Original subtitles

(upbeat exotic music)

Series four of My Greek Odyssey sees us traveling

through the Southern Islands of the Dodecanese.

From Kos to Symi, and Rhodes,

all the way down to Kastellorizo,

it's a region of Greece

with significant influence from Asia Minor,

and landscapes quite unlike

other parts of the Mediterranean.

The history is as dramatic as the scenery,

and of course the cuisine is unforgettable.

There's the cliche beaches and wonderful people,

plus unique cultural elements

that give each destination its own personality.

In this episode, I'm making my way across to Nisyros.

I'd spent the first few days of this trip to Greece

exploring the busy hub of Kos,

so now it was time to go somewhere, a little more relaxed.

Despite being know for it's volcanic heart,

it doesn't have the infrastructure

and resorts that draw in the masses.

So that means things move just a touch slower.

(bright music)

Before going to Nisyros, I made a quick stop at Gyali.

It's a tiny island where the only inhabitants

are those running the mining operation and a few seabirds.

Obsidian, perlite, and pumice.

That's what this place is mined for.

In prehistory it was obsidian for the tools,

but today they're pulling out

a million tons of pumice a year.

But people come here for a swim because it's pretty remote.

They come from Mandraki, and I'm going to go for a swim

and then I'm going to head up to the pumice.

It's far enough from the big islands

to not draw tourist boats,

but near enough that it's worth us making a slight detour

to check it out.

I'm glad we did swing by,

because apart from the water being crystal clear

and having the beach to ourselves,

it was awesome to see the massive mine up close.

(relaxing music)

We're up early this morning,

'cause we're heading to the Island of Nisyros.

Now it's more a volcano than an island.

It's eight kilometers in diameter

and there are a number of people living there.

But the significant thing is it's probably the best volcano

in all of Greece, and we're meeting a volcanologist,

which is awesome, but ain't is he just a volcanologist,

but he is the preeminent volcanologist in all of Greece.

So, I'm really excited so,

get us into warp drive, Captain.

Let's go, let's go!

From tip to tip, Nisyros is

a little over two nautical miles, south of Gyali.

This close proximity has afforded Nisyros,

the responsibility of governing it,

and therefore benefiting from its tiny Northern neighbors,

significant mining royalties.

Consequently, Nisyros is a wealthy island

and doesn't need to chase tourism dollars.

This has a significant impact on the fabric of the place,

there's little of the modern development

that's built to service the travel industry.

Quite often, the layering of resorts,

souvenir shops, and constant movement of people

ruins the soul of a place.

So Nisyros is one of those few islands

that has remained true to its identity

and hasn't changed architecturally

or culturally for over a century.

I'm willing to admit that it's not the prettiest island

in Greece, however, most visitors come to escape the crowds

or are intrigued to explore the still active volcano.

For me, I was just excited to meet

a volcanologist for the first time.

Volcanic activity started

at 2.5 million years before present in South Kos.

Then we had the very large explosive eruption,

what we call the Kos Plateau Tuff,

which covered the whole area in Turkey,

Kalymnos, Tilos, et cetera.

And after this, we have the growth

of Nisyros above sea level.

Above sea level?

Right, okay.

Then we have a period from 150,000 years

up to 60,000 years, which built up a nice,

start of volcano, a nice volcano,

at about 700, 800 above sea level.

All the typical form of the volcano.

Then we have two large explosive eruptions,

one at 60,000 years before present,

and the second at 50,000,

which destroyed half of the volcano,

created the caldera that we found.

So there was a mountain here before, was there?

Yes, yes.

And that blew up in the air?

Yes, blew up in the air two times,

60,000, and 50,000 years before present.

Okay.

And the remain is the large crater,

the collapsed crater of the caldera.

Right.

And so after that, volcanic activity continued

and built up all the hills that we find inside the caldera.

Can we walk into this crater?

Yes, yes.

The biggest one, which is Stefanos.

Yes.

We consider what is late prehistoric time,

about 5,000 years before present and we can walk down there.

If you know where to step, it's safe.

So, this is really a tourist's volcano isn't it?

Yes. (laughs)

Well, fantastic.

It's almost like Greek tourism have set it up for themselves

160,000 years before.

(upbeat music)

It's about a 20 minute drive from the port

before you reach the first viewing point,

and what a scenic trip,

with terraced mountains and rugged countryside.

