Original subtitles

(lively music)

- From the bustling streets of Athens

and the historic port of Hydra, to the beaches of Zakinthos

and the villages of Kythira, our journey

over the coming weeks spans many of the Ionian islands,

some well-known, others that few ever get to visit.

But before heading off, you probably want

to know a little bit about me.

My story starts as boy growing up

in the inner suburbs of Sydney.

Like a lot of Greeks early last century,

my parents moved overseas to find a better life abroad.

They arrived with very little and worked extremely hard

to give my sisters and I a loving upbringing.

They also made me believe that if I too worked hard enough,

I could achieve anything.

54 years later, I've built a successful business.

And that has enabled me to do things I once only dreamed of.

One of those dreams was to step foot

on all 227 inhabited Greek Islands,

and I'm going to take a big chunk out of that

in this first series.

We've travelled from Athens to Epidavros, Hydra, Spetses,

Nafplio and Monemvasia, with plenty

of stops throughout the journey.

It's been an incredible adventure with surprises

around every corner, not to mention,

the countless wonderful people we've met along the way.

We've delved into the history, culture and food of Greece,

unearthing many gems during our exploration.

Both above and below the water,

there have been fascinating things to discover,

including wildlife and ancient archaeology.

In this episode, I'm digging deeper into my family history,

as I explore more of Kythira.

My parents moved from here to Australia,

however I have a tangible connection to the place

that I can't ignore.

It now feels like a second home,

but I'm still far from being considered a local.

Every time I return, I discover new and fascinating things,

and the places I've seen before

have usually evolved a little.

So no matter how familiar I am with Kythira,

there are always a few surprises.

Heading inland from the beautiful port of Diakofti,

you get a sense of what Kythira is all about.

There are no traffic lights or roundabouts.

It feels like time has stood still for the last 50 years.

On the road you only have to contend with a goat or two.

You know, the traffic is bad enough in Kythira

even though it's a small island,

but these goats don't make it much easier, do they?

Look at this.

They own the joint, so we have got to let them through.

Off you go.

Off you go.

Off you go.

He's checking you out, you wanna look?

Oh, oh, he's looking at me with those horns.

Greeks are well-known for loving their goats.

Some more than others.

It's a bit like cows in India.

But the only difference is, we drink their milk,

and eat the meat.

Off you go, off you go.

(bells ringing)

Sorry about the traffic.

You know, my cousin owns these goats.

I have got to talk to him about doing this a bit better,

because, you know, summer, people want to get to the beach.

Look at what he's doing to it.

My cousin and his family regularly come out here

to tend to their herd.

They don't use these goats for any sort of trade.

They're basically used to put a stamp on their land.

You know the saying "Possession is nine tenths of the law."

Well, a herd of goats is essentially a Greek title deed.

- Okay, Peter, so this is the church.

This is Agios Haralambos

and this is the town of Gerakitianika.

(he mumbles)

- This is the tiny village of Gerakitianika.

It's where my family came from, and, in fact,

it was our family name up until the 19th century.

There were so many people with the surname Gerakitis,

that nicknames were given out.

Ours was Maneas, which we ended up adopting.

Two turns.

- [Kalie] Yes, two turns.

And let me--

- [Peter] Kalie is a close family friend.

We grew up together, living only a few suburbs apart.

She's spent many years studying Kythira,

specifically its family genealogies,

and Kythira's peculiar history.

This current journey to Kythira began 12 months ago,

when I asked Kalie to research my family genealogy.

Here, back in Sydney, she painstakingly went

through all the records, back to the 15th century.

That's 600 years of paperwork.

- Is that your five times great-grandfather,

Thodoro Gerachiti, was the person

who built the church Agios Haralambos in Gerakitianika.

- How many generations back is that?

- Seven.

From yourself, five.

- Seven.

- Seven, sorry, seven. - Seven, seven.

There's so many generations, yeah.

- Seven.

Seven generations back.

- So when did he build the church?

