) Let me try this time, OK?

This is for the syrup, and we start with a syrup.

So, we've got honey, we've got cinnamon.

Man, we have a lot of sugar.

We have water.

And these go straight into the...

(SPEAKS GREEK) ..pot for...

Yeah, go for it.

We've also got some ground cinnamon, some ground cloves.

My mother used to use cloves in the actual biscuit.

We've got baking soda. We've got baking powder.

We've got salt, semolina, we've got more sugar.

We've got orange zest, the peel of the orange.

We've got orange juice. We've got cognac or brandy.

We've got sunflower oil or corn oil and olive oil.

I don't know how you can put them together

because that's sacrilege in Greece.

I don't want him anywhere near the olive oil

because at the end of the day, he stands on his own.

Anyway, we've got to put him in and we've got a lot of flour.

And at the end, we've got walnuts and honey

to put on top of it at the end of the day.

We're just going to throw that to the side.

Now, you've put that in there.

And the reason we do the syrup first

is because we heated it up and we want to let it cool.

So, it needs to be cool when we put it on top of the biscuit

at the end of the day.

Go for it. Why are you stopped?

Why are you stopped? You should have kept going.

I don't understand. So, he's making that.

Melomakarona are a very special biscuit.

We're here in Mykonos and we want to have something sweet.

Have you got them going? You've got them going, right?

It's going going. (SPEAKS GREEK)

What do we do next? (SPEAKS GREEK)

(SPEAKS GREEK)

All the dry stuff in there.

All the wet stuff in there. We're going to get going on this.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

And the soda's the only dry stuff.

Then let's do it, mate. Let's do it.

Can I do this now? Can I go?

(SPEAKS GREEK) Can I start?

We just put it all in here. I love these colours.

I love these colours. It's fantastic.

No, I can't put that. Can I put this in?

The zest? (SPEAKS GREEK)

OK, so, we're putting the zest in.

Wow. Look at the colours.

Oh, and we've got semolina over here.

The semolina's fan.

Look at the colours. Look at the colours.

Can I start mixing this together?

(SPEAKS GREEK) Is that my job?

So, this is the body of the biscuit.

And at some stage we're going to mix that in here, I take it.

Is that right, Kyriako?

Melomakarona.

We are in Mykonos and we're having Melomakarona here

because there're sweet and we need to be sweet here

because there's some very special people here.

All the beautiful people are in Mykonos,

and we don't fit in, do we?

Because we love Melomakarona.

You can see that, can't you?

Now, what are we going to do? Can we put that in there now?

You're going to mix.

You're going to take it away from me.

(SPEAKS GREEK) Come on, man.

Can I throw that in there?

(SPEAKS GREEK) Alright, OK. Alright.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

It's with the hands.

That's why you got the gloves on.

OK. Righto. (SPEAKS GREEK)

Ready? Slowly or fast?

(SPEAKS GREEK)

So, what you're saying is

you don't want to mix it in too hard.

You would never use a beater for this.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

And why is that? Why is that, Kyriako?

(SPEAKS GREEK)

So, you want it to be

nice and light.

Despite being a big strong guy, Kyriako has a soft touch.

He really is a gentle giant.

The thing about these guys, you don't have to melosi them.

You don't have to put the syrup on them straight away.

You can put them away.

And when you've got guests over, bring them out,

put the syrup on top.

They're fresh and hard.

But personally, I would put the syrup all over them

as soon as possible and let them sit there.

Have one or two straight away because you can't help yourself.

And later on, maybe tomorrow,

the day after, a week's time, they get better.

They fall from your mouth.

A week later, they fall from your mouth

and you're picking up crumbs from everywhere.

Now, what are we doing now?

We're forking them. My mother used to do this there.

My mother used to do that with a fork.

But you're doing it different.

You're not going to listen to my mother though.

OK.

OK.

These guys are almost ready to go in the oven.

