Original subtitles

PETER MANEAS: In the first four series of My Greek Odyssey,

we visited islands of the Saronic, the Ionian,

the Dodecanese, the Western Cycladic and the Northern Aegean.

In Series Five,

we are seeing the southern and central Cycladic.

Islands you've never heard of like Levitha, Anafi, Donoussa

and ones you know well, like Santorini

and the big one, Crete. Last episode,

we visited one of the most popular islands in Greece, Santorini.

And one episode just wasn't enough.

So, we pick up where we left off.

I'll be exploring more of the fascinating geology

and Kyriako is going to cook up an awesome snack using aubergines.

Then it's off to check out

some of the Island's ancient history,

before delving into one of its more modern attractions,

local wine.

From there, I'll finish my time, here,

with a visit to the nearby island of Thirasia.

If you didn't catch the last episode,

I better bring you up to speed.

I cruised into the dramatic port at Thira.

And anyone who knows anything about Greece

will see these images and be able to tell you exactly where we are.

These are the famed white houses on the cliffs of Santorini.

It's the quintessential image of the Greek islands.

Complete with windmills, blue domes and even bluer water.

The architecture has the unique Cycladic feel

with a mix of local flare.

By that I mean, they've had to design buildings

that not only cling to the cliff face

but repurpose the old caves

that were once the dwellings of the lower class.

Plus, they've managed to integrate all the luxuries

that the modern tourists want,

while still maintaining the Island's heritage.

It's the beauty of the place that draws the majority of tourists.

But, when you scratch beneath the surface,

you discover there's so much more substance to complement the style.

A few days ago, I was given an education

about how Santorini formed,

from a foremost expert on the subject.

So you did your degree.

You're now a professor and you teach, as well.

Yes. Of course.

I have many students and I'm teaching geology.

Wow!

My time with Evi left me

inspired to do some geological exploration of my own.

There's a particular phenomenon she explained,

which is best seen from a boat.

And I love a boat recce.

I love a recce when I come to an island.

Here, it's very special,

especially after we met Evi

and she told me all about the Caldera.

In the Caldera, there is just so much information.

Just look at these black veins.

I'm going to tell you about them in a second.

But have a look at how they're structured,

going upwards.

The Caldera is very old.

I can't tell you how old, because I'm not a geologist.

But I can tell you that those black veins that you see,

they are magma, coming up from the Earth's crust,

going through fissures and cracks.

Trying to get to the surface.

That pressure from the heat.

These are thousands and thousands of degrees hot,

and it becomes that black dacite.

That rock that basically makes up the Caldera,

in different colours, because it's cool at different times

with different levels of metal in it.

Now, as we...

Look at that guy there.

Look at how thick that guy is and it hasn't gone up far.

Look at this little guy, here.

The thin job.

It's gone all the way to surface. You can tell

because it's gone all the way to surface.

That's the recent-most magma.

That's probably 70,000 years old.

We go along, we keep going.

You'll see bits.

You'll see them every now

and then if you get close to the caldera.

Now, you look at these guys here, have a look at them.

They're thin, they're thick,

but they're making their way up through different cracks

and fissures and opening up the rock.

It's just a wonderful thing to see.

It's just so special.

There's 97 of them, all around the Caldera.

They've been counted.

I haven't counted them, somebody else has.

But have a look at that, going all the way up.

It's so clear.

You don't need to be a geologist to work it out.

Have a look at the thickness of it.

It's like a blade, going up.

I just love it.

And he's a thick one, different colour, though.

Don't understand it, but who cares?

It's awesome stuff.

I absolutely love this stuff,

because I feel like I'm there, 70,000 years ago.

I can picture it.

It's in my head.

I've seen enough of their movies

to know what it looks like, you know.

But, I mean, it's just, wow!

You know?

Ugh!

I just get so excited.

What can I say?

I'm an excitable guy,

especially when confronted with these wonders of nature,

that so vividly paint a picture of the formation of our world.

I've never seen anything like it.

And had I not spent that time with Evi,

I may well have cruised on by

and given these cliffs little notice.

It's pretty amazing stuff.

After doing a little reading,

you could think that people might stay away

and not live on the precipice of this caldera.

It has such an explosive and devastating history.

And some of it's quite recent.

There have been three eruptions in the past century.

But, for the last 70 years, it's been dormant.