- Well, from personal information that was provided to us

from your family, it indicates that he built it around 1767.

So the first time we are finding that church

in the Venetian censuses, which relates to that,

is in the 1772 census.

And you can see here, it mentions

(speaks in foreign language) Yeracityanika.

And there's your family there.

So that's Thodoro, this person here, with his wife.

He's the son of Manoli, so that was his father,

and with his creatures, his wife, and his children.

- And what's amazing is that church

after 400 years is still standing.

So my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather

was a builder, and that building is still standing.

My clients should know that.

This research that Kalie and others undertook

didn't only involve reading Greek,

Venetian and Ottoman records, but the interpretation

of various languages, and the peculiar calligraphies.

Many of these records were in very poor condition

and are currently being digitised.

Amazingly, Kythira and Corfu are the only two Greek Islands

that have records dating back to the 14th century,

so we're incredibly lucky to be able

to map my family history to such an early time.

You know, I think, you know, this is 300 years old,

and what my grandfather would, great-great-great-grandfather

would have had to go through to build this

and get someone to do all of this work 300 years ago,

it's impressive that it is still standing, you know.

- [Kalie] And impressive that we can still see the frescos.

- The legend that my father tells me is that Thodoros,

my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather built this

because he went to a church just further down

from Gerakitianika, and Gerakitianika

is only 100 metres long, and they asked him to leave

because he wasn't from that part of the town.

- Oh, Gee whiz!

- So he was offended and, as a result, he built this church.

- Wow!

- And it's still standing today, so--

- There you go...

Determination!

Reminds me of you.

(he chuckles)

- It's um...

Well, it's the oldest thing that really links to me

at the moment and it has a special spot right here.

Wow.

As people living on this earth, our time is short.

We come and go and in many instances are soon forgotten.

But when I touch these walls, like a distant relative

of mine once did, it gives me a sense of pride.

It's something tangible I can hold on to,

that can't be taken away from me.

This is his legacy, and keeps his memory alive.

What you have done for me with the genealogy

and coming in here and getting accurate dates

on when this was built, it's really all connected now.

You know, I feel...

I feel like there is a bit more depth in my history now.

Thank you very much, darling. - You're welcome.

- Thank you.

Thank you very much.

- No worries. - We better go, eh?

- Yeah, let's go.

Oh, the lights.

- Yep.

And we better take the key back to the priest.

- Yes, that's right.

(gentle instrumental music)

(lively music)

- A short drive from my family's village

is the town of Potamos.

It's the biggest settlement on the island

and acts as the business centre.

It sits in the middle of Kythira

and is essentially the main tourist hub.

Looking at the place now, you would think it's a busy town.

But that's only during the summer months.

In winter, there's only around 4,000 people living

on this entire island, but when the weather warms up,

the population swells to over 20,000.

The architecture in Potamos has changed very little

since I first visited 44 years ago.

The main difference is the amount of visitors.

Many of those that come here are Greek,

and have summer homes on the island.

Now, if you're of Kytherian descent,

everywhere you go in Kythira there will be a person,

shop or something that connects you.

This is my second cousin's shop, let's go inside.

This is the general store that has stayed

in this family since 1945.

If my parents hadn't emigrate to Australia,

I'd probably be running a similar establishment,

or herding goats.

It's strange how things work out.

This is an awesome store.

It hasn't changed in 40 years.

You can buy everything in here.

(lively instrumental music) (people murmuring)

I feel like I am...

I don't know, stuck in a time warp.

This shop is awesome.

If you can't find what you need here,

then you won't find it anywhere on the island.

A short stroll away in a side street

I came across another cousin's store.

Unfortunately, though, it hadn't survived the century.

I walk around Potamos, I see my cousins,

I see shops from my cousins,

and here's a shop that brings back really special memories.

But like I have aged, it has aged as well.

It's now derelict.

This shop only opened on Sundays with big pots of goat,

and beef, and lamb.

And people would line up here.

It was the only shop here that sold food on a Sunday.

