Original subtitles

(upbeat music)

Series Four of My Greek Odyssey sees us traveling

through the southern islands of the Dodecanese

from Kos to Simi 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've arrived on the Island of the Knights, Rhodes.

It's one of the most well-known destinations in the world

and it's easy to see why.

As I'm going to show you,

it's a place that constantly amazes

with grand architecture, dramatic history,

and even more spectacular landscapes.

I'm going to show you all the major sites,

but also some of the unique experiences

that locals have kept to themselves.

10 months a year of spectacular weather.

Rhodes is considered one of the most visited destinations

in all of Europe.

They get so much light, that in ancient times,

they worshiped the sun god, Helios.

So much so that they built a massive statue,

32 meters high, almost as high as the Statue of Liberty.

This bronze statue was considered the Colossus,

one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Behind me, the largest existing medieval fortress

in all of Europe.

The Knights of St. John made their base here.

There's just so much history.

So many beaches, awesome hotels.

I look forward to exploring this wonderful island.

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese Islands,

and the fourth biggest in all of Greece.

Around 120,000 people live here,

but with close to 2 million tourists visiting annually,

it can be difficult to tell the locals from the visitors.

However, it's easy to understand why

so many people flock to the place.

The moment you step foot on Rhodes,

you're taken back 500 years or more

to when the Knights of St. John ruled the island.

Their impact is unmistakable,

thanks to the architecture you find

throughout the main city.

That said, there's also significant influence

in the history, culture, and aesthetic of Rhodes,

stemming from ancient times,

specifically the Classical and Hellenistic eras.

My arrival here came after spending the best part of 10 days

in Karpathos and Kasos, two of the most remote

and unexplored islands in the country.

It was a stark contrast to what I'd been experiencing prior,

where in place of the peaceful streets and empty taverns,

I had hordes of tourists and a constant buzz of activity.

I generally prefer the quieter islands,

but when you've come to know Rhodes really well,

you realize both sides of the coin.

There's the amazing old town and historic sites

where you have no choice but to be part of the crowd.

And then there are the hidden gems and lesser known places

where you can escape the chaos and slow down for a little.

For Helen and me, Rhodes has so many special memories

that we treasure and look forward to reliving them,

time and time again.

One of the first things I do whenever I come here

is take a stroll through the old town.

It was built around the

Knights of St. John medieval fortress,

and throughout the sprawling cobblestone lanes,

you'll find great restaurants, quaint cafes,

museums, gift shops, and galleries.

And of course, fascinating landmarks.

So while Helen was out shopping

and Irenaeus on a Segway tour with the captain,

I was admiring the architecture

and reliving the history with Mary.

Wow, Mary, this is amazing.

The medieval town of Rhodes, it's massive.

There's huge walls. There's a set of walls over here,

a set of walls over here.

What is so special about this town, this medieval town?

This is the most, the largest medieval city

in the whole world.

It's one of the most well-preserved medieval cities

of the whole world.

That's why it was declared

as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Wow.

Right now, we're looking at the moat.

It was never filled with water, it was always dry.

It served as a death trap, because any poor guy

that was trapped in the moat would definitely die.

We had people coming out from the tunnels,

archers on the ramparts,

and people throwing burning material.

Nobody would make it.

Wow. So they just stuck in here?

So what's behind that gate?

It's the most important gate, from a military viewpoint,

because it leads directly to the heart

of the administration center, the Grand Master's Palace,

the place that the Grand Master used to live.

And this gate is not actually a single gate,

it's a triple gate, because we have to pass the moat,

pass the arch entrance,

then there's a second moat and a second gate,

and then a third moat and a third gate.

So there's three moats, three gates,

to get through to the inside.

Nobody would make it.

They must have had some pretty precious things

inside there for that to happen.

Of course, the Grand Master's Palace, the whole city.

Wow. Well, let's go in.

Let's go.

(lyrical guitar music)

The mighty walls of the fortress withstood attacks

from the Sultan of Egypt in 1444

and then a siege by Ottomans in 1480,

but in 1522, the fortifications were eventually overwhelmed

by Suleiman the Magnificent.

It took a vast army of some 100,000 or more soldiers

for the sultan to forge his victory

and the six-month siege cost him half his forces.

So this is the Grand Master's Palace?