So with those numbers alone,

you would assume that there's some type of activity,

just around the corner.

And yet, this is one of the busiest

and most visited islands in all of Greece.

One thing I do know is that we'll have plenty of notice

before the next big event, thanks to volcanologists like Evi

and all those delicate instruments surrounding the island.

Birthed at the bottom of the cliffs,

Mia Zoi was enveloped

by the smell of the surrounding taverns.

As always, it doesn't take long

for those delicious aromas to make me hungry.

I was sitting inside, tapping away at my keyboard

and could hear Kyriako starting to rattle around in the kitchen.

I knew exactly what that meant.

Shortly. We'd be eating something awesome.

Eggplants or aubergines are a popular vegetable

in Greek cooking.

In Santorini, they're a little different.

Check these guys out.

These are the white aubergine that Santorini's known for.

If you're going to have moussaka, here's the place to have it.

Now, I've had moussaka twice in the last two days,

but it's worth having it again.

Instead of a moussaka recipe, which we did end Series two.

Kyriako is going to whip up a fantastic dip.

Santorini is famous for its white aubergine.

He's saying they're elsewhere,

but what the Santorini people say is that they've taken their seed

and it's not as good as theirs

'cause they've got the microclimate for it.

And these are beauties. They're beautiful. Aren't they?

They're a little bit sweeter and there's the black aubergine,

so you can make it out of both.

Anyway, we're showing them, both to you.

We need a red pepper.

We need spring onions, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic.

It's that simple.

Let's do it. Let's do it.

Let's get these out of the way.

We don't need these guys for the moment.

We'll leave him out so you can see what he looks like.

We just stab them.

We stab them and put them on a flat dish.

And they're going to go in the oven.

At a very, very strong heat.

Grill. As strong as you can.

Grill. Grill. Grill. Grill.

He wants them to burn and smoke.

That's the important thing.

Now, they're going to go in there for half an hour.

Right.

So we put them in for ten minutes,

the red pepper, the sweet red pepper.

And we pull him out after ten minutes.

Just so he can cook.

We need him separately. Right.

So we're going to come back in half an hour.

As high as it comes.

500 degrees.

Let's go and have a coffee.

OK. They've been in the oven for half an hour.

They've cooled down for about ten minutes.

What do we do, now?

OK.

So I'm going to pour them out and let them strain.

That guy was only there for ten minutes, but these...

Yeah. OK.

And we'll just split them up. And we're putting them in there.

Oh, we take out the guts of it.

Right? OK. Ooh, that looks nice.

And you just put it into the colander to strain.

And it's going to go in there, sometimes overnight,

if you want to strain all the juices out.

But a couple of hours is enough.

I love these white guys.

They're the best.

Most people know the black guys,

but the white guys are a bit sweeter.

My understanding is that you get them both together,

something like this can possibly happen.

Do you use these ones?

You don't use these, for Melitzanosalata, right?

It's so important that you don't get any of the skin in there

because then it'll be a bit sour.

It looks like nice cream inside of the eggplant.

But oh, look at that.

Look, it's so...

I could eat it like that.

Right now. A bit of olive oil, you can eat that stuff

that's coming out there.

But, this is the whole idea.

What we're trying to do

is just get all the moisture out of the eggplant.

And that will happen over the next couple hours.

And if you want to do it properly, over the next 24 hours.

Alright. And we're left with this.

This is what we're left with.

That's what it looks like. See?

And what do we do, now? Leave it for two hours?

OK. No worries.

See you in a couple of hours.

You guys can go away.

Two hours later,

you can see a lot of the moisture is drained out.

Now it's time to thinly slice the chives and chop the red pepper.

You want it to be as fine as you can, and without any seeds.

Next up, it's the garlic.

If you're anything like me,

after eating this stuff, you stink the place out.

But sometimes it's worth it.

A little bit of vinegar.

All the vinegar.

And, you'll get the recipe on our website, mygreekodyssey.com,

so we're not going to give you the exact recipe now.

Are we gonna cut this stuff up?

We chop up the eggplant.

Wow!

It's a mass. It's a buoyant mass.

And then we just drop that in there.

This is really simple.

Anyone can make this.

And you can dip your bread in it.

Dip your biscuits in it.

Dip your dry biscuits, your paximadi.

Keep going. Don't stop. OK.

So, you use vinegar from a grape.