Only on a Sunday.

The food was fantastic.

But it's gone now, and...

Time has a way of taking things away from you.

This place was simple, yet wholesome.

I got a bit emotional because it holds a lot

of fond memories for me,

and it's something I'll never get back again.

Now they're using it as a carpark.

The fabric of society is founded on history.

The important people that came before us,

and significant moments in time,

each laid the foundations for the world we live in today.

In this case, I was lucky enough to witness the unveiling

of a plaque that commemorates Australian soldiers born

in Kythira that fought for Australia in the world wars.

Setting in stone, such powerful,

and sometimes painful memories, is an important thing to do.

It reminds us of the sacrifices others have made,

and of the mistakes of the past.

Through the perseverance of people like Nick Andriotakis,

who gives his time to research and uphold history,

future generations will be able

to better understand their past,

and, hopefully, be thankful for what they have.

- And for that he was awarded the British Empire medal.

And I think that is something that should be known.

And also, the 200 Australians of Kytherian heritage,

who have served Australia in Gallipoli, in Western France,

in Greece, through the Pacific, and all the major conflicts.

- [Peter] Watching these young people

at the front of the crowd,

confirmed to me that Nick's efforts are not in vain,

and I was proud to see that this record

of history was being undertaken

on my tiny little island of Kythira.

(lively instrumental music)

We left Diakofti for the fishing village of Avlemonas.

Once again, I have a number of cousins that live here.

Through the centuries we've sewn our seeds all

around the area, and there aren't too many places

I don't have a relative.

Don't worry though, like me, they find husbands

and wives from outside the island.

What I love about Avlemonas are the secluded coves

with their beautiful swimming holes.

It's not a place many tourists know about.

The folks you find here are either locals,

descendants of locals, or Greeks that have met a local

and were told about how great a spot it is.

(lively instrumental music)

Right now it's the height of the tourist season,

and yet you can easily find a beach

or alcove all for yourself.

Even if there are one or two others splashing around,

everyone is really welcoming and happy to chat.

It's well worth befriending a local,

that way you'll get the inside info

on the best spots to check out.

(splashing)

Then there's the nearby taverns and cafes,

where there's always an empty table

where you can while away the afternoon, sipping a coffee,

eating fresh seafood, and watching the world go by.

Then, once your food has settled,

it's back into the water to cool off before the next meal.

(splashing)

Man, I love Greece!

Now, I'm all for a relaxing swim,

but sometimes I like to get the heart rate up

and do things a little more exciting.

I'm going to go out to the right.

(man mumbles)

You know what, it's taking me out to the left,

I'm going to go out to the left.

Wake surfing behind big motor yachts has become a bit

of a sport, but that's way too dangerous for me.

So I thought I might give it a go

with a wakeboard and a towline.

After meticulous safety checks and procedures,

we gave it a shot.

Looking at it now, it seems a little extreme,

a 110-ton vessel towing a 110-kilo nutcase.

And, to be honest, the captain wanted to test the engines

after doing some servicing, so I figured instead

of letting the fuel go to waste,

we should do something a little different,

and, boy, was it fun!

(lively instrumental music)

On shore I noticed someone working on the rocks.

He was wearing full overalls in the searing heat,

toiling for hours on end.

Curiosity got the better of me

and I went across to find out what he was doing.

His name was Minas, and as it turns out, we were related.

(speaking in foreign language)

- So he's already put some down.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] These rocks.

(mumbles) Minas, who owns these rocks?

(speaking in foreign language)

- So, basically, this land where the rocks are is owned

by all Kytherians, and if you...

If you harvest the salt, if you're doing the work

to harvest the salt, that salt is yours.

If someone else comes to get it

and if you've been harvesting it, they're stealing from you.

So you've got to do your own basically,

but anyone can come here and do it.

(speaking in foreign language)

Look at these nice tools.

(speaking in foreign language)

- This is from the Spaghetti, but he's changed it.

