Original subtitles

(upbeat guitar music)

- In the first series,

I began unravelling the story of this spectacular

and historic nation,

by travelling from Athens around the Peloponnese and up

to the Ionian Islands.

It took in parts of the country

that lots of tourists know well.

But in amongst the popular places were hidden gems,

undiscovered by the holiday masses.

This series, I'm back onboard my beautiful boat Mia Zoi,

and heading to a region of Greece

I hadn't spent much time in.

The plan is to skip between the islands,

taking in the sights of the Northern Aegean.

It'll be a journey of discovery,

where I'll be digging deeper into the fabric

that makes Greece so unique.

And immersing myself in a centuries-old culture,

unlike anywhere else on Earth.

In this episode, I'll be exploring 7000 years of history,

from one of the earliest settlements in Europe,

to a modern day Air Force base.

Plus, I'll learn about the local cuisine and landscapes

of Lemnos that make it so special.

Lemnos has a very unique geography,

shaped a bit like a W or a horse.

It's separated by the Gulf of (speaking in foreign language)

in the north, and the Bay of Moudros in the south.

And the Bay of Moudros is very significant.

It's one of the largest naturally formed bays in Greece.

It also has major ecological significance

for the migrating birds.

Historically, it's the gathering point

for the allied fleet before the Gallipoli campaign

in World War I.

But I look at it now and it's serene and beautiful.

The view from the mountain at Katakolo gives you a

great understanding of the island's topography.

If you have the time, it's also worth visiting

one of the quaint villages for a coffee or a bite to eat.

Unfortunately, I had to quickly get back to the boat

at Gomati Beach so we could head out

to our next destination.

Our journey took us around the northwest coast,

then south to port town of Myrina.

As the capital of Lemnos, it's also the most populous town,

with over 5000 people calling it home.

It has a beautiful port

and as many taverns as fishing boats.

The stone paved alleys add to the old world charm

created by the mix of period architecture

and nearby ruins.

It exudes character, and thanks to its beaches,

charming laneways, history, hotels and restaurants,

Myrina is perfect for tourists.

With so much to see, I enlisted the help of Nikoleta.

She's a culturalist and a guide who loves sharing

her knowledge with visitors.

So these are the Myrina shops, right?

- Yes, this is the heart of the town.

- The heart of the town, oh okay.

So tell me, Nikoleta, you're a culturalist.

You work with your father in an electrical shop.

You work at a hotel.

- Yes.

- You help guiding as well.

You know a lot of history.

What don't you do?

You do everything, don't you?

- I don't travel most.

That's my complain.

- Yeah?

- I don't have free time to travel.

- What I want to know is when do you sleep?

I mean you're working all through the day.

You're working at night until two in the morning.

You've been up since eight o'clock this morning.

When do you sleep?

- Sleep is for older people.

(laughing)

- A lot of the young Greek people from the islands,

small islands like this, leave and go elsewhere.

Why haven't you left?

- During winter, I travel in the mainland.

And during summer, I do this job

because I like to talk about my beauty of the island.

I like to show the beautiful things,

how amazing is life in the island.

- Now you're selling the island to me.

Come on.

Don't sell the island to me.

- Maybe.

- Come on, let's go up to the castle.

- Let's go.

(serene music)

- Tell me a bit about this castle.

- It has about 150 cannons, 14 towers,

and each wall reaches up to 120 metres high.

- [Peter] Has it been conquered?

- [Nikoleta] No, never.

- [Peter] Never been conquered?

- [Nikoleta] Never.

- [Peter] Are you sure about that?

- [Nikoleta] Yes.

(serene music)

- [Peter] This is pretty enormous.

I can understand why it was never conquered.

- Yes, this is one of the two entrances.

The main entrance is at the south side.

And the second entrance is at the northern side.

(serene music)

- This here looks like it's more Venetian than...

- It was rebuilded many times by Venetians,

Byzantians, and then Ottomans.

It gained today's form during the Turkish domination,

while this rocky hill has been inhabited since the

Neolithic age.

All of the walls, or a big part of the castle,

it was rebuilded by the Ottomans.

- The different phases of the fortress are clearly

visible as you walk towards the top.

There's the caves from when it was occupied

during the Neolithic period,

then the various stages of development

on top of one another, taking us through Byzantine,

Venetian, and finally Ottoman occupation.

It spans a huge area and provides views of

the harbour, city and far out to sea.