It's hard to imagine the arid farmland

being very productive.

We stopped a short distance from the interior of the crater

to take in the whole expanse from the elevated road side.

As you drive down, there's a slow reveal

that raises the excitement and anticipation

from a afar it's impressive enough,

but it's only when you get up close to it

that you really get a true sense of the scale.

Where are you going?

I've been here before,

but it still amazes me,

the magnitude of this crater is, it's huge.

And a crater inside a bigger crater.

It is a crater?

Yes, it's a hydrothermic crater.

It's one of the biggest

and most well-preserved in the world.

So when you say hydrothermic crater, what does that mean?

This mean that there is no involvement of the magma.

There is no outflow of magma.

Right.

Just the hot water that exist below.

It's blowing up and so you have mud,

rocks.

Right.

and the whole thing is creating

a small crater, and its small in respect to the other ones.

So, where is the magma?

How far down is the magma?

The magma here, it's about a depth of

about two, three kilometers.

Two or three kilometers.

So what, 50,000 years ago this exploded?

Yes, the last time that we had a large magmatic explosion

was 50,000 years ago, and created all this.

And how much material would have come out?

It's about

eight cubic kilometers of magma.

Eight cubic kilometers.

Kilometers.

Now that's got to be billions of tons?

Yes, different billions.

A 100 billion, 200?

100, 2.

200 billion tons?

And you have to consider what each cubic meter

of magma, it's about 3.2 density.

So it means, and if you expand it, you have the gasses also.

So most of it is foam, it's pumice,

they have a different billions of pumice.

So I can see, I can see it smoking down there, right?

Yes these are what we call fumaroles,

it's hot gasses, a mixture of volcanic gases

and hot water, that is all flowing.

Well, let's go down.

I'm dying to go down, let's go.

Yeah.

My man.

Seeing the crater from above is awesome enough,

but walking into the steaming interior

is another experience altogether.

(exotic music)

She's starting to get hot down here.

Yes, it's hotter.

As you move down, the surface temperature down there

is 100 degrees.

100 degrees?

Yes.

(whistles) Hope I don't burn my shoes.

(laughs) No, no, modern plastic is effective (laughs).

Okay great.

But you have to consider that

in some places its quite thin,

you can see there are mud pools, boiling mud,

and everything below, its fluid material.

Below us?

Yes.

Wow.

So, heh...

So we've got to be careful?

It's better, yes to be careful,

to know where you step.

Having walked through the crater many years ago,

this was no surprise, but it's still an exciting experience.

It's almost like I was on another planet

or walking through a primordial earth.

If you ever visit,

I suggest you get a guide to show you around.

There are a number of operators

that can not only take you in safely,

but their insights make the experience

all the more memorable.

So I get that strong smell of sulfur,

from when we walked down the crater.

Yes, it's a hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide, yeah mate and it's killing me right now.

And it's very soft under here.

Yeah be careful.

Hard over there soft here.

Be careful because it's not so stable.

And so, you say it's not stable?

And lot of vacuum below.

It's a thin skin of material we step on.

It's very soft.

Yes.

And below that what is that?

Below its mud.

I saw it boiling over there,

can we just go and have a quick look?

Yes.

Or is it, it's too dangerous?

That's why these places are pinched off?

Be near to me.

I will stand next to you, don't you worry about that.

(Volcanologist laughs)

Don't you worry about that, I will stand right next to you.

I can feel the heat now.

Be careful here.

Yep.

Oops.

We pass from here.

It's very dangerous coming down here.

You just, so I think the key is

to stay on the white areas isn't it?

Yeah.

There it is.

Wow, so what's that bubbling up now?

What's the bubble?

The bubbles is carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide,

a little bit of methane.

Methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide?

Carbon dioxide, mostly,

the highest percentage is carbon dioxide.

Right, and that would be a 100 degrees right now?

Yes.

And this is a typical example of the,

what do you call it, hydro?

Hydrothermal fluids.

Hydrothermal,

well it's a hydrothermal volcano now isn't it?

Yes.

Yes, wow.

Hydrothermal volcanic activity,

is essentially like the famed geysers

you've seen in America's Yellowstone National Park.

It's basically created when superheated water

beneath the surface rapidly turns to vapor.

Steam, boiling water, mud,

and rocks are ejected into the surrounds.