(speaking in foreign language)

- So this is a bucket that he used for paint,

and now he's put some holes in the bottom of it,

and you'll see why.

(speaking in foreign language)

- He's got to show me first.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] Uh, we've got to check if it's clean,

so he turns it over.

Because if it's got crap in it, he doesn't use it.

He turns it over.

It's clean, so that's good salt.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] So you don't go too deep.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] Oh, yeah, the gold!

Eh!

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] This is air and sun, that's how it has happened.

This is fantastic.

Because we don't want to put it too deep.

(speaking in foreign language)

(lively instrumental music)

- [Peter] This is how people

have gathered salt for centuries.

It's incredibly basic, and provides a natural product

that tastes amazing.

I love the simplicity of it, and the idea

that a similar technique would have been used

in ancient times.

Minas lives just up the road, and invited us to his house

to see the final stage in the process: the drying.

(lively instrumental music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- Oh, look at this!

Fantastic!

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] Oh, wow!

Look at that!

(speaking in foreign language)

- This is the stuff that we just pulled out.

(speaking in foreign language)

- So what we're saying is when the salt

is touching your hands, it's not dry enough.

As soon as the salt leaves your hand...

As soon as the salt leaves your hand

when you move it around, that means it's dry enough.

Pretty simple.

You don't have to be a physicist for this.

I can see all the um...

All the organic people at home,

like my wife, they love this stuff.

So do I actually.

(speaking in foreign language)

- I asked him if I could buy some,

and he said I'm going to give you some.

(speaking in foreign language)

- You're a legend, you're a legend.

We're Kythirian, so he's got to give it to me, you know.

Spending time with Minas was an unplanned surprise.

Watching him work and seeing where he lived

really put life into perspective.

From an age-old technique for salt collection

to an ancient seaside ruin.

I met with another local, Alexis,

who apart from owning a café, studied archaeology,

so knows plenty about the fort in his backyard.

In England?

Archaeology in England?

Fantastic!

So that's why your English is pretty good.

- [Alexis] It's okay.

- [Peter] Yeah, it's very good, very good.

Better than my Greek anyway.

(Alexis chuckles)

(Alexis speaks in foreign language)

- This is the entrance to the fortress for the time being,

because the main entrance of the castle is closed now,

because the Greek state is trying to rebuild the fortress.

- Okay.

- They are trying to find the money,

but, you know, it's difficult times for that.

- Of course it is, of course it is.

Let's go in.

Wow, Alexis.

It's not really a big fort.

- It's not really a big fort,

but where we are standing here, was a two-story tower.

And this is where they lived,

this is where they had their gunpowder,

and they were watching the area 360 degrees.

- [Peter] Right.

- There is also a small outpost in Agios Georgios

at the mountain at the back, and another one

with a garrison of two people,

at the small harbour of Avlemonas, and they all communicated

with each other with fire signals.

Whenever the outpost of Agios Georgios

was seeing the enemy fleet, they were lighting up torches

and fires and they were signalling to the garrison here

and the garrison at the other harbour.

- Now, when you say enemy fleet, um--

- The ottoman Fleet.

- The ottoman Fleet?

So is that why this was built?

- Exactly.

- Right, so--

- Exactly, after the sacking by Barbarossa

of the Paleochora city,

which was the mediaeval capital of Kythira.

- Right.

So they were sacked,

and then they built all these emplacements.

- Exactly.

- The Venetians?

- The Venetians, exactly. - Wow.

Time and Mother Nature have taken their toll on the site,

but what remains tells the story of what happened here.

For most, it was a period of turmoil and fear.

Life under Venetian rule was varied.

Many islands suffered from high taxes

or constant pirate attacks,

while others prospered thanks to improved trade.

It was very different under the Ottoman's.

The Turkish had little respect for the people

or culture of Greece, and imposed their ways

on the populous through fear and oppression.

I'm wondering how it would have felt,

for these young 10 men that were in this fort,

to be sitting here, looking through that hole,

at other ships, with these cannons,

they would have been very scared.