They're going to go in for about 20 minutes at 170 degrees.

One of the reasons I'm talking a little bit quickly

is because Kyriako gave me three coffees this morning.

I'm supposed to be having decaffeinated

and they fooled me today.

I'm just at 100 mile an hour.

You did it on purpose, didn't you, mate?

Always doing this to me all the time.

I love this, I love him. I love him.

We're going to take him home.

We're just trying to find a bag big enough.

(SPEAKS GREEK) (SPEAKS GREEK)

Fantastic. And we still got more.

Look at this. (SPEAKS GREEK)

Oh, it's boiling away. Come and have a look at this.

It's boiling away.

You can smell the sweetness of the syrup,

and after waiting 20 minutes for the biscuits to bake,

it's time for the final but most important step,

soaking them in that sweet syrup.

I'm salivating right now.

Look at these beauties. They look fantastic.

And you're going to just put them straight in there?

Straight into the syrup? (SPEAKS GREEK)

The syrup's cooled

and we just throw these guys in

and we just mix them around in there,

into the syrup when the syrup is cooled.

Oh, man, look at that. They look fantastic.

I could actually pull one out now, but I'm not.

I'm going to wait.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Only a minute. No more than that.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

If you want to do it for more, you can do it for more.

Personally, I'd leave a couple in there, right?

Anyway, just leave two in there for us later, OK?

They look absolutely magnificent.

Do we put some on top? Put some of this on top?

I'm just going to put some on top now.

OK, so, here we are doing this over here.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

So, I'm just in a hurry

to put the almonds on and get the honey on.

But Kyriako's saying you got to put the honey on first.

They've already got syrup on them,

but we got to throw more honey on them.

These are generally a Christmas biscuit, aren't they?

My mother had them all year round for us

'cause we love them so much.

OK, stick the honey on them. Let's go.

Oh, man, they look so good.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

(SPEAKS GREEK)

These guys are basically ready.

My mother would be proud of you, mate.

These are so good.

But really, I couldn't taste that well enough.

I need to have another one just to make sure.

They're good, Kyriako.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

You can taste the orange

zest in them.

You can definitely taste the sweetness of the sugar.

(LAUGHTER)

(SPEAKS GREEK)

And the aroma.

People from all over

are coming over to see what's going on

and bumping the cameraman because of the aroma.

It's so good.

Look, see what I mean by these guys that they just fall apart?

Anyway, this guy.

I love you, mate. (SPEAKS GREEK)

My mother now, I saw my mother.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

I'm putting him in the bag.

He's going in the bag

and take him to Australia.

Do yourself a favour.

Put the diet on hold for a day

and treat yourself to some Melomakarona.

They're quick and easy to make and taste awesome,

particularly alongside an afternoon coffee.

(THEME MUSIC)

This is one of those islands

where I recommend you get a guide

to take you around.

It's the best way to see more than just the icing

on the cake, as only local knowledge

will get you to the hidden gems.

I first met Amaryllis over a decade ago

and seeing her again brings back some wonderful memories

of times I've had here with Helen and my family.

I was here in the '80s

and this place really hasn't changed much since then.

There's no huge, tall towers of hotels.

What's the story? I mean, why?

Well, first of all,

especially the town existed before

five-star hotels ever were invented

as the oldest neighbourhood

of the island is behind the tower roof building there,

going back at least 400 years in time.

And then from the 1700s and onwards, the town expanded along the coast.

So, the town is very old, but a law established in the 1930s,

which said that, "The architecture of these islands

"must stay the same," literally saved Mykonos

from changing with the development of tourism.

So, everybody has to build the same way.

Whitewashed, flat roofs, of course,

the shutters and the doors can be painted any colour you want.

I think that blue and red, however, still are the first choices.

In the old days, they were the only choices.

Those were the colours

that they used to paint their fishing boats and everything.

So, those are the same colours

that they painted the shutters and their doors.

It's a good thing.