Think of it as like the earth venting some pressure,

in the same way, a pressure cooker, hisses and steams.

There's an intermittent up flow.

Intermittent?

So I put in there, in the mesa?

Doof, doof, yeah, here, here.

All right.

What's that?

That's a rock.

That's a, yeah. (laughs)

Oh man, look at that cook.

(Volcanologist laughs)

In a matter of seconds, that's cooking.

Oh, I just got a lot of heat there.

It's intermittent, why is it intermittent?

The are pulses of gasses coming from below.

It's not a continuous flow.

But Georgios, a bit of a problem here.

It's over cooked, I can't eat that egg.

No.

It's a bit over cooked,

so I'll just leave it, don't you think?

It's about 10% will be, sulfuric acid, so it's better not.

(both men laugh)

Let's stay away from the sulfuric acid, hey?

Páme?

Páme.

Let's go, that was good.

(upbeat exotic music)

We came down early to ensure we had the crater to ourselves

and could avoid the worst of the summer heat.

But throughout the day,

there is a steady stream of adventurous visitors,

ranging from couples and families,

right through to school expeditions.

It's a great spot for some hands on education,

about the geological activity

that not only form this island, but much of the world.

A word of warning though, wear covered shoes,

bring a bottle of water, and come in the morning.

It's hot enough thanks to the steaming vents,

let alone the blazing sun reflecting off the white stone.

Throughout the centuries, the people of Nisyros,

have adapted to their surrounds.

There's not only farms in the caldera,

but on the rim of the crater are a couple of villages,

perched high above the steaming basin.

The views are spectacular.

However, time hasn't been kind to them,

especially the last hundred years,

but thankfully they seem to be bouncing back.

After a morning in the caldera,

you've got to come up to Emporeios,

this beautiful little town.

In 1981 there was hardly anyone living here,

but now they've fixed it up

and it's a typical Greek village.

And here at the Balcony Restaurant,

I've been told by Georgios,

that the food is really, really good.

So I'm looking forward to a fare, cause I'm starved.

Starved.

The meal was everything Georgios said it would be,

simple island dishes,

cooked using locally sourced ingredients.

There's no need to go over the top

with presentation or complexity.

With Greek food, if you do the simple things right,

you'll always make the crowd happy.

Walking lunch off allowed me the chance

to explore the town and its people.

It might be a little tired and run down in parts,

but overall it has this discreet charm

and you can see that it's slowly being restored.

Even in its somewhat deteriorated state,

you can understand the attraction to living up here.

There's a serenity about it

and the views really are stunning.

(upbeat exotic music)

On the road to Emporeios, and just below the town,

is this sauna.

It's open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,

and I'm gonna check it out.

Oh wow, it's hot in here.

I'm told it's about 54 degrees, it's fairly humid.

This thing was built, it used to be a cave and

a gentleman actually built this structure around it 1925.

People come in here, fit three or four people.

It's the first time I've seen a sauna in Greece,

a natural sauna.

Seen heaps of thermal Springs, but never a sauna.

(bright exotic music)

Man.

Well definitely time for a dip in the Aegean.

(upbeat exotic music)

A day on Nisyros feels twice as long as it does at home.

The pace of life is slow,

which is a welcome change for someone like me,

who occasionally feels like they're moving so fast,

the world passes by like a flash.

I love these little villages, this is Nikia right?

Correct.

And what is the population of Nikia?

Nikia registered at about 40 to 42 people.

Wow.

Just the truth is a little bit different,

in the summertime I would say with relatives coming over

for paying a visit abroad as well,

there are about 20, 25 people, barely 30 living.

And in the winter, it's completely different.

Many of the older residents of that village

are going to bigger islands,

like Kos, Rhodes where their relatives live,

closer to the better medical care system, I'd say.

Right, I understand.

Population drops down to the 15 people.

Wow.

Being a winding and hilly drive from the main town.

It's easy to understand why villages like this

struggle to grow, but maybe they don't need to.

While there's little in the way of work,

and it lacks some modern conveniences,

what it does have, that many larger settlements don't,

is that old world charm.

Ioannis I see the balcony's, they are so close together

and so narrow, what's the story?

It is used the shade of the paths.

It is protecting them a lot from the hot sun beams

in the summertime.

Right.

And the breeze coming through

makes it always a lot more bearable, the summer

for everybody living here.