This is salt from Kythira.

But I don't get it.

He said we use vinegar from a grape.

Where else does it come from?

Anyway, don't worry, I don't know.

Don't take me there. Don't take me there.

And we've got a bit of pepper going in there.

Freshly ground pepper.

My translation's getting better and better.

But long-syllable words, I'm just out of there.

I just can't... Look at that. Look.

Let them have a look at that.

Look at...

Can you do that?

Yeah.

Now Kyriako is going to get a paximadi,

which is the dry rusk biscuit that we all really enjoy.

It's like double-cooked bread, but...

Oh, look at this stuff here.

Sorry, Helen.

Sorry about tonight, babe.

OK. What are we doing now?

Put a spoonful on.

It looks like there's globules of garlic, in there.

It looks like it, but there's not.

Wow!

OK.

Let's give it a shot, eh?

You taste yours too, mate. Go on.

Mm.

Simple.

Ah!

You can taste everything in there.

The garlic, the pepper.

Oh no!

Well, I'm just going to have to pick that up later.

Melitzanosalata.

Kyriako. I love him.

Oh, wow!

You can cut, now.

Don't worry.

Kyriako got to have a few later on, while I did the cleaning up.

It's all about teamwork on Mia Zoi.

We're on our way to ancient Thira.

Go up that massive mountains in front of us.

But, on the way, we thought we'd come by some of the beaches.

And there are two popular beaches in Santorini.

One is Kamari and the other one is Perissa.

This is Kamari on my right.

Now, Kamari is good when there's a southerly blowing

because it's protected with that big rock.

Whereas Perissa is good for the other reason,

if there is a northerly blowing, it's protected on the other side.

Now, for me, these beaches have got the black basalt

and other igneous rocks,

and probably not my favourite type of beach.

In actual fact, I would rank them pretty low.

But, man, it gets busy, here, through the day,

because Santorini's a busy island and these beaches are flat out.

I suppose, when it's water,

it doesn't really matter what colour the sand is, you know.

So, just the other side of the rock is Perissa,

and it's a smaller beach,

but it's got that massive rock, up there.

Looks really, really good.

And the water is this turquoise colour.

It's actually quite nice.

Now, what gets me is where I come from,

this time of the morning, 8:00, is late.

And everybody's been jogging up and down, running.

There's boot camps happening.

People are getting in there and the beach will be packed,

but not here.

Everybody's sleeping in

because everybody eats at 10:00 or 11:00 at night.

I'm in bed by 9:00.

And, as a result, they wake up late.

They come to the beach about 11:00, 12:00.

They sit here for about two hours, have a bit of a swim, a dunk.

A bloots bloots, they call it, right.

And they just dump in and they go.

And they go and have lunch at about 4:00 in the afternoon.

And they come back and it's all happening here.

You want to be here?

You got to be here at about 8:00, 7:00 at night.

That's when it's pumping.

Now, I'm just finishing dinner then, about to go to bed.

I just don't get it, but it's Greece.

They do what they want.

They don't really care.

I don't even understand

how they got them in the European Union.

Sometimes the excitement of a moment

can lead to saying things

that haven't been properly filtered by your mind.

Normally, I have Helen here,

who gives me a quick slap over the head

for comments like that European Union one.

Don't worry, Greece.

I think you've earned your place there.

Now, back to more important stuff.

The site was headed to

is fascinating for a number of reasons,

and all will be explained in just a moment.

Not by me, but thanks to expert guide, Nicoletta,

who was wise enough

to make the hike up here before it got too hot.

I, on the other hand, was late.

So there was no time to stop and enjoy the view.

This was the centre, the heart,

of the ancient city of Thira

that was founded by the Spartans, the Dorians,

as far back as the 9th century, BC.

The city survived for 2,000 years, with no interruption.

Wow!

We should keep going. Yeah.

Yes. This is fantastic.

Let's go to see the...

You can see, this is a road, isn't it?

This is the main road of the town, of the centre of the town.

Private houses were further up and also on the other side down.

Wow!

So what do we have here?

So, here we have many shops, many small temples.

So this is a temple here?

Yes. To different divinities,

because we are in the centre of the city, in the Agora.

And they're all shops?

All shops,

because the Agora was the commercial,

religious, philosophical

and educational centre of the ancient city.

What's this? Is this...

This is an underground water cistern.