Yes.

And what is between us and the Grand Master's Palace

is the third moat.

This is the third moat. Another moat.

Another moat.

So what are those shields

that we're looking at there?

Those are the coat of arms

of the order of the Knights of St. John.

The most typical one you'll see

is the one with the cross over there.

(lyrical guitar music)

The Grand Master was the leader

of the Knights of St. John.

There was a strict hierarchy within the order

and to lead meant you possessed

more than just military know-hows,

but a close affinity with the church,

and an understanding of politics,

but above all else, you needed the capacity

to inspire those around you.

So Mary, how many Grand Masters were there?

From 1309 until 1522,

there were about 19 Grand Masters.

19? Mm-hmm.

A lot.

It's an awesome building. I love this.

Big spaces, columns, arches,

everything, everything here.

As with a lot of historic events,

there's sometimes a bit of myth

that can embellish the facts a little.

In the case of the Siege of Rhodes,

legend has it that a member of the order

who had lost a vote to become the Grand Master

sought to end the bloody standoff by deceit

and betray the Knights.

He threw arrows to the camp of Sultan Suleiman

with letters on them saying, "Sultan Suleiman, do not go.

The city will be yours.

The city is out of gunpowder."

Before doing that, he sent his servant

to gather all the gunpowder in the city

and hide it in the cellars

of the cathedral of the Knights of St. John.

He was caught and he was punished the medieval way.

Killed.

Sad.

All this fortification, and it was a traitor

that got them over the line. Amazing, amazing.

Other facts point to a slightly different end,

where a truce was reached and on New Year's Day, 1523,

the Knights and soldiers marched from the city,

dressed in battle armor with banners flying,

along with several thousand of the city's inhabitants.

They boarded ships and sailed to Crete.

(lyrical music)

(upbeat fiddle music)

Strolling through the walled city,

with its narrow lane ways and cobbled streets,

it's easy to imagine and romanticize

what might've happened here throughout the centuries.

In basic terms, life may well be the same here now,

as it was 400 years or more ago,

with hundreds of people walking around town,

shopping, eating, and catching up with friends.

Nowadays, the draw card for most people that come here

is the medieval architecture.

It's awe-inspiring to say the least

and confronts you around almost every corner,

but the history of Rhodes goes

back thousands of years prior to this.

And to tell me more about it,

I met with Professor Spyros Syropoulos,

an expert on Greek literature.

No doubt he'll have a more romantic version

of the island's ancient past.

It doesn't look very much right now,

but in antiquity it was one of the most beautiful temples

that one could see and most important,

it was dedicated to Helios, the sun god.

And it's very easy to understand why,

because everywhere you look around, there is sunshine.

This is an island blessed with a lot of sunshine.

3,100 hours of sunshine per year,

(indistinct) with only 100 hours' difference.

More than 129 days of sunshine a year.

This is obviously an island dedicated to the sun.

I've been to Rhodes a number of times,

yet until meeting Professor Spyros,

I still didn't truly understand the complexity

of the island's history.

In just a couple of hours,

he pieced together all the dots for me

in the most interesting way.

Professor, I'm so intrigued by the Colossus of Rhodes,

one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

And I've seen the picture hundreds of times

of him standing right there between those two pylons.

Tell me about it. I want to know the history.

I'm sure you have, Peter, and we're all excited with it,

but you said you want to know about history, not myth.

Because what you know is a myth.

The Colossus standing with his feet astride,

bridging the harbor,

this is the biggest myth of all times.

We know for a fact that the height of the statue

was 32 meters tall.

Now, if the statue was actually

at the entrance of the harbor,

we know the width of the ancient harbor was 400 meters.

So the statute should have been at least 120 meters tall,

if it were to present a harmonious in analogies man.

So we believe that the statue of Helios stood back there

where the palace of the Knights is.

So professor, where's it gone?

Somewhere around here,

meaning what?

In 228, 27 B.C., a massive earthquake

threw the Colossus statue on the ground.

It lay on the ground for nearly 900 years, 879 years.

The Arabs came and they took the precious metal, the bronze,

and they sold it somewhere in the East. It's all gone.

But the squared stones that they used as weight in his feet,

they were used to rebuild the city

that was leveled by the earthquake.

So in a sense, the heart of the statue

is still somewhere in the city.