Wow, Nikoleta, I look at the size now,

when you talk about 110000 square metres,

now I'm feeling the size of this place.

I can see that during war, the whole island would have

been protected here.

- Exactly.

- They would have all come here

and this is the capital of Lemnos, isn't it?

- [Nikoleta] Yes.

- So tell me something.

Why do they call it Lemnos?

- The first option is that it derives from

two ancient words (speaking in foreign language)

which means herd and (speaking in foreign language)

which means sheep because the island

is an agricultural land.

And the second version, it's that derives from

an ancient Phoenician word which means wide

because of the impression that gives to the traveller

sailing towards the island.

- The castle stands between the two bays of Myrina.

On the north is the Roman shore,

which dates back to Byzantine rule,

when the Greeks, known then as Romans,

occupied the area.

Then to the south is the Turkish shore,

where during Ottoman rule, the Turks resided.

Joining the two is the market street,

the heart of the town.

(serene music)

Well, I tell you what.

It's late in the day.

We've had a big day

and I need to have my afternoon siesta,

so can we go back to the bay?

- I agree with you.

- Thank you very much.

(kissing)

According to legend, there was a period of time

when the women for Lemnos neglected worship of

Aphrodite, so to punish them,

the goddess gave them a bad body odour.

This led to the husbands importing concubines from Thrace.

In retaliation the Lemnian women then drugged their men

before pushing them from the cliff

here at the peninsula of the (speaking in foreign language).

The moral of the story is, don't cross the local ladies.

(upbeat music)

(guitar music)

The topography here is unlike

the majority of Greek islands.

Between the mountains there are fertile plains

where crops like wheat, barley and sesame are grown.

It's long been a bread basket of Greece.

In fact, Lemnos was Constantinople's granary

during Byzantine times.

In those days, everything was done by hand.

The earth was tilled using beasts

and what today takes a matter of hours

would have been several days' toil.

Compared to modern crops,

the yield would have been relatively small.

More efficient farming practises and better seed

means a larger harvest.

Still today, once the locals have what they need,

the remainder is shipped around the country

and actually what's grown on an island

is going to influence the local cuisine.

Here, they made a noodle-like pasta called flomari

and after an early start and no breakfast,

I was starving.

So this is the flomari.

This is local to Lemnos only.

- Yes, fine and tasty.

- And what's this?

- It's Melichloro.

It's grated Melichloro.

- Oh that's nice.

- It's a yellow cheese.

- Wow, yeah.

Okay, let's do it man.

What do we do?

- First we will boil the flomari.

- Let's do that.

- We already prepared the water, just so.

We'll put some salt first.

- Right.

And we put the flomari in

and what we do, we boil it up, do we?

- Yeah, 10 minutes it's fine.

- 10 minutes.

- They are thin so it's enough 10 minutes.

- [Peter] Fantastic, I'm hungry.

Let's make the rest less than 10 minutes.

- [Alexander] Yes, I told you.

- If we do that, can we push it along?

(laughing)

- Fantastic.

An occasional stir between grating the cheeses

keeps the pasta separated.

Here in Lemnos they make the white Kalathaki cheese

and the yellow Melichloro.

The form of the two makes a base layer in the dish before

the flomari is added on top.

Oh yeah, that looks nice.

What's this made with?

- Egg, local type of flour

and goat and sheep milk.

- About an inch of pasta is followed by a layer of

Melichloro, before yet another coating of flomari was added.

Very quick recipe.

I love this recipe.

Beautiful olive oil, the aroma.

- Let's finish with the cheese.

We will put the rest here, a lot of,

because it's the finishing and we need more.

- [Peter] We only put the yellow cheese on.

We don't put the...

- [Alexander] Yes.

- [Peter] The Kalathaki.

- [Alexander] We need to be crispy.

- [Peter] Right, okay.

- Let's do the best part of the recipe.

- Wow.

And this makes it crispy.

Ooh, wow.

- [Alexander] Come closer if you want to smell.

- It's sizzling and I'll tell you what.

I'm sitting down, ready to eat this.

I'm in the mood for this and all.

I'm starved, man.

And it's warming up.

The cheese is melting now through the pasta.

- Exactly.

- 'Cause the pasta's already hot.

- Yeah.

- [Peter] I can see it's a hard crust now on the surface.

- I think we are ready.

- I hope Helen is watching this.

Helen, I hope you're watching this.