I saw one over there, as well. So they must have many of them.

Many for the concentration of rainwater.

Right. OK.

Because water was quite rare.

It only rains about 20 days a year on these islands.

So, islanders don't let, not even a drop of rain, go away.

The layout and planning of this ancient town

is not too dissimilar to what we might construct, today.

It's built on a slope,

with the low end of the gradient accommodating the Agora,

or shopping district, which lines the main road.

Along this road, there are squares

that house prominent religious and other public buildings,

where people would gather.

Behind the Agora is a maze of tiny alleyways

that accommodate the residential district.

In a nutshell, you've got your CBD,

with social spaces and a cultural precinct nearby.

And beyond that is the urban area with housing.

I love these narrow streets, Nicoletta.

Still today on all Greek islands,

we have the same narrow streets, plenty of steps,

because the villages has always built

on the slopes of hills.

Right.

We don't have flat islands in Greece.

Yes. And what do we have up here on our left, here?

Oh, this is a phallus symbol, as you see.

Because there was a small sanctuary, in honour of God Dionysus.

The God of grapes, of wine and this is a symbol of fertility.

Right. OK. Wow!

I don't know if we're allowed to show that. But, anyway.

So this little street

leads to the private houses of ancient Thira.

All of them were built at the top of the hill,

overlooking the Aegean sea.

Wow! Look at them all.

And what a view.

One thing you may not be aware of,

is the historic name for Santorini,

which is Thira, came from these early Dorian settlers

who named the island after their king, Thiras.

Despite being at the crossroads of the Mediterranean,

the ancient people of Santorini,

and this settlement in particular, largely kept to themselves.

It took many centuries for outside influences to creep in.

Eventually, the Persians, and then the Romans came through.

And then in the 4th century, Santorini had its first church.

It was around this time that the city's demise began.

The theory being, that people began moving away,

down to the coastal areas and other islands,

where life was a little easier.

You can understand why.

This was a rocky, dry headland and everything had to be hauled in.

There was no space for growing crops and certainly not enough water.

Regardless, it was a very important site

and a testament to that is a particular feature

that very few tourists have seen or even know about.

I'd read all about it

and was looking forward to this moment.

The extreme southern peninsula.

The most panoramic point

on this whole ancient city

is reserved specifically for the Temple of Athebes,

or the Square of Gymna Paidia.

Now you can't come here,

because there are so many cysterns, all the way along there

that are hidden, you may fall into them.

So they've blocked it off.

We've got special permission,

just myself and the cameramen are here.

Now, gymna paidia, what does that mean?

In Greek, it is naked children.

And in the context of Spartans,

they're really talking about naked boys.

And let me give you some context, here.

The Spartans trained their soldiers

from young boys.

And they would have a master and they would be an apprentice.

They would grow so close,

because protecting each other was everything in battle,

that they quite often became lovers.

In this instance, they would train at the gymna paidia

before battle.

And it's noted that in the battle of Thermopylae,

the night before the Persians

noticed that the Spartans were oiling themselves up,

combining their hair and grooming themselves

as if they were going to a wedding.

But they were preparing themselves for battle.

That's the way they were.

They wanted to die looking good.

Being who they are, proud Spartans.

And here they would perform rituals

of dance and marshal fighting,

showing their strength.

Reserved here, it was a men-only thing,

and only men could watch it.

Look at how special this is.

I can just imagine how you felt

when you'd come down here as a young boy,

showing your master what you'd been trained,

and how important it was.

And look at this view.

It's just spectacular.

Military service was at the heart of Spartan society,

but while we, in the modern era,

typically place physical strength and masculinity

in a heterosexual space,

in the ancient world,

sexuality was far more liberal and you could say, dynamic.

So, while the Spartan men

were the epitome of the warrior class

and people of fierce-fighting ability,

there are some historians that say that the Spartan soldier

had no issue with having partners of both the male and female gender.

It's incredible to think that in today's society,

we are far more advanced in terms of technology and culture.

However, there are still areas

where the ancients were ahead of us

in terms of free thought and liberalism.

What's also amazing to think about

is the far-reaching impact on history these people had,

not just due to their military exploits,

but the myth and legend that surrounded them.

Since the turn of the century,

Greek wine has exploded onto the world stage.

Thanks to the new generation of viticulturists

embracing the unique, grape varieties on offer.