- [Alexis] They would have been very scared

because this is a small fort as we said,

and it was quite easy to be sacked.

- [Peter] Yes.

Yes.

- There are certain stories that this fort has been sacked

by pirates, especially during the late times

of the Venetian Empire. - Is that right?

- [Alexis] Late 18th century.

There was a story that it was sacked by pirates, for money.

- [Peter] For money?

- Greek pirates, for money. - Greek pirates?

- [Alexis] Mm-hm.

- So, 16th, 17th, 18th century it was used.

It was used in World War II.

- Exactly.

- Well, they got good value out of this fort, didn't they?

Great value.

(thrilling music)

(lively music)

(crickets chirping)

Just inland from the sea, hidden in a valley,

lies a village with a tragic story.

Behind me is Paleochora.

Paleochora meaning old town, in Greek.

My mother brought me here when I was 10,

and my father 10 years later.

I just didn't understand why they had brought me here.

In subsequent visits, and a little bit of reading,

I started to develop an understanding

of why they brought me here, and why their parents

and their parent's parents brought them here.

If you look at the castle,

you'll see it's hidden from the sea.

And it's well-fortified.

This is a result of fear, fear of these families

from piracy and the devastation of war.

And that's why my parents kept bringing me back.

Let's go and have a look at it.

Funny thing about Paleochora is it is not unique to Kythira.

We're talking about a time

when pirates ruled the Mediterranean and this region.

And it happened everywhere.

People had to risk their lives to build this sort of stuff

just to save their families.

You can see the work that goes into building this stuff,

they would have had to quarry the mountain itself.

Surely people would have died just building this place.

The Byzantine capital of Paleochora was once home

to some 800 people.

There were 15 churches and 20 priests.

It was positioned on a remote cliffside,

perched in a manner that allowed them

to see incoming pirates without being seen themselves.

For 700 years the capital provided the camouflage

and security that it was built for,

until one fateful moment in the island's history.

This is where it all happened.

This is probably where the wall was,

their second line of defence.

Their first line of defence was being hidden from the sea.

The siege happened here.

This was the beginning of the end.

Once they got to here, the people of Paleochora,

they were cut off.

They had no chance.

(gentle instrumental music)

The ruins are a testament to those that lived here.

It's a silent monument to a bloody past

and a story that can be told in similar forms in villages

and towns across Greece that were invaded by the Turks.

Paleochora or Agios Dimitrios as it was known in this time,

Saint Dimitri, was built 12th century A.D.

These people lived in fear.

They just kept building churches.

I've counted 12, and I haven't seen them all.

And you can see why I haven't.

But it all came to an end in 1537,

when the Turkish Ottoman Pirate Barbarossa,

who later became an admiral, sacked the whole island.

He laid siege out the front here, killed everybody.

Those he didn't kill, he took as slaves and sold off.

That was the end of Paleochora.

It was never inhabited again.

This remote castle city has no gates or wardens.

It's a great place to freely walk through

and see ancient architecture

in a location with spectacular views.

There are even remains

of beautiful Byzantine wall paintings and frescos.

But perhaps the most moving thing is its history.

You could say that it's a dark and tragic one.

However, I like to think that, for the most part,

it would have been peaceful.

I can imagine people walking through the narrow lanes,

children playing in the alleys

and traders selling their wares in the square.

Life here may have been removed from the outside world,

but it would have been no different

to most other towns in Greece.

Ruins, like this old church with its remnant paintings,

create an image of a people that lived a life of faith,

toil and service.

The age of the work is unknown, however,

the site was abandoned in the 16th century,

so we know they're older than that.

This is one of the Byzantine churches within Paleochora.

And I love it because you see all of the architecture,

the stone, the vaulted ceilings, which are the the Kamaras,

which was typical for houses at the time as well,

and these beautiful arches,

all that are in the same condition as they were

when it was first built 700 years ago.

What's more impressive is they're built

on the edge of cliff, a 250 metre drop.