It's important that you make this for me, okay?

Can we try it?

- Of course you can.

- Let's bring a plate over.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Oh yeah.

Just give me a fork, man.

I'm starved.

Come on.

That's enough, right.

Let's go, let's go.

I'm starved, buddy.

- Here's your fork.

- The smell, the aroma and the way you put it together.

- And the Melichloro.

- Hang on.

It's very different.

It's very different.

I've never tried anything like that.

The cheese and the pasta are very different

to what I'm used to.

- Okay.

- They're very nice.

Your grandma was a gun, mate.

She was awesome.

- Yeah, she was, she was.

- Is she still alive?

- No, she passed away four years now.

- Well, mate, she's living through this recipe.

- Yes, sure.

- You're a legend, buddy.

- Thanks.

- You're a legend, man.

You're a legend.

Thank you very much.

- Nice to see you.

- Now you can go, 'cause I'm gonna finish eating this.

- Okay.

- Maybe I should just go straight for that, you know,

put my fork.

That way, they can't have any, no?

- Now you can choose the part that you like.

- Yeah, that's right.

That's right.

It's good, isn't it?

- [Alexander] It's amazing.

- I'm getting deep into the Melichloro.

Then the Kalathaki--

- Kalathaki, where is it?

- With a full stomach of local pasta and cheese,

my journey around Lemnos continued.

Immediately I noticed a complete lack of traffic.

Here I'm in the peak of holiday season,

on a beautiful island, and there are barely any tourists.

It never ceases to amaze me how most people find themselves

in the usual haunts.

It's as though the travel agents only know a few of

Greece's islands, so they send everyone there,

while just off the beaten track are places like this

that are just as awesome, only half the price,

and with plenty of open space.

I prefer to be away from the crowds,

where the pace is slower, so maybe I should keep

a few of these islands to myself.

(footsteps crunching on sand)

We're here in Aliki, 18000 square metres of,

my understanding, the largest inland salt lakes

in all of Europe.

But more importantly, it's very significant ecologically.

It's a migrating path for almost 30 species of bird.

Even the flamingo, yes, the flamingo comes here,

almost 5000 of them in winter.

It's absolutely enormous.

And have a look at this salt.

It's really special.

Just underneath it is a bit of water.

You can feel it.

It's very pungent.

But that crystal structure, you'd think they'd mine

for salt here, but they don't let them do that,

because it's protected by the European Union and the Greeks.

They protect it well.

Yes, there's a few footsteps here and there,

but it's an awesome place.

You gotta come here.

It's fantastic.

(uplifting music)

Aliki spans an area of 1600 acres with a couple of

kilometres of sand dunes separating it from the coast.

In winter, the lake fills with water,

and with that comes the nesting birds.

However, during the summer months,

it's quite the contrast,

turning into a salt pan with seemingly little life.

The salt crust of it goes as far as you can see.

And a walk across it gives you a feeling of isolation.

It's barren, hot and dry.

What's more, the glare is like being in the snow

on a sunny day, so you definitely need sunglasses.

If you do come here, take a selfie

and see if anyone can pick where you are.

Most will probably think central Australia

or somewhere in Africa.

It's hard to imagine Greece has landscapes like this.

(uplifting music)

(guitar music)

When most people think of Ancient Greece,

it's about the classical period,

which is about 450 BC.

That was the time of the Peloponnesian and Persian Wars,

when Greece had influence over the Roman Empire

and Alexander The Great roamed the Earth.

However, long before that, there were people

living here in Lemnos.

So we're talking about 7000 years ago.

- Exactly.

- Wow.

To give me some insight into the city that once stood here,

I met with archaeologist Anastasia Souri.

What sort of period are we talking about?

- It has started about 5000 BC and ended about 1200 BC.

- [Peter] 4000 years.

- Exactly.

- [Peter] Is this one civilization for 4000 years?

- Yes, it was one civilization, but all the buildings

that we're gonna see, it has seven architectural periods.

- [Peter] In that 4000 years.

- Yes, because of the earthquakes,

because of the weather, because of the bad circumstances,

probably war.

- The town was called Poliochne and it's believed to be

Europe's first city with basic social and civic structure.

It prospered because of its safe mooring facilities

and the location made it an excellent trade link

between the Aegean and Asia Minor.

From here, goods from the Far East and even Africa

could find their way into Europe.

