All language subtitles for Aerial Greece Series 1 Part 4 The North 1080p

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Northern greece.

Flanked by the rugged vastness
of the pindus mountains

And the blue expanse
of the aegean sea,

This is a land of mystery.

It's a region of
enchanting villages,

Hidden valleys, and mountaintop
lakes where dragons roam.

100 years ago its greatest
city, thessaloniki,

Rose phoenix-like from
the ashes of fire.

In this land, old and
new live side-by-side,

And an island with
a fighting spirit

Is defended by not just one,
but two mighty fortresses.

Over 2,000 years ago,
julius caesar's assassin

Sought refuge in this
sheltered harbor,

Only to end his days
in defeat and suicide.

This is the home of the channel,

Where the young
seek eternal love.

The mountain where the god zeus

Was said to hurl thunderbolts.

(thunder crashing)

And greece's answer
to the grand canyon.

It's not the world's
biggest gorge,

But it still makes
the record books.

Travel with the daring farmers

Who navigate one of the
world's most dangerous roads,

(majestic music)

Scale the pinnacles that
inspired a dramatic location

In "game of thrones,"

And visit the monastery
where holy men

Took a stand against james bond.

On a tranquil island, a
fairytale wedding chapel

Inspired the hit
musical "mamma mia!"

This region is home to
women who fought fascism

And an infant who left
this palace in a fruit box.

These days he's better
known as prince philip,

Husband of queen elizabeth ii.

From the steam
train that travels

Through a mythological forest

And a picture-postcard landscape

To the gravity-defying dancer

Who wants more than anything
to preserve her backdrop.

This is the unrivaled
natural beauty

And pulsating culture
of northern greece.

(upbeat music)

(gentle thoughtful music)

The fabled mount olympus

Is the highest and most
majestic of greece's mountains.

Olympus soars to a
height of 9,500 feet.

It's a fitting
home for the gods.

According to legend,

12 deities dwell on olympus's
highest peak, mytikas.

The ancients called
mytikas pantheon,

Which means honor all gods.

They were said to live in
the peak's alpine ravines,

Which the poet homer
described as mysterious folds.

Among them were zeus
the king of the gods,

Aphrodite, the goddess of love,

And dionysus, the god of wine.

The gods feature in many
legends of war and intrigue.

(thunder clapping)

Perhaps the most dramatic

Is the tale of the
creature typhon,

Who had 100 snake-heads
and eyes blazing fire.

(dramatic music)

(creature roaring)

Typhon attacked the mountain,

Causing such chaos
and destruction

That the gods themselves fled.

Only zeus remained.

At last, the king of the gods

Managed to smite typhon to
the earth with thunderbolts.

(thunder crashing)

It's from this legend that
we get the term typhoon

For a ferocious and
destructive storm.

(wind whooshing)

Some 80 miles from
olympus lies kalambaka,

The threshold of another
equally celebrated high place.

For a town in such
an ancient land,

Kalambaka has a surprisingly
modern appearance.

All the houses look similar,

With white walls
and red rooftops.

(gentle pensive music)

But kalambaka's setting
is show-stopping.

It's the gateway to one of
the most incredible regions

In all of greece.

Immediately north of the town,

Towering rock formations
dominate the skyline.

(gentle suspenseful music)

They stand like titans
surveying the landscape.

This is meteora.

The name means
suspended in the air

And it's easy to see why.

The sandstone
pinnacles soar upwards,

With the tallest reaching
a height of 2,000 feet.

Some 60 million years ago

This area was a
large river estuary.

A series of earthquakes
pushed the riverbed upwards,

Creating a high plateau
broken by fault lines.

Since that time, the stones
have been shaped and sculpted

By untold millennia of
wind, rain, and earthquakes.

Meteora is a place unlike
anywhere else on earth.

And yet many will recognize it.

It inspired one of the
most atmospheric locations

In the hit drama series
"game of thrones."

(dramatic music)

This is the setting
for eyrie castle,

The fortress in the clouds

Where the unlucky
plunge to their deaths

Through the moon door.