These were my forefathers,

and I'm just so impressed with their capability.

They were farmers.

They were farmers, they were builders,

and they were soldiers.

(gentle instrumental music)

Executing locals one by one

until they gave up the secret location,

Barbarossa was lead to the city from its only way in,

a path faced by a large stone wall.

There they laid siege until penetrating the defences

and murdering the city's inhabitants.

Legend has it that 80 people hid under the floor of a church

in silence, hoping they could wait out the attack

and emerge once the invaders had looted the city.

However, the agonising silence was broken

with the cries of a baby.

The mother franticly tried to silence it, but couldn't.

So, the father, in a moment of desperation

and with 80 lives at stake, handed her a knife

and gave a look that suggested only one fateful instruction.

As the mother took the knife and was about

to silence the cries, a group of elders stopped her.

One spoke quietly, saying that better we die than live

with such a memory.

Having heard the baby, moments later the invaders arrived,

and the hiding townsfolk were all massacred.

After that fateful day,

Paleochora was never inhabited again.

(lively music)

Kyriakos, thanks for bringing me to the markets today.

You always do the shopping and--

(speaking in foreign language)

(laughing)

(speaking in foreign language)

- You know, I love the Potamos markets on Sundays.

I miss it from when I was a little boy.

(speaking in foreign language)

- You know a market is good

if it's where the locals do their shopping.

This isn't one of those tourist setups.

It's as authentic as it gets.

There's plenty of colourful people,

great food and bargains to be had.

The best stuff is the local produce.

You've got to be careful here, because there is local stuff

and there is stuff that comes from Peloponeso

that's not organic.

Kyriakos has got the right eye.

He has got the right eye.

(speaking in foreign language)

- After years and years and years, you have to.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Very sweet.

There's something about Greek tomatoes.

I might be biassed, but they just seem

to taste so much sweeter and are way more aromatic

than anywhere else.

These are awesome, mate, these are fantastic.

The greens...

(speaking in foreign language)

He boils them with olive oil and lemon, fantastic.

While I went around the markets trying everything

I could get my lips around, Kyriakos was busy stocking up

with fresh food.

He goes through this process at every port we stop at.

You'd think the last thing he'd enjoy

is me tagging along and asking a million questions.

But he loves sharing his knowledge and passion for food,

plus the extra set of hands was welcomed.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Because it's got needles on it,

he knows that it's local and it's fresh.

Well, the ones behind us, not local.

The search for ingredients continued,

but time was of the essence.

The afternoon's meal is a special one

that takes a lot of preparation.

I asked Kyriakos to cook something my mum used to make.

It's my favourite Greek dish, and while it might take a while

to prepare, it's well worth the wait.

(speaking in foreign language)

- We put our fresh frozen okra.

(speaking in foreign language)

- And a little bit of vinegar on top, ooh, yeah!

And the reason we're doing this?

(speaking in foreign language)

- So the reason Kyriakos puts the vinegar on top

is because the okra has a natural slime.

And what's going to happen is it is going

to take the slime out,

and it's also going to dry up the okra.

Because many times when people make okra

and it is too slimy, they pulls it apart.

This guy, you're a legend.

(speaks in foreign language)

I've had this before, it's awesome.

I can't wait.

And he puts it in the oven.

(speaking in foreign language)

- 150 degrees.

(speaking in foreign language)

- For one hour, just to dry up.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Because it's chicken leg, we've got to put it

in the oven now to cook, because it takes a while to cook.

But if we were doing breast...

(speaking in foreign language)

- We would have put it straight in later on.

(speaking in foreign language)

- No olive oil, no nothing.

It's got its own fat, so it's okay.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Straight in there for the same amount of time.

To start the salsa we add two cups of olive oil, onions,

shallots and the baby carrots we got from the markets.

They all get lightly sautéed, not browned,

for around five minutes.

Next we add the tomatoes, also from Potamos markets.

You can't get any fresher than that.

(speaking in foreign language)

- It's the season for tomatoes, too.