It's main rival and trading partner was the legendary

city of Troy.

I can see a town here.

The road, it's so clear,

and you've got the sea.

It's absolutely magnificent, isn't it?

- Yeah, of course, this is the main road of the city.

It goes all around the whole city,

and from the other side, we cannot see it very clearly

right now, but it's the Asia Minor and actually

it's the Troy that the city that Heinrich Schliemann found.

- The wealth of Poliochne is most apparent

in the ruins of the mansions.

The palace-like megarons would have housed the wealthy

who no doubt lived in relative luxury.

- There are many houses, very small houses,

but there were many social standings in this area.

We found three or probably four megaron

where the rich people used to stay.

- [Peter] Right and is this one of them, is it?

- Of course.

One room, two steps, second room.

As you can see, it's very big.

- I can see the sort of space here.

It looks like a roundabout.

- Oh, no, no, it's not.

It's a central square of the city.

- Wow!

- Yes, you can see of course the well.

It was also the oven in this area,

so they would come here and it belongs to the community.

They were melting the metals.

- So this is where it all happened.

This is where people congregated.

- Exactly.

- So where's the Parliament building?

I'm waiting for the Parliament building.

- We'll have to walk just a little bit more.

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

(guitar music)

- [Peter] From above, you can see the order and structure

of the city.

The scale is awe-inspiring.

- And of course this is the most important building

in this area.

It's the granary.

In this area we found thousands of seeds,

so it was very, very important for the community,

for the life in the community,

especially in the winter.

- It's amazing.

It's huge.

So this basically fed this whole community through winter,

so they stored it in summer

and in winter, they had this granary.

It's unbelievable.

You can really tell that this was an organised city.

- [Anastasia] Exactly.

- [Peter] Wow.

- But I'd like to show you the most important building

in this area.

It's the Parliament.

It has two rows of seats, so all the elders

of the community, they used to go in this area

to talk about the problems of the community

and also the reason that we have focused,

and we call this the area of the democracy of Lemnos,

is because from the other side,

like we saw before, it was the granary,

so two public buildings at the same area,

close to the main gate.

- Wow, I mean I now understand from the depth

that we've gone through here, basically you've got

military, you've got a food source, and you've got politics

all together in this community.

It's absolutely awesome.

I've been to Akrotiri in Santorini

and it's raised up there,

but this is the best site I've ever seen.

- I totally agree with you.

- Yeah, you know, this is absolutely awesome.

This may well have been the birth place of

modern urban living.

It was remarkable to be standing in

Europe's first organised town,

where people worked as a community, grew crops,

spawned the art of metallurgy

and traded with the known world.

(guitar music)

From the old to the new.

Just down the road was a beach where the youth

gather for a bit of wind-powered fun,

as well as some relaxation.

As Ellie explains, the meltemi or strong winds

from the north, prevail in these parts through summer.

With this warm, dry air stream come the thrill seekers.

Right now it's a waiting game.

They say Mykonos is a windy island,

but this is the original windy island, isn't it?

- It is, it is, yeah, by the name Anemoessa for Lemnos is

like the island of the winds. - What do you mean Anemoessa?

- Anemoessa is the name that the locals

are giving to Lemnos island.

Means like the island of the wind.

- Right.

- It might be like not as strong as Mykonos,

but it's quite windy most of the days.

So, Meltemi comes here.

We have wind at the morning.

Then it gets more chilled after, like during afternoon.

Like people that they enjoy water sports can do them

like during the morning and then everyone else

can enjoy the sea and take a bath in the water

during the afternoon.

- So it's like my wife and I, she likes flat water sail.

I like the windy sports, so I'll go in the morning

and in the afternoon it's for her.

- Yeah, for her or for your kids to learn like,

you see, like it's a paradise.

- I see lots of kids out there playing now, you know.

- Yeah.

- And I see a lot of strong guys and strong women here,

you know, a lot of hardcore sportsmen, eh?

Sportspeople.

- Athletic people, yeah.

- Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Like you, you're really athletic.

(laughing)

- I look at you.

I can see what windsurfing does to your body.

Check it out, you know.

Keros Beach has excellent facilities for water sports,

along with beach bars and a restaurant.

It's easy to see why the young travellers like it here.

You can swim and kite surf during the day

and spend the evening having a few cocktails

at one of the bars.

There's also a type of accommodation

I've never had the pleasure of.

It's glamorous camping, more commonly known as glamping.