I mean, I come back here... It keeps the character.

..it brings back memories. It keeps the character.

And as you travel around the island,

you can't always distinguish

that luxury summer home from something else.

Of course, if you flew over Mykonos,

you would see a lot more swimming pools today

than you would have seen in the '80s.

But definitely, that law has literally kept this character.

For me, it's like literally flying over a barren, rocky,

brown island covered with white sugar cubes.

That's what Mykonos is. Ah, yeah.

Sugar cubes couldn't be a more fitting description for Mykonos

in more ways than one.

It truly is a sweet island.

You just don't want too much of it.

Windmills, we've seen windmills on other islands,

but here they're pretty significant.

They're located centrally.

What is the significance of windmills to this island?

Well, first of all, such a barren and rocky island

had to find a way to make a living.

So, the sea wasn't enough, but we get over 300 days of wind,

so why not take advantage of it?

So, once upon a time, these antennas used to have canvas sails on them.

What did they do?

They imported or produced the wheat and exported the flour.

During the Ottoman Empire, we have so much wind,

imagine it was worth even bringing wheat

from the Black Sea to be grinded here

and exporting the flour.

So, it became a very important part of the economy.

And we're seeing them in specific areas.

Where are we seeing them?

Right on the borders

of Mykonos town,

which is the oldest part of the island

where a lot of the locals lived in those days

and also close to the boats.

So, the import of the wheat and the export of the flour.

This old guy here, he's our oldest one,

still standing in his original condition.

This is over 400-years-old...

Wow. ..more or less.

So, I need you to imagine a group of windmills

on this corner right on the top of town

and another group of windmills

which we will be seeing on the other side.

So, as we sailed into Mykonos waterfront,

what did you see?

The little town right here crowned with the windmills facing the north,

the most common winds of the island.

That's why they're facing this way.

And it's the windiest island in Aegean?

Well, our nickname is The Island of the Winds.

We're blessed with it though.

It gets very hot here if it's not windy.

But it is one of the windier areas of Greece for sure.

And they took advantage of the winds and made a living from them.

I've got to say anywhere else in Greece, maybe the world,

this windmill will be chopped down.

There'd be a development because the view is unbelievable.

I can see those windmills down there.

Can we go and have a look at those...

Of course. ..because that looks like...

..it's a better spot?

That's where we're going to walk

into one of the most famous postcards of Mykonos.

(SPEAKS GREEK) (SPEAKS GREEK)

Let's go.

Amaryllis is much like Mykonos, cosmopolitan.

She's well travelled and knows how to articulate

the beauty of the moment we are living.

She has a way of painting pictures with her words.

Her parents are diametrically opposed

in both country of origin and personality.

She has a British mother and a Mykonian father,

hence the accent.

And most of her life has been spent in Greece

living and working in Mykonos for much of the year.

The diversity of the locals is part of the unique kaleidoscope

that makes Mykonos so special.

They bring different cultures and knowledge

along with a tangible energy that adds to the social fabric.

I find the people here

generally to be motivated and forward thinking

with an open mind that's endearing to outsiders.

And as far as Mykonos is concerned,

do you want to live here for the rest of your life?

Is this something you want?

I mean, it's considered a party island, isn't it?

Yes. But there's so much.

Look, we didn't see why even one shop down here.

Yeah. It's an island of contrast.

If you want, you can find the peace and quiet, and in the winter,

it's like a village. Yeah.

Maybe as I grow older,

I would like to go to a quieter island,

but I see so much of our Mykonian heritage

hidden behind the scenes, hidden behind the spotlight

of the travel industry still on Mykonos,

that I can't leave yet.

It's my base.

I love Mykonos, but I love Greece as well, as well.

Definitely.

Well, let's see more of Mykonos. Let's go then.

Just to get a feeling

of how old this town is,

behind all these shop windows

and how literally Mykonos is an island of contrast.