The resources and huge costs required

to create the Colossus, suggest that Rhodes

was very rich and powerful.

There's other supporting evidence across the island,

including the beautifully preserved odeon.

Every time I visit here, it conjures up images

of the great civilization that once was.

Professor, you were born here in Rhodes

and you've studied internationally,

and you decided to come back to Rhodes.

Why did you come back to Rhodes?

Because I'm in love with Rhodes,

like everyone else, I think, since antiquity.

That's the beauty and the magic of the island,

it makes people fall in love with this place

and consider it their own.

So I always wanted to come back.

I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to,

because there wouldn't be any work for me,

but we have a very good university here,

the University of the Aegean.

And I'm very happy that I'm able to do what I love,

here on the island that I love.

Fantastic. Fantastic.

There's evidence of other ancient buildings

and facilities strewn about the place,

but the most impressive is the stadium,

dating back to the second century, B.C.

It's a remnant of a time when the island prospered.

210 meters long.

This is one of the biggest and definitely one

of the two best preserved stadiums in Greece today.

It's also a sign of superior and Socratic regime,

because you can imagine (indistinct)

that lower-class people and poor class people,

do not afford the time to exercise.

So the rich aristocrats exercise and train all year long.

And this is because they want to be prepared for war.

If you recall all the ancient events,

wrestling, running, running with full body armor,

military helmets, horses, javelin,

it's all preparation for war.

So the aristocrats during the time of peace,

they prepare for war.

So this was one of the wealthiest states in all of Greece.

It was most definitely one of the richest,

but this is proof that it was a rich,

powerful, aristocratic state.

And the proof stands right in front of us.

That's awesome. Look at the size of it.

It's amazing.

As far as history is concerned,

Rhodes has it all

from the Classical and Hellenistic periods

into medieval times and right through the modern era.

This is an island where you can walk through time.

Nice motorbike, looks good.

Fashionable. That's him.

Unlike the smaller islands,

Rhodes is relatively self-sufficient.

So there are plenty of people that have been born, raised,

educated, and made their lives here.

(speaking Greek)

(speaking Greek)

Good to see you.

Nice to see you.

Ah, you look good with a bike, man.

Thank you.

George is a great example of exactly this.

He's a local architect that fuses his profession

with a passion for the island's history.

George has combined his technical

and creative skills as an architect

with his ongoing studies of the island's buildings.

It provides a very different insight

into how you interpret what you see in the design

and construction of the different buildings

and periods of architecture.

We have the Gothic part, we have the Arabic part,

we have the Greek part, all mixed in this new Italian style,

which we have preserved and kept it

in the best way we could.

And that's the Arabic arch, the Arabic dome.

Okay. Exactly.

What about the bank over there,

the Trapeza, the Bank of Greece?

So the Bank of Greece is one

of the most beautiful banks of Greece

in the whole country.

As you can see, it has parts of influence

from many sides of the historical phase in the island.

But as we said, there is also another part.

Another phase, the second phase.

Exactly.

Can we go and have a look at the second phase?

(speaking Greek). Let's go.

(speaking Greek)

Look, we aren't getting killed, are we?

Let's cross now.

George's knowledge and passion for Italian architecture

largely stems from his studies in Milan.

It was there he gained a master's

in Interior and Living Design.

He's also the president

of the Dodecanese Architects Association,

which says to me, he certainly knows his stuff.

So now, we are in the second phase.

It's the point when the Italians realized

that they really want to settle here.

They realized what their role was.

So the architecture is completely different.

As you can see, there is just one material

in contradiction with a previous style.

There is just one language with just one purpose:

to impress and to give a sort of fear

through the big scale.

You see those big windows, those high buildings shapes.

They just had one role:

to create the fastest way of thinking.

And all these uses around, they had one role:

to succeed in conquering, in the most influential way,

the citizens of the island.

You know what?

I tell you what I love about Ródos,

and this part of Rhodes, the main town,

is that I see a lot of people walking along,

enjoying the scenery, looking at the buildings,

and the buildings are in the background,

but it's that pleasant look, you know?

It's an historical walk. You walk through the history.

(lyrical music)

Architecture has a unique way

of telling the story of a city.

It translates political, economic, and cultural shifts

that occur throughout history.