It came about to service nature-conscious travellers

who wanted a bit of comfort without the impact on the

environment that resorts can have.

It has a relaxed charm you just don't find in a hotel.

But it sure doesn't lack for comforts.

After a day on the water, it's hard to imagine

a better place to rest and relax

before doing it all again tomorrow.

When the winds arrive, the waters come alive

with the kite surfers.

In my youth, I'd probably have given it a go.

Now though I'd rather read a book and sip on a cocktail.

(upbeat music)

(guitar music)

Over the centuries, Greece has had several ruling powers,

some more impressive than others.

During the Ottoman period, one way they sought to maintain

their control and repress the people

was to crack down on Christianity.

Non-Muslims across the empire were second-class citizens

and at a minimum had to pay

the (speaking in foreign language) which was a tax

imposed upon them if they wanted to practise their faith.

In some corners of the domain, they banned other religions

altogether, which forced people to observe their beliefs

in secrecy.

This oppression led to the building of Panagia Kakaviotissa,

a tiny church hidden in the mountains

where the most faithful of orthodox practitioners

could still congregate.

Nikoleta, it's not a short walk, is it?

How long is it?

- No, it's about one and a half kilometres, far away.

- One and a half kilometres, but it's a beautiful walk.

- Yes, it is and it's very peaceful.

- Very peaceful.

Only goats and us.

- Yes.

- But I feel like I could be in Arizona, you know?

It's amazing.

The countryside's beautiful.

- I haven't been, but I would like to go.

- [Peter] You should.

- (laughs) Wildflowers everywhere.

- [Peter] I know, I know.

- [Nikoleta] And thorns.

Here we have many thorns.

- [Peter] Yeah.

- [Nikoleta] And with those thorns, we used to put them

in the oven in order to bake the bread.

- Oh the bread.

Where we were hiking to is a great example

of the power that religion can have over people.

They're willing to risk everything in order to come

to a distant tiny church to pray and hear sermons.

It's a testament to how devout they must have been.

(gentle music)

Wow, Nikoleta, this looks absolutely...

- Unique?

- Unique.

I don't know if that's enough of a word for it.

And this is a church, right?

- Yes, it used to be a monastery,

but it's the only church in the world without a roof.

- The only roofless church, but look at the view

that the priests or the monks would have had.

I mean, there isn't a more pleasant place to be serene.

- Breath-taking and peaceful also.

- So what is the history of this church?

- It is known since the 13th century as a monastery.

And the monks builded this church by their own hands.

The last monk gave the picture to a family

that stays near the village Kontias to preserve it

and keep it through the years.

And every second day after Easter is the tradition

but the church have the annual celebration.

- [Peter] Here.

So it's just once a year.

- Yes.

- They only use this once a year.

But I see all of these icons, it's amazing.

I might just have a quick look inside.

I'm allowed to go in there, aren't I?

No? - No.

- I shouldn't go in, eh?

Okay, all right.

Let me have a peak.

- Okay.

- Wow.

It's fantastic that this church is still here today.

Apart from being a perfect place for parishioners,

it's also a fitting reminder of past repression.

Today we have religious freedom.

That said, there's no denying the church in Greece

does wield some power.

This is absolutely magnificent, isn't it?

- Yes.

- And the contrast to this dark spot to the light

it's just absolutely magnificent, you know?

- The hills, the agriculture around.

- And it's so unique.

We're in a spot that's nowhere else in the world.

This is it.

- Exactly.

- Fantastic.

If you weren't aware of the church's existence,

you'd never find the place.

You'd have to be pretty lucky to be traipsing around

the countryside, walking through prickly bushes and

scrambling over rocks to stumble across the place.

It's no wonder it remained undiscovered by the Ottomans.

(upbeat music)

From a secluded mountain church to a little known local

cheese maker, it seems this part of my journey

is about discovering hidden gems.

Tell me all about this.

I see these baskets.

I see milk there.

I see this crate here.

This is not the normal way of making cheese, is it?

- No, no, this is the most traditional and oldest way

that they were making cheese many, many years ago.

- So Rena, what are you doing right now?

What is in here?

What are you up to?

- I have the milk in here, which was, in which I have put

the yeast before, and now it's time

that I have to cut it off,

so that I can put it in the small baskets.

- What sort of milk is that?

- It's 60% of goat and 40% of sheep.