You've got a shop full of clothes on one side,

and then you've got these family chapels,

which are nearly 1,000 of them on the island.

And this one here specifically goes back to the 1600s,

so, imagine how old this whole neighbourhood is.

Wow.

Come in.

This is open all day

as some of the little family chapels are

for anybody to come in and light a candle.

Still a very strong tradition in Mykonos to have family chapels.

Right.

A lot of these old ones in town

'cause some are so old, were built for the sailors

who went out to sea or the fishermen

because the families were worried that their men wouldn't come back.

So, they built family chapels, dedicated them to saints

and asked that saint to keep the members of their family safe

and bring them back home safely.

But why do you think we're still building them?

Because in the Greek Orthodox church,

cremation is not accepted.

So, when somebody passes away and is buried, after a few years,

the remains are dug up by the undertakers.

Those boxes of remains

are placed under the floors of their family chapels

in a way of keeping the whole family together forever.

Am I standing on one?

Yeah. We are.

You realise that it's not only a religious belief,

it's a connection with your roots

and the feasts and festivals which are held on the saints days

carry the recipes, carry the music, and carry the dances,

which are so different in every single corner of Greece.

So, family chapel carries traditions, history,

recipes, music, and dance,

and the community getting together on their special day.

The average tourists would walk by these little chapels

totally unaware of the historical significance they have.

They're one of the centuries

old cultural elements of Mykonos that remains,

despite all the modernisation happening outside these doors.

(THEME MUSIC)

This is one of the most iconic images of the Cyclades,

and Greece for that matter.

It's Little Venice.

Late in the afternoon when the crowds are at their peak

and the light starts to turn golden,

there's no better place to finish your day.

I'm so glad you brought me down here.

This is absolutely beautiful.

Well, this is one of the landmarks of Mykonos,

one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Cyclades.

Most people come here at this time, you see how busy it is, right?

But not many know

that we are right in the heart of our oldest neighbourhood,

which we talked about before.

These are the old captain's houses.

They used to anchor their boats out here.

Take their rowing boats to their homes

and then up a staircase

out the front door to get into the town.

Wow.

So, what we call Little Venice today,

because it reminded us of Little Venice,

well, mostly our visitors.

For us, it's our oldest neighbourhood

and our old captain's houses.

Wow.

Here's to Little Venice. Yeah.

(SPEAKS GREEK) (SPEAKS GREEK)

Look at that sunset.

It's amazing.

I think you realise why people want to get down here before the sunsets.

I can see it.

And our windmills right behind me.

Our time here has come to a close, and yes,

we didn't get a chance to show you

everything there is to experience on Mykonos,

much like we don't get to shine a light on all there is to see

and do on most islands.

But we showed you what we thought was unique

to this very special place.

The things that you won't find on other islands

that have shaped what Mykonos is today,

most of which you probably won't discover

without getting a bit of local knowledge.

In our introduction to Mykonos,

I told you that it isn't one of my favourite islands.

In actual fact, to be totally honest,

it's not even in my top ten,

but I have to admit that I keep coming back

and I always have a good time here.

Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a people watcher

and there are all sorts of characters

from every part of our society visiting the island.

Or perhaps it's because I have some great memories of my time here

and I enjoy reliving them.

Then again, it can also be

because I've got a number of friends here

and I love catching up with them.

One thing I do know

is that if you come to Mykonos on the fringe of the tourist season

and not at the peak, you'll have a great time.

Looking at this place objectively.

You'd have to go out of your way not to enjoy spending a week here.

The beaches are pretty

and there's plenty of them to choose from.

There's a wide variety of great dining options and shopping,

from the relatively inexpensive to the world's best brands.

A visit to Mykonos

might cost you a few more bucks than other Greek islands,

but I'll let you be the judge of whether it's worth it or not.

That sunset alone

has to be worth the occasional

overpriced cocktail in Little Venice.