A little salt and pepper to taste, some parsley

and a sprinkle of sugar to complete the job.

Kyriakos insists on adding sugar to fresh tomatoes

as it brings out the flavour and reduces the acidity.

The key is not to overcook it,

because from here it goes into the oven for an hour.

After 30 minutes give the okra a stir

and then pop them back in for another half hour.

The same goes for the chicken.

The next step in the process is bringing it all together.

(speaking in foreign language)

- A little bit of salt.

That's not a little bit of salt, but anyway.

(laughing)

But look at the chicken, it looks nice,

it's ready to brown, it's about there, isn't it?

And what do we do?

We bring our little emulsion here that we--

(speaking in foreign language)

- The salsa.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Right, ooh, yeah.

Ooh, yeah.

Ooh, that looks good.

Have a look at the faces of our crew over there,

they are salivating.

(speaking in foreign language)

- And so we spread it over the okra

to make sure that it is evenly distributed,

like a uniformly distributed load.

For those engineers out there.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Peter] And then you put the chicken on top.

(speaking in foreign language)

- So, there is the juice of the chicken

that has come out in the cooking,

and he said that if we want to make sure we get the value

of the chicken into the uh...

The stock of the chicken, into the okra,

we just pour it all over.

This looks good.

(speaking in foreign language)

- So this could be a vegetarian dish,

you don't need the chicken.

And this is done with chicken breast,

obviously we love chicken breast.

(speaking in foreign language)

- He prefers the leg to the chicken breast

because it's tastier, is that right?

(speaking in foreign language)

- So this now goes back in the oven for an hour.

How easy is this!

(speaking in foreign language)

- It's so easy you've just got

to take Kyriakos home with you.

Okay, it's been an hour since we put it in,

actually two hours and 10 minutes since we first started.

(speaking in foreign language)

- It's ready.

Let's go, let's see what it's like.

I have my fork, and I have my glass of rosé.

You're supposed to have white wine but I got no idea.

All right.

Ooh!

(speaks in foreign language)

Now look at this, look at the bamia, it hasn't...

The okra hasn't split apart.

That's the key.

(speaks in foreign language)

Thank you very much.

He does it better than my mother.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Oh.

Fantastic.

(speaking in foreign language)

- We are going to get the captain's opinion.

(speaks in foreign language)

Tell us what you think.

- Fantastic. - Fantastic!

Oh, yeah!

(speaking in foreign language)

(laughing)

- So there you have it: bamia or okra

with chicken drumsticks.

This can easily be a beef, lamb or even a vegetarian dish.

Any way you make it, bamia is one of the best dishes

you will ever taste.

And if you're listening up there, mum,

I told a lie, yours was still the best.

(lively music)

(lively instrumental music)

As you drive around the island,

you'll see some incredible scenery.

It's only a small landmass, so getting around is easy.

Just watch out for the goats.

My journey was in search of Agia Sophia,

which is a tiny church that had been built in a remote cave.

The drive there was pretty special.

The passing views were spectacular,

and because it's not a busy tourist destination,

it was quiet and peaceful.

The hard part is staying focused on the road,

and not stopping every few minutes to take photos.

(lively instrumental music)

You know, the wonderful thing about Kythira,

is quite often the journey is just

as good as the destination.

And whether you're walking or driving...

Have a look at this, it's just so special.

I love this place.

If you weren't made aware of this hillside cave

and what lay inside, you'd simply drive on by.

It's hidden from view, which is perhaps why

it has remained relatively intact for so long,

and why people fleeing the tyranny of wars and occupation,

have used this as a hiding spot for centuries.

All right, Vagellis, we've walked 10 metres into the cave

and I already see these beautiful icons.

Can you tell me a bit

about this? - Yeah.

Those icons are frescos.

So they have used fresco technique to keep them fresh.

On the left here, we see an icon

which we know that was painted in about 13th century.

So we're talking about a very old icon.