(dramatic music continues)

(gentle majestic music)

This otherworldly landscape
has always attracted humans.

During the middle ages,

Christian monks
established 24 monasteries

On these dizzying heights.

Today, only six still remain
as functioning monasteries.

The monastery of varlaam
takes its name from the hermit

Who lived on the site
some 700 years ago.

On a sheer sandstone precipice,

Stands the great meteoron,
the oldest of the monasteries.

(gentle music)

Going to and from this place
would get you fit in no time.

Stairs rise along the
natural contours of the cliff

Until they reach a
village in the air,

Some 2,000 feet above sea level.

The great meteoron has stood
here for over 600 years,

Clinging to the
summit of the rock.

For centuries, christian
hermits have come here

In search of
spiritual isolation.

A small number of
monks still live here.

Most of their income
comes from tourism,

With thousands visiting
the monastery annually.

(majestic music)

(gentle pensive music)

This is the smallest
of the monestaries.

Perhaps the most iconic of
all these religious houses

Is the monastery of
the holy trinity.

Built in 1475,

The monastery is well known
for its iconic white cross.

Once 40 monks lived here,
but now there's only one.

For centuries the only contact

The monks had with the
outside world was a basket

That they lowered down
for food and supplies

From this wooden balcony.

These days, there's
a more modern option,

But today it's an
especially harrowing ride.

(tense music)

The doors on the
monastery's cable car

Have been removed for repairs,

Making this worker's trip
even more scenic than usual.

One false move could
send him plummeting

Over 1,000 feet to
the valley below.

It's a stunt worthy
of james bond.

Appropriate, since
the holy trinity

Featured in the bond movie
"for your eyes only."

(dramatic music)

In the film, the
monastery doubles

As the fictional saint cyril's,

Where bond goes to
foil a kgb plot.

To gain access, he has to
scale the sheer rockface,

A next to impossible
task for most people

And a difficult
one even for 007.

(suspenseful music)

The local authorities

Gave the go-ahead for
filming at holy trinity,

But the monks feared the
movie would be too violent.

They tried to stop the shoot

By putting sheets and plastic
on the monastery's roofs.

The dispute led to a compromise,

The producers could
shoot the monastery,

But only on the outside.

Greece makes a great
backdrop for action

And an even better
one for romance.

(gentle upbeat music)

Narrator: It's no surprise
that hollywood

Has returned time
and again to greece,

Given its array of
stunning scenic locations.

In 2007, the blockbuster
musical "mamma mia!"

Was filmed here at kastani
beach on the island of skopelos.

This is where the
characters sophie and sky

Reveal their love for each other

To the strains of abba's
"lay all your love on me."

(gentle majestic music)

The beautiful chapel
of agios ioannis kastri

Hosted the movie's
wedding scenes.

(camera whirring)

Nikos sofiriou and
evangelia taktikou

Are delighted to
celebrate their marriage

In this beautiful location.

(camera whirring)

It's not the easiest
place to reach.

110 stone-carved steps
ascend to the tiny chapel.

(uplifting music)

"mamma mia!" fans who'd
like to tie the knot here

May face another slight problem.

You have to be greek orthodox
to get married in this church.

(gentle music)

(tense music)

Back on the mainland,

The pelion peninsula looks
out on the shimmering blue

Of the pagasetic gulf.

It's a place whose
physical beauty

Has inspired soaring
works of art,

Including some
iconic soundtracks.

(sparse majestic music)

The greek composer vangelis
attained worldwide fame

With his haunting scores
for the films "blade runner"

And "chariots of fire."

Vangelis was born not
far from ano lechonia.

This village is home to a
famous chariot, not of fire,

But of steam.

(majestic music)

This is the pelion steam train,

Known affectionately as smudgy.

(train chuffing)
(train hissing)

It's a moutzouri, which in
greek means smoky train.

The train is headed
for milies village,

Just five miles away
as the crow flies.

But the route winds so
much through mountainous

And forested terrain
that it takes the train

An hour and a half
to complete the trip.

The track cuts through
a forest of walnut,

Beech, and oak trees.