And the stone, some of the stone,

you see white wall here, you see stone here.

There's various types of architecture,

you see the stone arches.

Uh huh.

It's beautiful man.

It is a typical decoration they use in those islands,

and stone is to be found in abundance

of different qualities and different colors as well.

So that's what the people, what they have,

actually that's what they use for architecture in general.

Beautiful.

This looks like a blast from the past.

It is.

What's the story here, Ioannis?

This is probably one of the many houses of the village,

which it's an earthquake territory,

probably collapsed by the earthquake of 1933.

Even the other ones that followed.

That's a foúrnos, isn't it?

Yeah, it is, it's a stone oven.

The main one of the house probably.

Wow, these are awesome,

I love these almost ancient houses, you know?

This is, how old is this?

How old is this house, you think?

I suppose it's definitely about,

almost a century old or even above that.

Wow.

The foundations of these old houses,

are typically all that remains once they've been abandoned,

usable materials get recycled

and the remaining timber rots away,

but you can still see that this was once a family home.

(speaking Greek)

90 Years old?

90 years old.

And she's the one maintaining

the beautiful Virgin Mary Church at the square,

in it's perfect state.

That was awesome, man.

I love meeting the locals. especially people like that.

I need a coffee, man.

Where are we going get a coffee?

I know the best place.

Fantastic.

(gentle acoustic music)

Amazing spot isn't it?

Ioannis, you know how to pick the spots, mate.

To me, this is the quintessential square in a village,

you know?

The kafenio, the steeple.

The church.

Let's have a coffee then.

Ela, let's have a coffee.

So Ioannis, there's two kafenio, two cafes here.

They also serve lunch and dinner?

They do have, mostly Greek dishes.

Have you eaten here?

Yeah, absolutely, quite a few times.

You must've eaten here because everywhere we go,

you know everybody, everybody knows you.

This is the advantage of visiting regularly

small places like.

Yes.

This one.

And that's the quintessential thing

about small Greek Islands,

if you're a local, you know everybody,

and meeting you here, I'm getting that deep contact

that you would not normally get on a bigger island

or a big place, be it a big city, when you're being guided.

So you really feel part of the place,

you really feel connected,

and I really appreciate that Ioannis.

I've enjoyed the morning so much,

but the architecture, the people it's all fantastic.

And remember that I've been required,

because of my profession, been on quite a few islands

of Greece.

Yes.

But Nisyros is on, let's say the high spot of my heart.

Is that right?

The one I love the most.

Yes.

And therefore I never,

let's say have any drawbacks for coming over,

again and again with groups to this islands.

Awesome.

Sitting there with Ioannis,

drinking coffee and listening to his stories

was an enlightening way to spend some time.

I'd like to think,

I'll someday be one of those wrinkled old guys

sipping on my drink,

talking politics and playing backgammon in the town square.

I've got the wrinkles and the big opinions.

Now, all I need is to slow down

and learn how to play backgammon.

The Crater, I saw it with Georgios the other day

and I saw the geology and it was fantastic, man.

It was awesome.

Yeah, Georgios gave you the scientific version

of how the whole island was actually created.

There is also the beautiful mythological version of it.

Oh, you got to tell me.

Yeah, it has to do, even with the names

of the different craters down there,

some of them are called Polybotes

and that takes us back to the mythological story,

to the cosmogenesis of Hesiod,

the ancient Greek version about

how the whole world was created.

So it goes back to that fight of the giants

against the Olympic gods,

of whom would get to rule the world.

And Poseidon was the one that chopped off a big piece,

a large piece out of the island of Kos.

And he threw it against the spring

to flee the giant the Polybotes

and he buried him right beneath it.

And that's exactly the place we're standing on right now.

That rock is the island of Nisyros.

Right, oh okay, so Polybotes is under Nisyros right now?

Under Nisyros right now,

and that's how the people in the ancient times

managed to explain national phenomenons.

How it came to earthquakes, for example.

So whenever the Polybotes, the giant beneath Nisyros,

was trying to free himself out of it,

that's when it comes, the whole island is actually shaking.

Explanation of earthquake.

You know what?

I prefer yours to Dr. Georgios, even though I love geology,

I think yours is better, mate.

Many, a story from mythology came about

as a way to vindicate things

that people simply couldn't explain through fact

or observation, the people needed a way to rationalize

the world around them.