It can bear the scars of war,

or put on display the opulence of a period in time.

They're not just buildings,

but tangible reminders of the past.

(lyrical music)

People from the four corners of the world

have found their way to Rhodes.

And as you're about to discover,

they don't just come here for the history.

There's adventure to be had,

as well as amazing food, a relaxed culture,

great beaches, bars, and above all else,

an amazing lifestyle where all these things come together.

You're Dutch. You've been here for 20 years.

Holland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

What are you doing in Rhodes?

People keep asking me that,

and well, you will see now, definitely.

I love the island. The island, the lifestyle,

the people, everything.

The climate.

If you have sun, you have an outdoors life.

I love outdoors life.

I love the social life.

Everything.

And one thing I don't understand.

You do kite flying,

you paraglide, you jump out of planes.

Not on Rhodes, but yes.

You're almost the world champion,

you came third, many times

in the world championships for karate,

everything.

Everything here on Rhodes.

And you've done all that on Rhodes?

Everything here. I started everything here.

I didn't do anything in Holland, before.

So you learned all that,

karate, kite flying, jumping out of planes, here?

Everything, here.

Now I know why you don't leave.

Yes. There you go.

If I go back to Holland, I'm going to do what?

Go to work, sit at home. It's not the same.

What's the best-

Everything is nearby.

What's the best thing about Rhodes? The best?

The best thing about Rhodes is the life, the lifestyle.

Just the lifestyle.

Because you live every day.

We live every single day,

we don't wait for the weekend to live.

We live every single day, seven days a week.

Right.

(upbeat guitar music)

(jeep engine rumbling)

How cool is that?

I love the idea of living every day

and not waiting for the weekend

to be able to do things we enjoy.

Rhodes affords that lifestyle

to those open-minded enough to embrace it.

Of course, there are sacrifices along the way.

And if makes you happy, then why not?

(rocks crunching)

There are parts where I feel like

I'm in the middle of a country

and it could be hundreds of kilometers to the coast.

And then all of a sudden,

we go over a mountain and there's the coast.

Like this. It opens up,

this beautiful island life.

I can drive to the supermarket and be happy,

because I have this view.

This is what we see when we go down to the supermarket.

So much diversity in such a small area.

Although this is one

of the biggest Greek islands, obviously.

It is.

It's still small.

Yes.

When you put it in a magnitude of countries,

I think, you know?

(upbeat guitar music)

(jeep engine rumbling)

As you can see, very few people leave the busy streets

of the old town and make their way to the island's interior.

The mountainous countryside

is completely different from the coast.

Here, you're lucky to cross paths with anyone.

There are no grand buildings or ancient monuments.

In their place are weathered hills.

It's a part of Rhodes where you get a glimpse of nature

with little human impact.

And best of all, you get some peace and quiet.

And delicious food.

(upbeat guitar music)

The jars of goodies instantly made me hungry.

Plus, Carolien told me they serve the best mizithra

in all of Rhodes, and probably the entire Dodecanese.

There's a big problem here, you know?

I don't want to leave here.

We're going to keep going and I don't want to leave here.

I know. There's always a problem.

Oh, uh-oh. I see it coming.

Your mizithra.

Oh, mizithra! (speaking Greek)

You're going to have some mizithra.

Try.

Very small pieces for me, you know that.

You don't need forks here, eh? And it's okay.

Grab one, grab one.

That's it. Okay.

You know what I like?

I like mizithra with a little bit of honey on it, you know?

Yeah, you know that, eh? You do that?

Listen, I'm Greek, man, I'm Greek.

Yes, it's very Greek.

I really didn't get the taste,

so I'm going to do it again.

I don't know if I got enough honey, on there, you know?

Tell me you also eat watermelon with feta cheese.

Of course!

And my wife Helen has it with halloumi,

'cause she's Cypriot, you know?

Ah, true.

Nice?

Nice.

You only need this,

you don't need anything else to be perfect.

It's all organic, isn't it?

Yes. All. Everything.

The honey's even their their own bees.

Their own bees?

Their own bees, their own beehives, yes.

Everything is theirs. Yeah.

Perfect.

Eating the freshest

of locally grown food was one thing.

But what made the experience so much more rewarding

was sharing it with Carolien.