Santorini has its own indigenous grape, Assyrtiko,

which Sophia has mastered.

I can't believe Sofia.

I see all this green stuff here.

How does it even grow in this crap?

So, this is a typical vineyard in Santorini.

Right.

And the unique thing about Santorini is the soil.

Right.

Yeah. And I can show you a unique rock that is in the soil.

This is a rock?

Yeah. It's called pumice. Pumice. Right.

Yeah. And that's why our vineyards have water.

This rock retains the water from humidity.

Oh, right.

And that's how those vineyards are alive.

Oh, it's as simple as that.

So, the humidity of a morning comes down.

It settles into the pumice.

Exactly. It stays in the pumice.

Exactly. And it goes out into the...

That's why they're so green. Yeah.

I just cannot believe that.

Now, tell me, how old would the vines be here?

So, the oldest would be like 200 years old.

200 years old?

In general, our vineyards are very, very old.

What's significant here is that Santorini

was largely untouched by the phylloxera plague

of the late 19th century.

What occurred was an epidemic,

where these tiny little aphid-like insects spread across Europe,

having been brought in, accidentally, on vines from America.

It led to the destruction of the wine industry,

with just a handful of vineyards escaping.

Santorini was spared

because Assyrtiko is resistant to phylloxera.

The humidity comes down and goes inside.

Yep.

And there's enough water there for these grapes.

Exactly. Yeah. It's enough. I just don't get it.

We only irrigate our vines, only in the first three years.

And only while we're planting them.

That's the only time you irrigate them?

Yes.

So they never get any other water?

No. No. No. Only if it hasn't rained, at all.

We just irrigate them, one or two times per year.

So, what do you do? Do you do anything to them?

I mean, do put any stuff on them?

No. No. It's really hard to do anything here.

So you have to do it all by hand. Really?

So it's quite difficult to... Yeah.

I'm just looking look at this. Yeah.

And, these ones, how old would that one be?

Oh, that would be small.

That'd be, what, 20 years old? Not even 20. Yeah.

But, some of these big guys are 50 years old.

You can see the... Oh, there's a Kouloura.

Can we just go have a look at the Kouloura?

Yeah. It's quite small, also.

We can also find a better one.

So, with this Kouloura bit, right,

what you're saying to me is they do that over the years...

The first year they take the first...

So rather than going up like this, like a normal vineyard.

They shape it like... They shape it like that.

Ah, they turn this around. Right. They turn the vine around.

So that it's down low, because of the sea.

Exactly. And the wind...

Saving it from the wind and the sun.

As you can see, the grapes grow inside.

Oh. Rather than, going... Yeah.

Protected from the wind...

And that's because they're...

You're right on the seaside. Yeah.

And, we get the Meltemia, right?

The Meltemia, which is that famous northerly wind.

Strong winds. Yeah.

And these things have lasted for, some of them for 200 years.

Yeah. It's quite unique and...

Wow!

And that produces this wonderful Assyrtiko wine

that you guys produce. Yeah.

That's Assyrtiko.

That's the Assyrtiko grape? Yeah.

Do you produce any sweet wines, as well?

Assyrtiko also produces the famous Vinsanto.

The Vinsantio? Vinsanto.

Wow! Vinsanto. Yeah.

It's the sweet wine from Santorini.

Which is also unique.

And the wine-making process is also unique.

Well, you know what? Let's go and try it.

Perfect. Come on, Sofia. Let's go.

We'll go that way, hey. Yeah.

It's amazing that something can grow so lush and green

in such a dry climate,

and in soil that's essentially the remnants of volcanic ash.

The wonders of nature never cease to amaze.

How it works is the morning dew settles onto this dry, chalky dirt.

And the moisture is absorbed by the porous surface matter,

almost like a sponge.

Thereby creating a store of water that's slowly consumed by the vines.

It's environmental adaptation at its best.

The tough conditions these vines grow in,

plays a big role in the resulting quality

and depth of flavour the grapes produce.

It's the same with any vineyard,

just not necessarily to the extent you see here.

Often they have to artificially stress the vines,

but in Santorini, Mother Nature does the dirty work.

So this is the famous Assyrtiko. Let's give it a go.

High acidity, minerality.

And high structures are the main characteristics.

It's something that was introduced to me

by my (SPEAKS GREEK) in Sydney.

And he said, I should come here 'cause it's the best.