So stories of gods and great battles gave them a sense

of understanding, and removed the fear that can be caused

by not having answers to important questions.

It also gave people hope during challenging times

and something to believe in.

(dramatic music plays)

The coastal road covers only a third

of the islands perimeter.

So it's just a short drive to see the few beaches

that Nisyros has on offer.

Lies beach is one of the handful that's accessible.

And after all that walking and the hot sauna,

it was time for a swim.

I must say though,

some swims are more memorable than others.

The pebble beach wasn't the prettiest,

but the water was clean and clear.

Most people that come to Nisyros,

come here for the day from Kos.

And because the beaches on Kos are just so awesome

and colorful.

These agricultural, volcanic beaches

aren't visited that much.

But for the discerning tourist,

that wants a bit of serenity, nothing better.

There where just a few people on the beach,

relaxing in the eerie quiet.

The lapping water, created a soothing soundtrack

and as I sipped my coffee,

I noticed that this was one place

where no one lined up to stand in front of the camera.

In fact, it was as if the camera didn't exist.

I was getting into their groove

and starting to embrace

the pace of the environment around me.

It's almost a step back in time.

No one was on their mobile talking or texting.

People sat in silence thinking, reading

and absorbing the scenery.

Anyway, Eugene was waiting for me.

So I scampered through the hot volcanic sand,

to get my daily swim in.

Even though this might not have been one of those cliched,

white sandy beaches with warm, clear blue water,

it had its own personality

that made it memorable in its own right.

Maybe it was the fact that it was a contrast

to the beaches I normally visit,

or the simplicity of the rustic cafe at the end of the road.

Whatever the case, it's worth a drive to have a coffee

and a swim in what's as peaceful a place

as any you'll come across.

Heading back to the boat,

we were just in time to see off the day trippers

from the island of Kos.

Throughout the peak season,

organized tours, walkers

and cyclists come here in their droves.

After a big day of exploration, they're all no doubt tired,

but each one of them leaves with a smile.

I on the other hand, was on kitchen duty with with Kyriako,

and looking forward to another lesson from the master.

It also turned out to be a local spin

on a traditional Greek recipe.

(speaking Greek)

Revitho-Keftethes.

Which is chickpea balls and it's gluten free, isn't it?

(speaks Greek)

What do we do?

(speaks Greek)

Okay, let's go.

So these chickpeas have been soaked overnight

and he's drained them

and we're about to mash them up, let's go.

Well we can't mash them up all together.

Gotta be done bit by bit, obviously.

(appliance whirls)

Fantastic.

Awesome.

Yeah.

(speaks Greek)

Look check that out, is that awesome or what?

So we've got half a kilo of the chickpeas,

and then what we're gonna add to this chickpea mush

is some onions, some meat, some spring onions, two eggs,

some gluten-free flour for Helen, some pepper and some salt.

And you just put it all together and you mix it.

Is that easy or what?

It's like the easiest recipe and there's some oil as well.

Let's do it, let's put it all together.

Okay.

I got to do something.

Okay, fantastic.

Look at this, it goes in.

Now you take that, let me put them in, let me do something.

That goes in, the eggs, fantastic.

The spring onions, the salt goes in there

as you clean up behind me,

which he does all the time.

And listen, I just want to do this for the choir.

Look at that.

Olive oil.

Ah yeah, and only Greek Virgin olive oil.

If you haven't got Greek Virgin olive oil, forget about it.

It's not going to work, that's not true, it's not true.

Yeah, go.

With the hand, you got to do this by hand.

Yes.

With a glove on obviously, and you just mix this up.

Now he's gonna mix that up,

and then all we're going to do

is roll them into little balls and fry them.

It's actually really, really simple.

Even I could do it,

but I won't be, Helen will be doing it at home.

Look at that.

Look at the color, can I just show them the color?

Look at the color in there.

If you look at the chickpeas, they're not fully mashed up.

They're sort of three quarter blended,

so that they're chunks in there.

So when you eat the ball, the chickpea ball,

you get these little pieces, they're in there

and they get stuck in your teeth, it's fantastic.

So it's yes, I said it was a gluten-free recipe

and this is really good.

This is one of these recipes that's helping me on my diet.

So I'm not eating too much meat.

(speaks Greek)

So we gotta get the moisture out as well, right?

And that's what, how long do you do this for Kyriako?