Her energy and enthusiasm for Rhodes was infectious,

and spending the day with her took me

to places I never otherwise would have thought to venture.

Plus I got the buy Helen something, as well.

Now we have to go, eh?

You keep eating, you keep shopping here.

It's all so good.

It's for Helen. It's all organic.

She loves this stuff.

Of course. Let's go. (speaking Greek).

Oh look, (crosstalk). They're carrying the case.

Thank you, thank you!

(speaking Greek)

Have a nice day. You, too.

(speaking Greek)

These are the best. Have you tried them?

(Peter grunts from weight of the bag)

Man, there's a lot of stuff here.

But you know what?

That was the best shopping you can do

here on the island.

Yeah, absolutely.

I'll get lucky tonight.

For sure.

Let's go.

Helen will be very happy woman today.

Yes. Yes, great.

It was nice.

(lyrical music)

There are two very different sides to Rhodes,

not just the contrast between the busy tourist areas

and quite interior.

It's even at a micro level.

Take the port, for example.

You have massive cruise ships,

unloading thousands of people,

but in their wake are tiny fishing boats.

You have the visitors busily seeing the sights,

and then there's the locals, calmly fishing.

It's all part of the island's unique tapestry.

So we're having a great time here in Rhodes

and we wanted to make something sweet

that they do in Rhodes, which is kataifi.

Now I don't know what kataifi is in English,

but it's kataifi.

So what have we got here, Kyriakos?

(speaking Greek)

So this is the syrup.

We're going to make the syrup out of this.

(speaking Greek)

(speaking Greek) We got some water, a lot of sugar.

A lot of sugar.

650 grams, we got 500 mills of water,

some honey, a bit of a cinnamon stick,

a squeeze of lemon,

the whole thing going in, the little short bit,

and some honey.

And that's basically the syrup,

and that's going to go on the heat.

(speaking Greek)

(speaking Greek)

So it's got to boil and basically,

and then we let it cool

before we use it for the kataifi, right?

So he's putting it on the heat.

And that's that.

Now this stuff here that we've got,

while he's doing that, we've got butter.

We've got butter from a cow,

we've got butter from a goat.

Now you don't necessarily need butter from a goat,

but it gives it aroma.

You want to start doing that now?

And he's going to melt the two butters.

And what we've got here is, once again, some sugar.

I know, Helen. Don't worry about it, Helen.

We've got some cinnamon ground in with cloves

and almond, a lot of almond.

Man, that's a lot of crushed almond.

And we've got the kataifi.

Now, where do you buy kataifi from? I have no idea.

Go to some Greek delicatessen and you'll find it, right?

And what do we do with the kataifi now, while we're-

(speaking Greek)

We mix those.

This is easy. It's so easy.

What are you doing?

(speaking Greek)

It's like washing clothes.

Yes.

I think I went out with a girl

with hair like that, once.

Before I got married, obviously.

Helen's watching in the background,

saying, "What's going on here?"

(speaking Greek)

We put it in little sections, do we?

(speaking Greek) Okay.

Kataifi is a popular dessert that's found

throughout Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.

It's a lot like baklava.

We've got it? Yes.

That's it?

(speaking Greek)

Can I do this one? Yes.

I'll do this one. I'll do this one.

And what do we do now?

You roll it up.

(speaking Greek)

How easy is this?

Yes. (speaking Greek)

Definitely

easy.

(speaking Greek)

It's the first one you ever made?

What? When you were six years old?

You keep rolling, you just keep rolling,

even... just keep rolling.

(speaking Greek)

So it stays inside.

They look fantastic, don't they?

(upbeat music)

(spoons clinking)

Have you ever had help like me before, ever?

No?

(speaking Greek)

I'm the best at shopping, aren't I?

I'm the best at shopping.

There you go. Go, go, go, go, go.

Start rolling.

This is the hardest thing, I think, is the rolling.

(speaking Greek)

(speaking Greek)

Is there a replacement for the sugar,

so Helen can cook it?

(speaking Greek)

(speaking Greek)

You going too fast for me, Kyriakos, you know that?

Way too fast. Come on. There you go.

I'm not going to have a go at wrapping it,

because I'm gonna-

Go on, have a go.

Should I have a go at wrapping it?

Let me have a go wrapping it. Hang on.