Bidding farewell to Mykonos,

our travels were taking us southwest,

just a stone's throw away to the sacred island of Delos.

It's a short cruise that would be taking us from the 21st century

glitz and excitement,

to a place with profound significance

in the country's ancient history.

In place of trendy young tourists, you have a slightly older,

less glamorous type of traveller with a passion for the old world.

Archaeologists have been coming here for decades,

piecing together the islands past and discovering the impact

it had across the Mediterranean.

It's a story that keeps evolving, and with every visit,

I learn just a little bit more.

We've all heard about the promiscuous, mischievous,

mythological god king Zeus.

Well, things weren't any different here on Delos.

He impregnated his concubine and mistress Leto,

and when Hera, his wife heard about this,

wearing the pants in the family, she said,

"You are not giving birth anywhere on terra firma in this world."

In the last months of pregnancy, Leto heard her unborn son say,

"Mum, give birth to me on the floating island of Delos."

And she did just that.

She in fact gave birth to twins, Artemis and Apollo.

Apollo being the most beautiful Greek god the world had ever seen.

They built temples and statues in dedication to him.

And from that time on, Delos became extremely popular.

Pilgrims from all four corners of the Greek world

came to visit this wonderful site

that people still visit 2,800 years later.

Delos is a complete contrast

to its bustling neighbour of Mykonos.

It's a barren island,

devoid of greenery and free of people.

In its prime, it was a busy centre

and no doubt would've been a spectacular site.

The ruins you see today

would've been truly impressive with glowing white marble,

several temples and countless statues

decorating the landscape.

Even in a ruined state, it still has incredible presence

and you can get a sense of how grand it once was.

Being such a tiny, waterless island,

there really hasn't been any development on Delos

for 2,000 years, and we're lucky for that

because it's been able to preserve this wonderful city

that was once 30,000 people.

And it's an absolute maze.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle. You've got a kouros here.

You've got this part of the legs right here

and the chest over there.

The kids will have a ball.

But I've got to tell you, don't just bring a book on Delos,

you probably need a guide

to take you around to really explain the poignant points

of this wonderful ancient city.

It's hard to believe, but over 2,000 years ago,

Delos had striking similarities to Mykonos.

It was a thriving, wealthy and cosmopolitan island

known right across the Mediterranean.

The influence that Delos has had on Greek culture

has been felt across the centuries.

Its dramatic history

is a reflection of how Greece as a country evolved

and experienced turmoil in ancient times,

right up until the 8th century when it was eventually abandoned.

Seeing the island now,

with its partly restored statues and temples,

gives you a sense of what it once was.

And yes, there's no doubting how impressive it is,

but it also creates a sense of sadness.

The notion that this was simply abandoned and left to ruin

means that so much history and beauty has been lost.

In place of pilgrims and politicians are sheep and herders.

It seems as though there are still some parallels to the past.

(THEME MUSIC)

Delos might be a small island,

but its influence in ancient Greece was profound.

The city of ruins is a testament to just how important it was,

not just in a religious sense

but for trade and more significantly politics.

So much more happened here than just the praise of the gods.

It was the governmental heart of the region,

prior to being a major trade centre.

The European Union is made up of a number of countries,

some more powerful than others, like France and Germany.

And they chose the tiny powerless state of Belgium,

Brussels to be exact, to be their headquarters

much like they did just under 3,000 years ago,

here in the Cycladic group of islands,

when Naxos, Paros,

Euboea and other islands got together

to choose Delos as their epicentre.

It was named the Delian League

and later on became the Athenian League

before the Romans conquered and they made this a tax-free haven.

It became a commercial hub.

They traded 10,000 slaves a day here.

30,000 people lived on this island

and we've only dug up a portion of it.

Just have a look at it.

In the 150 years that archaeologists and historians

have been toiling here,

they're realistically only scratched the surface.

Beneath layers of dirt that have accumulated over the centuries

are temples, statues, and other evidence of a world

that is vastly different to how we live today.