- I've never heard of that before

where you mix goat's milk with sheep's milk

to make cheese.

Is that just local in Lemnos, is it?

- I think it's local in Lemnos.

- And what do you call this cheese?

- Depending on the way you are preserving it

afterwards, the one part is Kalathaki

and the other is Melichloro.

- So tell me what's gonna happen now.

- Now I'm gonna take the little baskets.

- The little kalathaki, as we say.

- That's kalathaki, as we say.

And I will put in the cheese

and I will put it in here.

- So it's straining through the basket.

- That's right, to strain.

And the liquid goes--

- And the liquid goes into this little thing here.

Do you use that again?

- [Rena] You can use it, but we give it to the pigs.

- And tell me, Rena, what happens there therefore?

What do you do?

- [Rena] Then they will rest for one hour

and in one hour, I will turn them upside down.

- How do you do that?

What do you do?

- I will take the cheese.

I put it here.

- So it's hardened by then, sort of hard.

- That's right.

- You turn it around.

- You turn so that every part of it takes the shape of

the kalathaki.

- Of that basket.

- Yes.

- And then you, what, you turn it over, do you?

- I turn it over.

- And then what do you do after?

- After an hour about, I put salt

and then I leave it to rest until next morning.

- [Peter] The next day.

- The next day and the next day I take it out of the baskets

and either I put it in a tin with salt water if it's--

- [Peter] In a brine solution

- In a brine solution if it is for kalathaki.

- [Peter] Right.

- Or I put it in a box in the air, if it is for Melichloro.

- In my travels through Greece,

I've discovered that each island has its own recipe

for the production of cheese.

There seems to be a competitive posture amongst

the islanders as to who produces the best.

The number of variations is astronomical,

from different mixes of goat, sheep and even cow's milk,

to varying curing times and methods.

No two cheeses are alike.

So the taste buds get a new experience

from island to island, sometimes even from village

to nearby village.

Rena's Lemnian kalathaki cheese was right up there

amongst the best I've tasted.

It had a strong, vibrant flavour that would be perfect

accompaniment to a dry fig or biscuit and a strong coffee.

Delicious is an understatement.

It's beautiful.

- You like it?

- Yeah, it's absolutely...

It's got a (speaking in foreign language),

a little bit of (speaking in foreign language) .

- Yes.

- I'll tell you what, I think I might take

Rena home with me, okay?

(laughs)

Helen, are you watching?

What do I do, you know?

She's a great cook.

This is awesome stuff.

(laughs)

Thank you, love.

(kissing)

You're a doll.

- Thank you.

- Fantastic.

(guitar music)

I always rise early.

However, today, I set the alarm for four a.m.,

because I had a rendez-vous that was planned a year ago.

I was spending the day with fighter pilots of the

130th Combat Group.

These are the Hellenic Air Force's elite,

flying the famous F-16 Falcons.

They're on 24-hour alert, ready to move in an instant.

To show me around was third in command of this 200-strong

air base, Lieutenant Colonel Jordanis Dan Giannakidis.

- Wow, Lieutenant Colonel, I've never been this close to

a war plane, let alone an F-16.

It looks absolutely awesome.

- F-16 on alert status.

- [Peter] Alert status, so this is ready

to scramble anytime.

- [Jordanis] Ready in five minutes.

- [Peter] Five minutes?

- [Jordanis] To be airborne in five minutes.

- [Peter] You fly in these planes.

- [Jordanis] Yeah, that's right, from 1997.

- From 1997, you've been flying that long?

Wow, can I have a look in there?

- Yes, of course.

Be careful not to touch any...

- I won't touch a thing.

Otherwise it will fly off, won't it?

(laughs)

We don't want to fly away, do we?

I don't know about that.

Maybe I do.

How do you fit in there?

Wow.

It's such a small place, eh?

- [Jordanis] Not enough space for huge guys.

- Oh listen, I get claustrophobic with this thing, man.

Whoa, that's heavy.

(futuristic music)

All the fighter jets on the base

are fully armed and fueled,

ready to go at a moment's notice.

The crack unit of well-trained professionals

can have the planes airborne within minutes of a call.

The daily routine of inspections and training

with live weapons, mind you,

is both rigorous and very dangerous.

But they must stay at the top of their game

to ensure they remain a deterrent to war.

For decades now they've maintained an impeccable record

of not having to fire a shot in anger.

It's a testament to their dedication

for sustaining peaceful resolutions.