Do I do the wobbles? (speaking Greek)

Or should I do the wobbles like you?

(speaking Greek)

No, no, don't, let me do it on my own, all right?

I can't go as fast as you, Kyriakos.

How's that? Is that okay?

(speaking Greek)

How long in the oven for?

(speaking Greek)

40 minutes, 160 degrees.

Pretty simple stuff.

(speaking Greek)

Okay. All right.

Now, I'll clean this, I'll clean this up.

You'll get the butter, okay?

Let me do something, okay?

While we were putting together the main part of the kataifi,

the butter was melting on the stove.

The aroma was incredible.

Next to that, the syrup was boiling away

and slowly reducing.

The smells are part of what makes cooking

this dish so enjoyable.

The first step is to brush the kataifi with the butter,

making sure they're completely covered.

This gives them the color and buttery flavor.

Next, put them in a preheated oven at 160 degrees,

leaving for 30 minutes or so, until they're golden brown.

While they're still hot, pour the syrup over the top,

evenly soaking them all.

Let them cool for a little,

and then they're ready to serve.

The last step is the hardest.

Waiting for them to cool always gets me frustrated.

(speaking Greek)

Let's go, let's go.

Even though it's warm, we'll try it.

When it's warm, it's better, apparently.

Oh, look at that, it's all, ooh, it's all juicy.

Okay, give me a fork.

Should I try it with ice cream, too?

(speaking Greek)

Oh, I have to put ice cream on.

(speaking Greek)

I love chocolate. I love chocolate ice cream.

Oh yeah, I'm just gonna take a bit

out of there straight away.

I'm not gonna to waste time here.

(speaking Greek)

So good.

It's so good.

Are you going to try some? Come on.

Some prefer them warm,

others like room temperature, or even cold.

On Mia Zoi, the ice cream is also a debate.

Kyriakos and I are always arguing over chocolate or vanilla.

I say chocolate.

Anyway, I can't talk anymore,

'cause I've got to keep eating this.

The things I have to do for the show.

(mellow music)

Rhodes is known for its beaches

and it's shaped a bit like a sweet potato

with little side bits hanging out of it,

but it's leaning towards the east.

And as a result, the west coast gets the northerlies,

the strong northerlies in there.

Good kite surfing, wind surfing beaches.

The east coast, however, is protected.

And you get these beautiful sandy beaches with flat water.

They're absolutely awesome.

And we're about how far out are we from Lindos?

From Mandraki?

10 kilometers.

So we're down 10 kilometers on the east coast,

heading down these beaches.

There's like 40 kilometers of beaches and bays.

And there are organized beaches where there's umbrellas

and (speaking Greek) as they say in Greek,

and there's beaches that aren't organized

and we're going to head to one of those beaches now.

So you can see this first beach,

that is not one of my favorite,

but it's one of the most visited beaches in Rhodes.

Let's go, Yianni, and we'll beach ourselves over there, eh?

Yep.

Sun's strong today.

When I began this odyssey,

it was mainly about the smaller remote islands

and it still is.

However, despite being one

of the biggest land masses of Greece,

to Helen and me, Rhodes is an outlier.

It's not what you expect from a touristy destination.

This 40 kilometer stretch is a great example.

There are spots that cater for the package tourist,

and then there are other locations remote enough

for the quiet traveler.

It has the best of both worlds.

Here at Faliraki, there's the beach of Ammoudes,

which goes for a few kilometers.

And as you can see behind me,

there's hotel after hotel, after hotel,

five-star hotels, basically,

and there's clubs, bars, restaurants, water sports,

it's everything you need to stay

for a week and enjoy yourself.

You don't even have to leave this place, it's awesome.

Sand's soft.

Anyway, we're gonna keep moving,

(indistinct) heaps of beaches.

You don't need your own boat to explore the coastline.

The roads are excellent and well signposted.

The hard part is choosing your destination.

You could come here for months,

yet visit a different beach every day.

Sometimes we head to the crowded patches of sand

and do some people-watching.

Other occasions, we do what Helen prefers

and go to the lesser-known places.

Rhodes has it all.

Just 500 meters from the beach of Ammoudes in Faliraki,

is this tight little outcrop.

It's a bay called Anthony Quinn Bay.