(speaks Greek)

So let me explain that so sometimes they let it cool down,

they put it in the fridge to cool down.

So it's a stiffer mix, is that right?

Yeah.

It's amazing how you understand everything I say,

but half the time, I don't understand what you're saying.

I skipped, I skipped six class at Greek school.

I was actually on my bicycle, Mum didn't know.

So my Greek is really bad.

Sometimes the mix is a little wet and it isn't stiff enough.

In that case,

just add another egg or some flour to thicken it all up,

keep working it through

so everything is thoroughly mixed.

(upbeat music plays)

(speaks Greek)

Okay, what are we going to do now?

(speaks Greek)

Ready to fry it, let's go.

And the oil is warm, which is great, fantastic.

What sort of oil are we using there, sunflower oil?

Corn oil.

Corn oil.

Don't use olive oil to cook in.

If you use olive oil, what you're doing,

is you're changing the molecular property of the olive oil

and you're ruining it, you know?

So use something that can cook at that temperature.

Sounds like I know what I'm talking about, doesn't it?

Well, I don't.

Look at that, look that, look at that.

Oh, I turned that one over a bit too early.

Making the Skordalia, or potato and garlic dip,

is relatively easy.

Just blend together some boiled potato, soaked bread,

half a cup of ground almonds, a handful of garlic cloves,

vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil.

And there you go, Skordalia.

Let's grab some of this stuff.

(speaks Greek)

No chance, no chance I'm not going to try it, mate.

No chance in the world.

It's just such a pungent smell.

I mean, the Greeks die for it.

Okay, you're going to try it right?

And I'm going to try it.

I'm going to try it without the, without the Skordalia.

How is it?

Now try it with this, eh?

(speaks Greek)

Yeah.

Awesome, awesome.

It's like eating potato chips,

but it's healthy, it's vegetarian.

This is vegan, this is actually vegan.

Helen, it's vegan.

But that's vegetarian, it's not vegan.

There's bread in there, right?

But it's fantastic.

Kyriako, are you happy with it?

You're never happy, it's all right?

(speaks Greek)

Yeah, you can taste the chickpea in it.

It's fantastic.

Kyriako, thanks mate.

(speaks Greek)

Awesome, I love this guy.

(speaks Greek)

Yeah, that one by the captain, let him run the ship.

See you later.

I was so caught up in the excitement

that I actually got things the wrong way around.

The Skordalia was the vegan part,

and the Keftedes are vegetarian, because they contain eggs.

But what matters most

is they're quick to make and taste awesome.

I smashed a few, minus the dip.

Then it was off to explore more of the island.

For such a small landmass,

Nisyros gets its fair share of day trippers.

And like a lot of these less developed islands,

the tourists leave just as quickly as they arrive.

They don't come just to walk through the crater,

they spend their time wandering the streets,

swimming, cycling, and checking out the ruins.

You'd think that the wild weather, earthquakes,

and corrosive gasses coming from the volcano

would eat away at the architecture,

but it doesn't seem to be the case.

There's probably constant upkeep

to maintain the homes and modern buildings,

but one ancient structure that just happens to be

a favorite of mine, looks much like it would have

2000 years ago when it was first built.

Yanni, thank you for bringing me back here,

because I've been here before

and I could come here again and again and again.

What's this fortress called?

Paleo Casto.

Paleo Casto.

And what century are we talking again?

Speaking about the third,

let's say part of the fourth century, BC

and early third century, BC.

Almost two and a half thousand years old.

And you know what I love about this fortress,

this fortification is everything.

The stones, it's made of a hard stone.

Is it harder, one of the hardest stones.

Andesite.

Andesite, and that's locally quarried,

just here, north of the wall.

It's a volcanic rock, but you look at it,

they're not just square or rectangular.

We're talking about trapeziums.

From a structural point of view,

it's got the best integrity.

Not only that, but you look at where the openings are.

They're hidden from the sea.

So these trebuchets,

that would have been throwing rocks at it,

the weakest point is the, is the entry.

And they wouldn't have got there.

It's just fantastic.

Seven and a half meters tall.

I understand some of the best walls

in all of the Greek world.

Of the ancient world.

Let's go inside.

Ah, I'm so excited, come on, let's go.

Yeah, Yanni, I love it for many reasons,

but for an island that only has eight kilometers

in diameter, tiny island,

they made this massive fortification.

Impressive.