In greek mythology, they
provided the timber for the ship

In which jason and the argonauts

Set sail in search
of the golden fleece.

(train horn blares)

Building a railway through
such challenging terrain

Was a major
engineering challenge,

And it required several
steel and stone bridges.

The most impressive is kalorema,
a viaduct with five arches.

The reason for the
name is obvious.

In greek kalorama
means fine view

(train rattling)

(train horn toots)

Finally, the train reaches the
historic station at milies.

Smudgy has successfully
completed another journey.

(dramatic music)

Greece's second-largest
city, thessaloniki,

Stands at the upper end
of the thermaic gulf.

Today the city's waterfront
looks peaceful and prosperous

As does its magnificent central
plaza, aristotelous square.

But a century ago,
not far from here,

A spark from a kitchen fire
ignited a pile of straw.

(dramatic music continues)

Strong winds fanned the
fire into an inferno

And soon the entire docks and
downtown area were ablaze.

The fire completely
destroyed the area

Now occupied by
aristotelous square

And obliterated
nearly 10,000 houses,

Until, at last, firefighters
managed to extinguish it.

The great fire of thessaloniki

Remains one of the
worst disasters

In modern greek history.

In 1918 city planners
drew up ambitious plans

For a new urban layout.

(upbeat music)

Rising literally from the ashes,

Aristotelous square
stands at the center

Of the new thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki may not have
the touristic pulling power

Of athens or the islands,

But the city, also
known as saloniki,

Has many surprises
up its sleeve,

(ominous music)

And a history that dates
back over 2,300 years.

The romans once ruled here

And their magnificent
architecture still astounds.

The rotunda once
served as a mausoleum

For the roman emperor.

It later became a
christian church.

But in the 15th century,

The ottoman turks conquered
the region that is now greece.

They turned the
rotunda into a mosque.

It became a symbol of the
mighty ottoman empire.

(upbeat mysterious music)

So did the iconic white tower,

Once used as an ottoman prison.

This building on
agias sofias square

Has another kind of story.

It's said to be haunted.

(eerie music)

The red house got its name
from its distinctive color.

But it has a strange history.

Built in 1928, the house
acquired an aura of bad luck

When the owner's textile
factory burnt to the ground.

More ominously, residents
claimed to encounter ghosts

And even vampires
in the building.

(eerie music continues)

Believing the mansion cursed,
the owners abandoned it.

(gentle upbeat music)

In 1983,

The greek government put an
order of preservation on it

And it housed a cafe
and a restaurant.

In 2014, the owner of
thessaloniki's football team,

Ivan savvidis, purchased the
property for $4 1/2 million.

Locals feared that
the sinister house

Would cast a curse on
their football team.

(crowds chanting)

But in 2018 to 2019, the team
had its best season ever,

Winning the greek league for
the first time in 34 years.

It also went through
the season unbeaten.

So maybe the red house
isn't cursed after all.

(upbeat dramatic music)

Not far away on thessaloniki's
waterfront is a sculpture,

Commemorating a hometown hero.

This 20-foot high statue
was unveiled in 1973

To honor one of the most
famous kings of all time,

Alexander the great.

Alexander was born near
thessaloniki in 356 bc.

By the time of his
death 33 years later,

He had conquered much
of the known world.

Some 50 miles to the west,

Stands the place where alexander
received his education.

(gentle mysterious music)

Cloaked in trees and foliage,

These are the timeworn remains

Of the ancient school of mieza.

The boy alexander
attended school here,

Sleeping, cooking his meals,

And studying in a
cave like this one.

His teacher was one of
greece's greatest philosophers:

Aristotle.

It's easy to imagine aristotle
and his pupil strolling here.

They would have
explored many subjects

Because aristotle is considered

One of the greatest
intellectuals of all time.

Modern scholars still study his
contributions to philosophy,

Science, and politics.

(dramatic majestic music)

Alexander also learned
to hunt, ride, and fight,

Skills that served him
well in later life.

Taking the kingship at age 20,

He went on to conquer persia
and much of the middle east.