And he's right.

It's a pure expression of Assyrtiko.

This is something that's going all around the world.

Exactly. Thalassitis.

Should we try the Vinsanto?

Of course.

Now, he hasn't told me about this, but I'm going to give it a shot.

We should empty it out. Of course. Let's go.

This is our sweet wine. It's made from Assyrtiko again.

From the same grape? Yes.

We sun-dry the grapes for five to six days.

Half of them in the sun, half of them in the shade.

Well, I'm not spitting that one out.

They have those fruity aromas.

And I might have a little bit more, but I spit out this time.

A lot of sugars, though.

Mm.

Oh, that's good.

I don't know if I should be spitting that.

But, oh. I hate losing that.

Now, I've asked you to bring something else out that...

You make retsina, as well? Yes.

Can we try a retsina? Hang on a second.

Now, the wonderful thing is your winery is by the sea.

Exactly. So we can just...

Exactly. We're laughing.

Retsina, though, is from another part of Greece, from mainland.

Right. We produce it here.

It's not trendy anymore. Retsina's not trendy.

Why isn't it trendy? I love retsina.

It really has a bad name. And that's why we made this retsina,

so we can prove that retsina can also be a very good wine.

And you know what? That retsina's got this woody taste.

And, for some reason, it hasn't become fashionable.

I don't understand why.

People have just said,

"My grandfather used to drink it and it was rubbish,"

and they didn't make it good in the old days.

But now, you've mastered it. It's fantastic.

Your family should be very, very proud.

It's a wonderful retsina. Thanks so much.

Mm.

Now, tell me, though.

Is this a joke? What's the story here?

Huh. So this is another unique wine.

This is Thalassitis Submerged.

What we do with this wine,

we submerge it for five years under the sea here in Santorini.

The ageing process is totally different

because we have no light,

stable temperature and no oxygenation.

Well, I don't know if I'm going to go for that,

but I think I might try a bit of this again.

You know. Oh. I just poured a little bit too much.

Enjoy it.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

You've got an empty glass. You better grab some.

Yeah.

There you go.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I know the cameraman wants to try this, definitely.

Go for it, buddy.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Yamas. Yamas.

Thank you. Thank you.

It's been an awesome experience, here at Gaia Estate.

It's my pleasure. Thank you very much.

And I need a few bottles of this.

Maybe four or five bottles of that.

And definitely two bottles of this.

And this is like the tenth take of this

and I'm absolutely slammed.

Someone's going to have to drive me home.

Looking out to the distance from the cliff top of Santorini,

you can see another island that appears as though

it's an uplifted slice of the sea floor.

That's the island of Thirasia, which is my next stop.

It's actually part of the Caldera.

And despite being just a couple of kilometres from here,

few tourists come across.

The journey to Thirasia gives you

a fantastic view of just how grand and spectacular Santorini is.

I've seen this panorama many times over the years,

but each time I take it in,

it's just as awe-inspiring as the last.

It's a place that leaves a lasting impression,

which explains why it's so popular.

At around only nine square kilometres in size,

in the scheme of things Thirasia is pretty small.

But, there's ample fertile ground and space

to support a few 100 permanent residents.

Some reside down by the water,

but the majority lift perched atop the cliffs,

just like in Santorini.

You could say that this is a mini version of it,

or maybe what Santorini was like, 50 years ago,

before the population boom.

Access to Thirasia is by water taxi or ferry,

with regular services throughout the year.

In our case, Captain Yianni decided

we should test the limits of my nerves.

To say I was worried is an understatement.

Can you believe this?

About a mile-and-a-half

from the most visited island in Greece, Santorini,

is probably one of the least most-visited islands,

the island of Thirasia.

Now, you got to appreciate

that this island has limited infrastructure.

It's in its infancy.

It only got electricity in 1980, and its first road in 2008.

And out there, ten, 15 metres,

it's about 100 metres deep, so you can't anchor.

And I said to Yianni, I said to Captain Yianni,

bring us into Thirasia, and he did.

He's the super captain.

Have a look at this. Now, normally I'd be nervous,

but I've learned to trust Captain Yianni,

'cause he knows the Greek islands like the back of his hand.

He welcomes you to Thirasia.

Aren't we blessed?

The Bay of Korfos is a sheltered alcove.

It faces the opposite direction to Santorini.