100 metres away from the F-16s is the ready room,

where the pilots eat, sleep and wait for the call.

Now though it was a morning briefing

that had them on the line.

I see, so what are we looking at over there?

These...

- These are the helmets.

The helmets are for the two guys that are not right now

on the duty, me and my colleague Vassilis.

The other stuff are the J suit.

- So they're actually wearing their J suit.

- They wear their J suit because they have to spend

one and a half or two minutes to wear it,

because a lot of zips and stuff.

- [Peter] Right.

- So when you're five minutes out,

you are already putting this.

- This is a relaxing environment,

but I can understand how you've set it up here, it's...

- It's a relaxing environment until the phone rings.

- Until the phone rings.

- It's a...

The sound is something that wakes you up.

- I bet it does.

I'm gonna sit her until the phone rings,

however long it takes.

I want to listen, I want to watch what goes on.

So how do,

why do you scramble like that every day?

What do you you actually have to get up?

- You have to get up not only to protect our homeland,

and to assure that the flight information

region's a safe place for everyone to fly,

because we have invasions every day from Turkish military

aeroplanes carrying live weapons, without any flight plans,

without the required permission, yes.

- [Peter] So they're invading the Greek airspace

at least twice a day.

- Yes.

- [Peter] And we're in Lemnos.

That's just one airbase we're talking about.

So do you guys ever invade their airspace?

- No, it's forbidden for us,

and we don't want to provoke and escalate the situation

to an incident, for example.

- [Peter] How does it feel for you,

knowing this is your last scramble that you'll ever do?

- It's a little bit sad for me,

because I have a lot of experience here in this island

with many friends and

it was a very pleasant experience for me.

- [Peter] And what about you, for your first scramble?

How do you...

- Happy for the first time.

- [Peter] You're happy.

Of course you're happy!

But it's your first scramble

and yet you've got how many hours on the F-16?

- I have 200 hours.

- [Peter] 200 hours and this is your first scramble.

That shows the experience required obviously

to get up there.

So how do you feel like you're happy,

but is there any tension or anything?

- Look, it's in my mind difficult,

but I have to be concentrate on this, so I'll do my best.

- And you're ready.

- Yes.

- You're ready anytime.

200 men are supporting you, around you.

That's amazing.

It's like my business.

I have a construction company.

I have 200 people working for me and there's about 5000 guys

out there building the jobs, you know, supporting me

and supporting my directors.

That's what you guys are.

It's a, what you do is a business and it's a business

that you can't make mistakes 'cause if you make a mistake,

let me tell you, all Greeks are proud of you.

We're proud of you because when you're in

a defensive situation like you are,

you're not provoking anyone, and you're being provoked.

In the position where you are, it's almost like a cold war,

although it's not war.

You guys are doing the right thing.

You're risking your lives every day

and we really respect that

and we really thank you for what you're doing.

We continued to talk and laugh,

sipping coffee and exchanging stories.

I started to get why I came here and then the phone rang.

(phone ringing)

- Oh sorry.

(speaking foreign language)

- What's happening?

- So it's a real thing now, okay.

You can see now Panagos taking his vest, okay.

Panasosso also.

- This is a real live scramble.

(calm music)

They told me before I came that there are

between one and three real live scrambles a day here.

Until now, I didn't believe it,

probably because I couldn't fathom why people would want

to frequently commit such incursions

into another country's airspace.

Only when I saw it happen,

and you could see the looks on their faces,

did it all sink in.

(jet engines whirring)

(jet whooshing)

Somewhere up in the skies over the Aegean,

two sets of young lads that don't know each other,

one from Greece and the other Turkey,

will use these amazing pieces of modern technology

to sustain the brinkmanship of a millennia-old quarrel.

Both these pilots and the young men they face in the air

each day are brave and self-sacrificing.

Their leaders have forced them into a fight

that has no winners.

It's a conflict that was woven by decades or even centuries

of complex political stand-offs.

Today, their leaders are trying

to unravel that international quagmire.

I'm sure these boys and the fellas they go up against

hope it happens soon, so their sons and daughters

aren't left with this centuries old legacy.

This was a special day for both Panagiotus and I.

It was his last scramble before he moves up

to flying a desk at headquarters.

And for me, it was my first such experience.

We shared coffee, life stories, family photos,

and the pinnacle of adrenalin rushes, all in a single day.