Alexander may have lived
over 2,000 years ago,

But he had one thing in
common with many people today,

He liked wine.

(gentle pensive music)

Narrator: A short distance
south of thessaloniki,

Winemaker vangelis gerovassiliou

Has carefully nurtured this
vineyard for some 40 years.

And he's spent even longer

Trying to perfect the
art of winemaking,

But if it hadn't been
for a dismissive remark,

He may never have
taken this path.

When studying agriculture,
vangelis got interested in ways

To improve the taste of wine.

He consulted a chemist,

Who replied bluntly,
"it's a secret."

Annoyed by the terse response,

Vangelis decided to
discover the secret himself.

Since then he's dedicated
his life to the study

And practice of winemaking.

Vangelis has even
managed to rescue

A long-forgotten greek
wine from oblivion.

Years ago, he heard about
a white wine grape called

The malagousia.

Once popular, it had fallen
out of use in winemaking.

After some experimentation,

Vangelis successfully
fermented the grape.

With its expressive
nose and rich aromas,

The reborn malagousia
wine soon caught on

And today, it's produced
all over greece.

(dramatic music)

The city of kavala, on the
aegean's northern shores,

Has an unusual claim to fame.

It played host to the man
who killed julius caesar.

In 44 bc,

Marcus brutus and his associates

Assassinated caesar in rome.

Public outrage at the deed

Forced brutus to retreat
to kavala with his fleet.

Defeated in battle
soon afterwards,

He committed suicide.

(bright upbeat music)

But kavala's most
famous landmark

Dates from more recent times.

This magnificent two
-tiered structure

Snakes its way through
the downtown area.

Running for a
distance of 920 feet,

This is the aqueduct that once
supplied the city with water.

It's known simply as
kamares, which means arches.

The aqueduct contains three
tiers and as many as 60 arches.

Kavala's busy port road

Runs directly
underneath two of them.

A narrow canal runs
along the top tier.

Water from the nearby mountains

Used to stream along the canal

And feed into fountains
located around the town.

At first glance, the
kamares looks to date

From ancient times,

And indeed it is built
over an older structure

That was erected by the romans.

But the main structure
was built 500 years ago,

By order of the
greatest ottoman sultan,

Suleiman the magnificent.

(birds chirping)

(serene music)

The aqueduct is no
longer in active use,

But it remains the most
recognized sight in kavala.

(majestic music)

The mighty pindus mountain range

Dominates the landscape
of northern greece.

Nestled within these
forbidding peaks

Is a lake district of
extraordinary beauty.

This lake on mount tymfi
is known as drakolimni,

Or dragon lake.

The lake has long
been associated

With magic and mystery.

Local legends say
that two dragons

Once lived in these mountains.

(dramatic music)

They fought, constantly
hurling rocks

And pine trees at one another,
smashing holes in the earth

And creating the enchanting
environment that we see today.

Of course, it's just a myth.

But a kind of dragon
does inhabit these lakes.

The alpine newt is a
type of amphibious lizard

That loves mountainous regions
with easy access to water.

(gentle upbeat music)

You can't see them from the air,

But they're all
over this landscape,

Averaging just four
inches in length.

Local people even refer
to them as little dragons.

They are probably the reason
why this pool is named

Dragon lake.

(majestic music)

Not far from dragon lake,

Lies another place of
jaw-dropping beauty.

This is greece's answer
to the grand canyon,

The magnificent vikos gorge,

Cutting through the
pindus mountains

For a distance of
around 12 miles.

Far below,

A dry riverbed snakes its
way along the gorge floor.

In summer the voidomatis
river dries up completely,

But when winter comes

It will run through
the gorge once again.

Vikos gorge is actually much
smaller than the grand canyon.

But it still makes "the
guinness book of records."

Relative to its width,

It is actually the deepest
gorge in the world.

(ominous music)

At its lowest, it plunges
to a depth of 1,600 feet.

The ancient greek
philosopher heraclitus said,

"the road up and the road
down is one and the same."

It's a quote that suits
the vikos gorge perfectly.