It was a prosperous island.

Many different enemies had their eye on it.

And it was attacked quite a few times in it's past.

Wide steps.

Yanni. I'm looking at this wall,

and it's actually two walls, isn't it?

Two big stone walls.

There's a wall on the outside and a wall on the inside.

And the filling in the middle.

And they filled it in the middle.

It's actually like a composite wall.

Nothing could penetrate this.

You'd need an Exocet missile to penetrate this.

It's just so solid.

I just can't get over it, mate.

They are unbelievable, the time it would have taken.

Not less than 70, 80 years.

Wow.

Should we go down the stairs?

Páme.

Paleo Castro sits above Mandraki,

looking out across the Aegean.

The walls reach seven meters high

and they're up to three and a half meters thick.

They encompass a huge area.

And along their length of gates and towers

that stood up to 10 meters tall,

it's a magnificent fortification.

Yanni, two centuries of walls sitting here.

They used to protect something,

but they're not protecting anything anymore.

It's all empty, you know, it's sad.

Not really, they're using it for concerts.

They built stages on that flat there,

right in front of us.

And with the place illuminated during the night,

it makes a phantasmagoric atmosphere.

Wow, well it's concerts here.

I'll miss them, unfortunately.

Anyway, mate, I really appreciate the day I've had with you,

but we've got to move on.

We've got a lot to do.

Look at it.

Let's just take a minute to have a look at this fantastic.

These types of structures are a testament to the ingenuity

of the builders and architects of ancient Greece.

Yeah, they used slave labor to make the things,

but it's the design, craftsmanship, and construction methods

that impress me the most.

Something like this would have required

thousands of man hours to build,

but the design and planning too,

would have been a massive undertaking.

Rain, summer, and Greek Islands.

Very rarely when you see all those words

in the same sentence, because in Greece,

it very rarely rains in summer.

They, trust the weather so much

that all the festivals are held out in the open,

but never say never

Tonight is the festival of the cross.

(speaks Greek)

And unfortunately it's raining and they've had to cancel it,

because they've always had it out in the open air.

It's Friday the 13th.

So there may be something going on there, I don't know,

but it never rains in Greece.

The storm brought with it violent gusts of wind

that whipped up the ocean,

even the locals were surprised by it.

The raindrops eventually turned from water to ice,

with hale peppering the moored boats.

It added plenty of drama

to what would have been a serene afternoon.

But as quickly as the wild weather arrived,

it past, revealing a spectacular sunset.

And once again, Nisyros transformed back to the peaceful,

pretty long island that I'd come to love.

About 40 minutes ago, we left Nisyros,

and we're heading into Tilos.

Nisyros was awesome.

It's one of those islands

that you go to for the day from Kos.

Lots to do in a day if you can pack it all in.

Tilos, on the other hand,

Tilos is sandwiched between Kos and Rhodes,

two of the most popular islands

that get millions of tourists.

And this one doesn't get that many.

And it's the first sustainable island in all of Greece.

It's a little bit eccentric,

and I'm looking forward to seeing Tilos,

cause I've never been there.

Let's go captain, we're not far away.

What, five minutes?

Five minutes, awesome.

Traveling Southwest from Nisyros,

it's about a 12 nautical mile journey

to the port of Livadia, on the island of Tilos.

Last time I visited the Dodecanese,

we completely skipped it

because the guidebooks had very little to say.

And I'm sure the locals, that know the island,

would love to keep it that way,

because after seeing it for the first time,

there is only one sentence that reverberates with me.

I love Tilos.

Stathis, you came here five years ago for work

with the council, the local council.

And you decided to stay, why?

Why, because why, I fell in love.

You fell in love, with the island?

With the island and with my wife.

What? You hadn't met your wife?

No, no.

You met her here.

I met her here, I didn't know her.

This is a true Greek love story then, is it?

Yes, I saw her, I was like

a stone hit me in the head.

Really?

Yeah, I was like that, oh my God.

Wow.

Tilos has a magic, Tilos is the island that

when you come, you fall in love with Tilos.

You fall in love with the people,

you fall in love with the food,

you fall in love with the environment, the mentality.

I can tell you a thousand things

that you can fall in love with Tilos.

We have also a very big environmental project,

they call Tilos.

Right.

With renewable energy.

It is a very innovative project.

Yes.

It's funded from the European Union.