Delos will continue to reveal its secrets

for many decades to come.

And with every discovery,

a new page in the story of Greece will be written

and others rewritten.

Those that record history in a way that's digestible to the masses

play a very important role in keeping that past alive.

One such person is Nigel McGilchrist.

From the very beginning of my travels,

his painstaking work

has been part of what has helped educate and inspire me,

and I was blessed to be able to meet him.

I don't know if you realise what a fan I am of you.

20 volumes of wonderful literature on the Greek islands.

Nobody else has done it, and yours is the best stuff, mate.

Now, why did you start it? What happened?

Well, you are very kind to say that.

I mean, it's been the work

of a lifetime doing it

and it evolved.

I mean, I never really intended to do anything like that.

It evolved quite naturally. I used to teach American students.

I used to teach them in classrooms, and I realised that there's nothing

you can really say of value literally around Greece

without seeing the places.

And you can't understand the art and the architecture

without seeing the reality, the physical reality of Greece.

I remember, I mean, I studied all this at school,

and then when you actually come to Greece,

you have a sort of aha moment.

You suddenly began to understand

why the history works the way it does.

The art is like it is, the architecture is like it is

because it makes sense in the environment of Greece.

But the point of those books is that they're firsthand.

Yeah. There's no second-hand material.

It's about my experiences of walking on what I see,

what I find, and it builds.

Then once you've seen certain things in other islands you say,

"Ah," you recognise the same pattern somewhere else.

And you said it wasn't supposed to be so big.

This thing took you seven years.

Basically. A bit more actually.

It was sort of nearly a decade of my life.

Nearly a decade.

And it's of course,

you'd already done a whole lot of work at university,

you've studied, et cetera.

So, nobody could just walk in there and do this for ten years.

They'd have to have a history of knowledge.

It helps. Absolutely.

But it was a wonderful ten years.

I mean, even if nobody ever got to read the books,

it would've been,

it was wonderful for me just to explore because the variety,

I mean, this is something you will have realised

in making the series of programs,

the extraordinary variety of the island.

Each island has a character that's quite unto itself,

perfectly individual.

I say that all the time,

that each island has its own personality,

and this is coming from the guru.

Yes. Like human beings.

Each one meets you or greets you in a different way,

but some of them are a little bit off-putting,

some of them very welcoming.

But each island is very different.

You've travelled a fair bit,

so you would know better than anyone else

that this is unique to the Greek islands

because you go to the Bahamas or the Virgin Islands,

they're all pretty much the same same.

Here, it's different.

It really is.

I often think exactly of that comparison.

The Caribbean is a wonderful group of islands,

obviously in a similar

sort of sea in the middle of a continent

and many things are the same.

But no, it's a completely different thing.

Anyone that visits Greece

should get their hands on Nigel's books.

He has a way of bringing the islands to life,

taking you back to ancient times.

They're not only fantastic educational resources

but detailed guides.

Within the pages, you'll come to discover hidden gems

that only through years of research were they able to be unearthed.

And if you do come to this region of Greece,

don't just spend your days on Mykonos

and the commercial islands,

take the time to visit Delos

and I can guarantee you'll be blown away.

Walking through the expansive ruins is like taking a step back in time.

You can spend endless hours here, learning about the island's past

and the role it played in shaping Greece.

It's a place not only for those that love architecture and history

but also art and even geology.

One bit of advice though,

come early in the morning before the crowds arrive

and when it's much cooler.

I'm visiting every inhabited island in the country

and this place never ceases to amaze.

In the next episode, I'm headed to Andros,

an island with beautiful neoclassic architecture

and a long maritime history.

There are fantastic hikes as well as hidden beaches.

And best of all, it's not busy with tourists.

From Andros, I head south to the neighbouring island of Tinos,

to start my exploration of this

lesser-known destination.

(THEME MUSIC)

Captioned by Ai-Media ai-media.tv