And it's named Anthony Quinn Bay

because Anthony Quinn filmed here,

"The Guns of Navarone,"

he's famous amongst the Greeks for "Zorba the Greek."

And they have him as his own, even though he's Mexican.

He loved this place so much,

he bought a piece of property, just there.

Unfortunately, because he's not Greek,

they annulled the purchase,

but they still call it Anthony Quinn Bay.

And as you can see from the number of tourists here,

they love it, too.

I'm sure my mother, God rest her soul,

was quietly in love with Anthony Quinn.

After his portrayal of Zorba

in the 1964 film, "Zorba the Greek,"

she would religiously watch every movie he made.

My sisters and I never had the heart to tell her

that he wasn't actually Greek.

Personally, as a war movie buff,

I loved him in the "Guns of Navarone."

I'm not embarrassed to say

that I had a tiny man crush on this guy.

Might be a bit of mum's DNA.

Our journey took us further south,

well beyond the busy shores,

to parts where most tourists don't venture,

only those in the know.

This is Afandou?

Afandou.

Afandou Beach. I'll never get it right.

Anyway, the thing I like about Rhodes,

is it's 77 kilometers long

and it's just coastline of beaches and coves.

It might be the second biggest island

in all of the Dodecanese

and the second most visited island in Greece,

but it absorbs that tourism.

And as you can see on the beach, it's not crowded.

There's thousands and thousands of hotel rooms.

You can come here and you can go to a beach

and be on your own, as well.

Now that is very rare for any place in the world

with turquoise water, good food.

I love this place.

Helen would love to have a house here,

it's one of her favorite islands.

But then again, she'd like to have a house

on many of these islands.

We spend a couple of days slowly cruising down the coast

and stopping at all the best spots.

Eventually we arrived at Lindos,

which is known for its incredible acropolis

and the beautiful St Paul's Bay.

Whenever we visit Rhodes,

the place you're most likely to find Helen is here,

basking in the shallow, warm water.

Yes, it's a beautiful beach

and yeah, there's a historically important town next to it.

But for me, when I look up at the towering cliffs,

all I can do is imagine two huge 16-inch Naval guns

sticking out of the rock face.

It's an image that has been with me for 40 years,

since I first watched "The Guns of Navarone."

It was filmed at this very spot.

Before being able to show you this gorgeous town,

I had to give the crew a day off.

It can't be all work and no play,

so to convince me to have a break,

all they had to say is one word: flightboard.

With that being uttered,

there's a shot of adrenaline,

and I feel 30 years younger,

ready to compete with my son.

So we moved to a quiet stretch of coast for a bit of fun.

For me, this is the life.

We make a decision as a family and adjust plans to suit.

And having a boat with a great crew means we

have the luxury of relative freedom

to move about as we wish.

It's something I'll never stop being appreciative of.

So we're taking a bit of a break from filming.

What a better place to do it than Rhodes?

The beaches are awesome,

the sun is awesome,

the sea is beautiful

and there's a little rubber ducky over there.

I'm going to go and save the rubber ducky.

(water splashing)

Maybe it's me that needs the saving.

(mellow music)

Lindos was founded in the 10th century, B.C.

For several centuries, it was an important trade center.

However, when the city of Rhodes

was built in the fifth century, B.C.,

its importance waned,

though it did remain a vital location

for merchants and military strategy.

From the fort, you could monitor a huge stretch of coast.

So it was always a place where the ruling powers

of the time maintained a significant presence.

(speaking Greek)

(people talking)

The street next to us is full of tourists.

This one, one or two.

The street further down,

hardly anybody.

And that's the thing I love about Rhodes.

Rhodes is a very, very big island

and I'm not a fan of big islands,

but Rhodes has something different.

Rhodes has absolutely everything.

It has big cities, small towns, big towns,

serene little spots that are quiet

that you can hide away from anywhere.

And there's 80,000 rooms, hotel rooms here.

Helen would love to live here.

And it's unusual for her to say

that she'd love to live on a big island.

It's so big, you could almost consider it a country

because in Rhodes Town ,

they speak with a gentrified Athenian accent.

Here in Lindos, it's pretty much the same,

but in the center, in the country,

they have a different accent,

they speak like Cypriots.

This place is vast, different,

and it has so much to offer.

I'm starting to like big islands.

(lyrical guitar music)

At sea-level is the modern town.