No matter where you walk
or look, in any season,

You find the same wild beauty.

(gentle playful music)
(birds chirping)

East of vikos gorge,
the landscape gives way

To a mini-museum of
rural architecture.

Tumbling down a green hillside,

Kipoi village is a
jumble of old houses,

Stone roofs, and arched facades.

Pretty much everything
here is made of stone

From the surrounding mountains.

Kipoi is one of a network of
over 40 traditional villages

That dot this landscape,

Giving it a mystical,
storybook feel.

The population has
dwindled in many villages,

Like the quiet and
romantic dilofo.

But now, tourism is
revitalizing the area.

(dramatic music)

This region is known as zagori,

Meaning beyond the mountains,
because this remote area

Never truly came under
the rule of outsiders.

And during world war ii,
zagori won a surprise victory,

Using a secret weapon.

(gentle thoughtful music)

Narrator: Many greeks

Know zagori best for
its heroic defense

Against the forces of
fascism in world war 2.

On a lonely hilltop, an
imposing figure stands sentinel

Against the blue mountains.

It might not look
like a war memorial,

But that's exactly what it is.

It commemorates the indomitable
women of this region

And their contribution
to the greek war effort

During world war ii.

(suspenseful music)

In the autumn of 1940,

Italian forces advanced
through these mountains

Where they were met
by the greek army.

The women of zagori
provided vital support,

Carrying boxes of ammunition
and food to the frontline.

With the women's help,

The greek troops managed to
stave off the italian assault.

(dramatic music)

The statue was erected in
1993 and stands 20 feet tall.

A fitting tribute to the
women who endured so much

To defend greece
against fascism.

An equally unique feature

Can be found in the
pindus mountains,

A road that's said to be

One of the most
dangerous in the world.

(ominous music)

Anyone who plans to
negotiate the route

Between perdikaki and
patiopoulo had better take care.

(truck whirring)

The rough surface, hairpin
turns, and absence of guardrails

Combine to make the road
a treacherous proposition.

In the summer, sheep
graze on the mountains,

And farmers dimitris
kappes and dimitris zikas

Need to take this hazardous
route to reach their flocks.

On some sections, there's
a sheer drop on both sides.

Today it's clear but rain and
heavy mist descend frequently,

Turning the route
into a death-trap.

(dramatic music)

The farmers have to make this
hazardous journey every day.

(upbeat music)

The island of corfu has
long been a tourist hotspot.

Corfu has a population
of just 100,000 people,

But in an ordinary year

It can attract up to
a million tourists.

And yet a sense of
individuality and independence

Has always set corfu apart.

Maybe because it was one
of the few parts of greece

In the entire balkan region

Never to fall under the
rule of the ottoman empire.

(majestic music)

That's partly due to the
island's impressive defenses.

A powerful citadel, the old
fort, overlooks the harbor.

(gentle upbeat music)

But even it pales in comparison
to the mighty new fort,

Built by the venetians in
the 16th and 17th centuries.

In 1716, a ferocious storm
broke over corfu town.

(dramatic music)

Locals reported seeing spyridon,
the island's patron saint,

Brandishing a flaming sword.

Many believed it was
divine intervention

Because, at that very time,

30,000 turkish soldiers
were besieging corfu town.

The storm wrecked
the turkish fleet,

Forcing the attackers
to withdraw.

The islanders had called on
saint spyridon to save them,

And it seems their
prayers were answered.

(suspenseful music)

Whatever the truth, they
survived the siege of corfu.

Today, the island's sense of
independence remains undimmed.

But it has a
surprising connection

To a foreign institution,

The british royal family.

(regal orchestral music)

Narrator: Corfu is closely
linked with a foreign family,

That happens to be the
most famous in the world.

Just south of corfu town,

An impressive villa stands
surrounded by woodland.

Mon repos palace
was built in 1826,

As a summer residence for
the island's governor.

On June 10, 1921,

The nephew of king constantine
I of greece was born here.

He was named prince philip
of greece and denmark,

But he's better known today
simply as prince philip,

The spouse of
queen elizabeth ii.