I made a great friend in him and all the boys

at the 130th Combat Group.

These pilots are just like you and I,

down to earth family people with one fundamental difference.

They risk their lives every day to keep their

countrymen safe and their nation at peace.

(slow peaceful music)

(guitar music)

Weighing anchor, we moved around the south of the island

from Myrina to Moudros Bay.

Over a century ago, this large body of water

saw the greatest gathering of war ships to that time.

This was a staging point for the Gallipoli campaign,

where the ANZAC name was born.

Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, Indians,

French, British, Germans and Ottomans fought here.

The death and destruction that followed this,

and both great wars, devastated the world

to a level and scale that we haven't seen since.

And hopefully we will never see again.

Around the world, there are monuments and cemeteries

dedicated to fallen soldiers.

They're sombre places that perform a very important role.

For here to not only remember those gallant heroes

that gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today,

but also to remind us of the lessons of the past.

Those mistakes cost the lives of 100 million people

across two world wars.

The ramifications are still felt today,

with entire generations having been lost.

Over 100000 men from both sides gave their lives

in the Gallipoli campaign alone.

Here in this cemetery, there are men from Britain,

Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand, India,

a young boy, 19, from the Royal Scots, 22, from New Zealand,

19, from Australia.

It goes on and on.

This is one of the many cemeteries dotted right throughout

the Aegean.

It's sad but it needs to be here,

and it's well respected.

The Lemnians have kept it in excellent order.

These are the memories that we need to keep

to avoid this sort of thing happening again.

Every time I visit a place like this,

I can't help but get a little emotional.

These young people would have left their homelands

with hope and a sense of adventure.

They travelled to the unknown and were confronted with a

situation no amount of training

could have prepared them for.

Then in most cases, they served with pride and honour,

giving their lives in the hope of protecting their families

and loved ones back home.

It's the ultimate sacrifice,

worth respecting and never forgetting.

It's true what they say about Lemnos,

that when you visit here, you cry twice,

once when you arrive and once when you leave.

For me, it might have been for different reasons,

but it's true.

Leaving the peace and calm waters of Moudros Bay,

we trek south for around 50 kilometres

to the island of Agios Efstratios.

It's a tiny land mass in the middle of nowhere

once known as the isle of the (speaking in foreign language)

because through the middle of the 20th century,

it was used as a prison camp.

That's awesome.

He's whacking the octopus to tenderise it.

This is our day off.

We shouldn't be filming.

My researchers told me not to come here,

but I came, just to step foot on that island,

one of those 227.

I'm gonna have dinner at this taverna up here tonight.

I'll tell you what it's like later.

Tourists don't know anything about this place.

It's not in any travel guides or brochures.

Regardless, the meal at the tavern was not only

fresh and homely, but the atmosphere inspired you

to join tables with your unknown neighbours.

This unconditional friendly nature of the place

is at the heart of what I love about Greek island living.

They're not pretentious

and they have no expectations of you.

Most folk just want to know a little bit about your story

and what brings you to their quiet corner of the world.

I don't think this island could be any more Greek.

Nothing's written in English.

There's no tourists.

It's the only Greek island without tourists.

Agios Efstratios.

They had an earthquake here in 1968.

Ruined the whole island.

But they've slowly built it up

to a population of about 150 people.

Everybody's a local here.

Very quiet.

The harbor's beautiful.

Only harbour you can actually swim in.

If you want to come to a place that has nothing

except for quiet and everybody's going to leave you alone,

this is the place to come, I think.

One thing you'll discover on these tiny islands

is that the locals have a real passion for their home.

Once they get to know you a little,

they'll tell you where the best restaurants are,

how the find the hidden beaches or who to chat to

if you want to learn some of the island's history.

That small town pride and sharing attitude

is really refreshing.

In the next episode of My Greek Odyssey,

I'm headed southeast, across to the island of Lesbos.

Sitting just off the coast of Turkey,

there are obvious influences from its neighbour,

but like any Greek island,

it has a truly unique personality.

It's the third biggest island in the nation,

with a rich and varied landscape, and as you'll see,

it's a beautiful place with loads of history and wildlife,

both above and below the water.

Apart from visiting the landmarks and learning about

its cultural identity, I'm also gonna find out how Lesbos

became the world's capital for Ouzo,

but before heading there, I had a date with a deck chair.

I wasn't gonna miss a spectacular sunset like this.

(upbeat Greek music)