It rises up the slope as you make your way to the acropolis.

The age of the building seems to increase

as you near the top.

So, too, does the number of tourists.

The amazing thing is that apparently there's

about 4,000 people living here

and well over five times that in tourists, most days.

(ocean waves swishing)

The alleys are lit up by the sun bouncing

off the white-washed walls.

The twists and turns of the narrow lanes eventually open up,

revealing cobbled paths, flanked by souvenir shops,

restaurants, bars,

galleries, and cafes.

It's a lively and beautiful town

with all the things you would want as a visitor,

but it also feels as though

there's a thriving local community.

Heading up to probably the most

significant historic site on the island,

there was no better person

to be guiding me than Professor Spyros.

I love his romanticized descriptions.

He's a very knowledgeable and equally passionate man.

I could listen to his stories all day long.

He has a way of putting facts and figures

into layman's terms and giving them some color.

It's just what a simple person like me loves to hear.

(mellow music)

It's a big stair.

There's a reason for that.

Our initiation starts here.

Fantastic.

So from the staircase, drenched light,

we're going through a shady, dark place.

And the game between light and darkness has just begun.

The whole point of initiation

is to have an enlightenment, literally.

So from the darkness of ignorance,

we go through the enlightenment of the next level.

Awesome.

At this point, I'm happy to admit

that the poetic reflections of the professor started

to leave the simple builder more

than just a little bit confused.

In this part, when I go there,

I feel like a small piece of the mosaic of history.

Just look around us.

We are walking on a 700 B.C. staircase,

surrounded by Byzantine and medieval fortification.

This is a stoa,

87 meters of Hellenistic arcades.

This is a Byzantine church,

13th, 14th century A.D.,

built on a 500 B.C. church.

And the temple which we are going to see comes

from the Hellenistic period, around 300 B.C.

It's history all around us and the most amazing part,

it was that this city here, Lindos,

was continuously occupied by people,

even after the decline of Rhodes and the rise of Athens,

and the decline of Kamiros and Ialyssos,

Lindos continued to thrive.

Wow. A continuous civilization. Amazing.

Long before the city of Rhodes was built,

Lindos was the heart of the island.

From here, they could trade with the Phoenicians,

throughout Greece and into Europe.

It was a melting pot of cultures,

where merchants could conduct business

with people from across the known world.

Not only was it strategic in terms of shipping,

it was also a military stronghold.

And with the spoils that trade brought, came power.

This enabled them to spread their wings

to the corners of the Mediterranean and beyond,

from the Black Sea in the Middle East,

to Italy and North Africa.

It was one of the most powerful

and widespread empires of the time,

but it wasn't through naval might or having a large army.

It was wealth and political influence

that gave them their strength.

The temple is only one little reason

for us to remember something important.

The height, the acme of Lindos,

lasted for literally 300 years.

From the seventh century, B.C.

down to the third century, B.C.,

Lindos found itself very advantageous.

It was situated, it was located

in the perfect strategic position,

courting the coming and going of cargo boats,

that carried goods and mainly grain from the Black Sea

to Southern Italy and Sicily, down to Egypt.

In the middle of all this,

Lindos became very, very rich.

So rich and powerful, that it even had

to found its own colonies.

It expanded.

So all the three corners of the known world at the time

had the aroma

and the flavor of Lindos.

Wow. Awesome.

Now I've got to tell you, professor.

It's hot and I need a cold coffee.

Where can we get one? Is there a good one?

Let's go and get the best cold coffee in Lindos.

Okay, let's go.

Who would have thought this now relatively small town

of a few thousand people was once so significant?

But that's history for you.

Empires come and go

and what you see today is just a shadow of the past.

Speaking of the past, the next episode is taking me

to an island that's seemingly lost in time:

Kastellorizo.

It's the farthest edge of Greece,

less than two kilometers from Turkey

and is a complete contrast to Rhodes.

It's the smallest of the Dodecanese,

remote, sparsely populated, and peaceful,

which sounds like the perfect place

to end this series of "My Greek Odyssey."

(lyrical guitar music)

The same more of "My Greek Odyssey,"

head to our website at mygreekodyssey.com.

There you'll find plenty to keep you entertained,

including Kyriakos' awesome recipes.

(lyrical guitar music)