(gentle pensive music)

You might think a royal
baby born into privilege

Would have a trouble
-free childhood.

(water splashing)

It didn't turn out
that way for philip.

In 1922, constantine I

Was forced to abdicate
as king of greece.

With the greek royal
family under threat,

18-month-old philip
and his parents

Fled corfu on a
british naval vessel.

Legend has it that they
carried the infant aboard

In a makeshift cot, made
from an orange crate.

These days philip
is the oldest member

Of the british royal family,

And he always seems to have
impeccable british credentials.

But he has never forgotten
his greek origins.

Neither have plenty
of other people,

Who often call him
phil the greek.

(gentle music)

Tucked away in the
southwest corner of corfu

Is the island's longest

And perhaps most beautiful
stretch of shoreline.

The waters of issos
beach are so clear

That the seabed can
be seen from the air.

So far, it's avoided being
swamped by mass tourism,

Thanks largely to
its unique setting.

Korission lake separates issos
from most of the mainland,

So no hotels have been
built on the beach.

That's one reason
it was the location

For another iconic scene
from the bond movie

"for your eyes only."

(gentle upbeat music)

In the film, bond goes to corfu

And spends the night with
the beautiful countess lisl.

Afterwards, the pair go for
a romantic walk on the beach

But are interrupted by
the evil henchman locque.

(dramatic music)
(buggy engine revving)

The henchman and his goons

Chase them across the
beach in dune buggies.

(buggy engine revving)

Bond and the countess
get separated.

(buggy engine revving)

The countess tries to escape
by running along the shoreline,

But locque ruthlessly
runs her down.

(buggy engine revving)
(dramatic music continues)

Bond is captured,

But, of course, he lives
to fight another day.

(buggy engine revving)

Many consider "for
your eyes only"

The best of roger
moore's bond films.

And corfu was an ideal location

For the blend of
action and romance.

(relaxed music)

It's not surprising that
james bond found love here.

There's something
about the island

That stimulates attraction.

One place, in particular,
is famous for it.

Near cape drastis at
corfu's north-western tip,

The water slices through
layers of sandstone

To create a tiny cove.

This is the canal d'amour,
or channel of love,

Formed by many years of
wind and water erosion.

Surrounded by gold-tinged cliffs

And ending at a small beach,

The setting couldn't be
more idyllic or romantic.

Legend has it that
if a couple swims

Through the canal together,
their love will last forever.

Demetris mitrakas
and fotini grammenou

Decide to put this to the test.

(relaxed music continues)

And if you're single that's
okay too, another legend says

That anyone who swims
through the passage

Will meet the love
of their life.

(tense music)

But while many like to
frolic in the water,

There are some who
prefer to dance on air.

(gentle majestic music)

Deep within the pindus mountains

Is a place where
earth, sky, and water

Meet in a dramatic set-piece.

Kremasta lake is an artificial
lake, created in the 1960s.

But it is most famous for
the bridge that spans it.

Tatarna bridge is a box girder
bridge over 1,500 feet long.

Completed in 1973,

It was built on the site
of an older stone bridge.

When the greeks rose up
against their ottoman rulers

In the 1820s, an important
battle was fought here.

But today, the stage is set
for a very different spectacle

By one of greece's most
unusual performers.

Katerina soldatou
is an aerial dancer.

(gentle upbeat music)

She performs in mid-air
suspended from the bridge above.

A pioneer of this dance
form, katerina is the founder

Of greece's first
aerial dance school.

(gentle upbeat music continues)

She was once a track
and field athlete,

But she found aerial dance

Even more exciting
than competition.

As katerina performs,
she may feel like aeolus,

The god of the wind.

Legend has it that he
makes his home right here

In northern greece.

(gentle majestic music)

Katerina says dancing
gives her a sense

Of total weightlessness

That is both terrifying
and liberating.

(upbeat majestic music)

But more than anything, she
dances to make people aware

Of greece's stunning natural
environment and history.

(gentle majestic music)

She calls this project
"greece has soul."

A timely reminder of how
incredible this country is

And why it must be
preserved forever.