And on the left we can see Saint Sophia, Agia Sophia,

and he had three daughters: Love, Hope, Faith.

- Vagellis, how deep is this cave?

- Well, so this cave goes in about 500 metres long,

and we can visit only about 220 of them.

- Let's go and have a look.

- All right. - Thank you.

You've got to watch your head here, obviously.

- Yeah, of course, because, you know,

the height of the cave becomes smaller and smaller

as we enter it through.

It's very, very slippery.

Give me your hand, okay. - Thank you very much,

Vagellis.

- Yeah, because it's difficult, I know.

- What do we have here?

I know that's the 13th century church back there.

What do we have here?

- Here we have an earlier church.

This is the church of Saint Sophia.

This church was built in 1875 by some priests

that used to live here.

You can see an amazing thing, that the church was built

on the cave, so we can see the stalactite here.

- [Peter] It's amazing.

- And this cave doesn't have only this church,

that probably most people know.

So, if you want, you can join me

and I can show you something pretty magnificent.

- Oh, please, let's go

and have a look. - All right.

- I'm loving this.

What are you talking about?

This is awesome. - Yeah, this is great.

- [Peter] I'm doing better up hill than down hill.

- Yeah, of course, everyone...

Everyone does.

Here, we have a room that is called Nice Lake.

- Yes.

- [Vagellis] And in this small lake, citizens

of Mylopotamos used to bring their kids here

to baptise them.

- [Peter] And so they baptised them in this rock pool?

- Yeah, of course, in this exact same spot,

so that they could have the protection

and the help of Saint Sophia.

- Vagellis isn't an archaeologist,

he's a passionate local guide

that proved a wealth of knowledge.

But I'm not sure what he meant by his earlier comment

that frescos were fresh.

Maybe something was lost in translation.

Wow, Vagellis, this is a deep cave, isn't it?

- Yeah, of course, it's a very deep cave.

- Unbelievable.

(dramatic instrumental music)

(Vagellis speaks in foreign language)

- [Peter] Okay.

- Mind your head. - Yes.

- Here, we have the cave's living room.

We have the biggest room of the cave.

And the fascinating thing about this room

is that we can compare the young stalactite

with the four-million-year-old stalactite.

- Unbelievable.

- [Vagellis] So this is absolutely unbelievable.

- [Peter] And we haven't even gone

in one tenth of the distance.

- [Vagellis] Yeah, probably, yeah.

Probably, yeah.

- Well, I've got to tell you, Vagellis,

I'm getting a bit claustrophobic.

Do you mind if we go now?

Because it's getting-- - Yeah, of course, of course.

And the cave becomes more tight from this point on, so--

- Let's go. - Let's go back.

- Thank you, Vagellis.

- I thank you.

- [Peter] It was a relief to get back outside

and into the sun.

After an hour of relative darkness,

apart from the claustrophobia, I was starting to feel tired.

I couldn't fathom what it would be like for the explorers

who delve far deeper into the cave system.

Speaking of exploring, next week I'm going

to be doing plenty of exactly that.

I'll be discovering more of the island paradise

of my heritage, taking in places

that I've never seen before, and revisiting old haunts

to see how things have changed over the years.

From Kythira, I'm then making my way to one

of the most photographed places in Greece: Zakynthos.

It's the third largest island in the Ionian,

and a place where the beauty of the beaches

rivals any you'll come across in the Mediterranean,

and possibly the world.

I'll also show you that there's a lot more to it

than just the sun and sand.

There's also a rich history and wild encounters to be had.

Like most Greek islands, it never ceases to surprise.

For now though, it's time to head back to Mia Zoi.

There's one thing on my mind and that's dinner.

I can still smell the bamia Kyriakos cooked earlier,

and there's no way I'm letting the crew eat it all

before I get back.

Before I left, they were circling like vultures,

hovering around the kitchen with forks in hand.

Thankfully, I had Captain Yianni on guard duty.

Then, again, he's probably the one I needed

to watch the most.

(lively instrumental music)

(rumbling)