And the thing is that we produce power

from wind turbine and solar panels.

We also storage it.

Your store it as well?

Yes, yes, we have batteries that we can store it.

On this little island?

In this little island.

And the thing is that we produce more power

that we can consume.

That is absolutely fantastic.

They did it in Tilos.

I understand this is the first island

in all of Greece that does that.

Yes.

So you've got the migratory birds you looked after.

You you've got a sustainable future

from a power point of view.

I also understand that the first gay wedding.

Yes.

In all of Greece happened here.

Yes, yes, in Tilos.

And when did that happen?

Eh, I think 2008.

Yeah, so this is before many countries around the world,

let alone Greece.

Yes, yes.

So they're a very progressive island.

Yes.

I want to see more of this island.

I want to see more of this.

You're an electrical engineer, right?

I'm an electrical engineer, yes.

And you know all about the sustainable stuff

and the power, don't you?

No, all I know, most of the things.

Come on, take me, show me.

Okay, let's go.

I'm really excited, man.

I'm really excited.

Beautiful mate.

And you know what, I love that beach back there.

It looks like a private beach,

I wish I could go for a swim there.

You can go, it's my wife's.

(laughs deeply) One of the most popular hotels in town,

is Ilidi Rock.

It just so happens that the family of Stathis' wife

own and run the place.

Normally I don't like to blatantly promote

resorts or hotels, but this accommodation

occupies one of the best seaside locales I've ever seen,

with amazing views and a gorgeous private beach.

So tell me, Stathis, what's the population

and tourism on Tilos?

The population, in the paper we're 800,

but actually here, in the winter time, we live 500 people.

Right.

And most of them are from European countries.

We have a very big European community here.

Wow.

Yeah, Belgium, to English, French.

And what about tourism?

How much tourism are you getting?

30,000.

Wow.

So far, I think this year we're going to be around 35.

Wow, it's a beautiful walkway man.

Yes, it's a beautiful,

it's named by the former Mayor Tasos Aliferis.

Yeah?

Yes, this whole big road has his name.

Tasos Aliferis, was a much loved member

of the Tilos community.

His forward thinking vision put into place

many of the initiatives that today

give the island its identity.

And what, is it mainly families that come?

They come families, and people that like quiet vacation.

We don't have like Mykonos here, party all the time.

(laughs brightly)

We're a more quiet island.

That's awesome.

We're a family island.

You need that, man.

Man, I love that, the recycling as well.

It's fantastic.

We're trying to do recycling.

It's good.

It's good you try, you've got to try everything, eh?

Other than reusing all building materials,

there's little in the way of recycling and Greece,

but it's slowly catching on.

Tilos leads the way with this and other green initiatives.

We have some bikes that we give out

to the community for free.

And also, another innovation that we did,

is we have a rechargeable station for hybrid cars

and electrical cars that they can use it for free.

And it's a solar channel.

It's a solar channel, the panels are upstairs.

And we do one more thing, that I keep it a secret from you.

Yeah?

With that solar panels,

we have free power in all the lamps at the beach road.

Wow.

Man I can't get over the free bikes.

You give out free bikes.

I give the free bikes.

That's just fantastic, progressive man.

Who said nothing in life comes free?

Here on Tilos, their bucking the trend,

trying to create an environmentally sustainable island

that provides for its inhabitants.

Former Mayor, Tasos Aliferis,

may have had his life cut short by cancer,

but his legacy continues today through the work of others

on the island, who also embrace the value of nature.

It's beautiful, man.

I know.

It's beautiful.

That's why you fell in love with Tilos, yeah?

Even though it's pebbles, it's beautiful.

In the next episode, my time on Tilos continues.

As I explore more of what this island gem has to offer.

I'll be meeting a few of the locals,

some more colorful than others.

And headed to the mountain tops to see some of the sites,

including the wind turbine.

Plus I'll be visiting an archeological dig

that has the remains of a pygmy elephant population.

From there, I'll be upping anchor,

and steering Mia Zoi Northeast,

cruising across to the spectacular island of Symi.

It's one of the better known places in the Dodecanese,

sitting just off the coast of Turkey,

and I'll show you why it's such

a popular tourist destination,

The see more of My Greek Odyssey,

head to our website at mygreekodyssey.com.

There you'll find plenty to keep you entertained,

including Kyriako's awesome recipes.

(bright cheerful music)