So, when it's rough over that side,

sailing vessels can seek shelter over here.

In a similar vein,

while Santorini might be a busy hub

with thousands of tourists,

Thirasia is a peaceful haven.

Nothing says this more than the row of quiet taverns

along the water's edge.

We're in the bay of Korfos,

and as you can see, all the way along the rock face,

you can see these boat houses.

They're boat houses and fisherman's houses.

They've basically dug them in, so they can put their boats in

and leave their boats there

when they go back home to the village.

This was the main port

until they built a new port on the reverse side

where there's a plateau.

And they've built roads going all the way up

to the three or four villages that are here.

But, these old fisherman's huts are still here.

I've seen similar in Milos

and just across the way in Santorini.

Only, the ones in those places are a little bit more advanced.

And if you saw the last episode,

you've seen how the old caves at Akrotiri

had been turned into restaurants.

The actual harbour, itself, is now just a tourist destination.

And it services day trippers and a couple of yachts

that come out to spend the night here, or two,

because this is probably the only harbour

in all Santorini and Thirasia that's protected from all weather.

The only problem is there's no road.

And the only way to get in and out

is either by boat or up that set of stairs,

that's behind me.

That doesn't stop the day trippers.

The actual locals, they either live down here

or they go around to the other harbour

that has a road.

We're going to just head around the corner, now,

to a very special rock formation

I absolutely love.

Let's go, Giorgio.

You'd think that being so well-sheltered,

there would've been far more development.

Perhaps it's about to go through a construction boom,

as people discover this little gem

and want a less-busy alternative to Santorini.

Now, if you come to Santorini or Thirasia,

you'll see this white rock all over the place.

This is a great example

because you can see a chunk of that white rock

that's been taken out.

It's actually been mined.

And what it was mined for is the poslin, that pumice,

that light rock that they used for the Suez Canal

many, many, 100 years ago or so.

They mined and they used it to shore up the Suez Canal.

Now, that pumice is actually pyroclastic cloud

that just drifted down from the sky after this volcanic eruption.

And, in some areas, it's beyond 60 metres deep.

And that's it there. It's all over the place.

I'd like to give you some context, here.

To the north, you have Oia.

To the south, we have Akrotiri, which we'll see in a moment.

But from Thirasia,

you really get an understanding of the magnitude of this Caldera.

On Santorini, you can't see it.

And what you see here is 85-square kilometres of basin.

Basically, this is where the volcano blew.

Can you understand the enormity of this explosion,

this volcanic eruption?

It was absolutely immense,

something that has never been seen in history, ever again.

The views from Santorini and Nea Kameni,

are without a doubt,

some of the most spectacular in Greece.

But you don't get an appreciation

of the Caldera's enormity

until you come to this specific ridge line on Thirasia.

It's only from this lofty perch, that you can take it all in.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

The pumice that covered the island

has been mined

and put to use in various things,

including the beauty industry,

horticulture and construction.

And thanks to it being easily carved

while maintaining its structural integrity,

early inhabitants were able to cut caves

into the exposed rock faces and build entire villages.

YANNIS: Agrilia is a typical Thirasian cave houses village.

And on the right and left, it's full of caves.

They're all over the place.

Everywhere. Everywhere.

Is anybody living here?

No. No.

Nobody lives here right now.

They left. They moved back to the big cities.

Right.

Now, I'm gonna show you over here,

a typical Thirasian cave house,

which is on the left.

By the way, this was the water path, from the water when it was raining.

And the water was going down here.

And I'm gonna show you the cistern,

that was for the garden.

This is the cistern.

Look. Ah!

That is like a well. Yep.

Right. Well for the garden.

There is another one on the right for the house and...

Right, OK.

..here we have the typical Thirasian cave house.

On the right, we have the bedroom, the first bedroom.

Over here was another cave, but it's collapsed now.

It was a second bedroom. Right.

This is the dining room with a oven.

With baking. A dining room with an oven?

A dining room. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

The baker, they use it once a week to bake the bread for the family.

And every day, the mama of the family

was cooking the food of the day.

And then they had a dinner over here.

Let's go. Inside.

This is the living room.

This is actually where they stayed the half day.

They dug this place within like two or three weeks, five weeks.

Wow. I don't know.

They did the shape.

And then they had a rag with the salt water.

They were rubbing the walls

until the final surface was like something like this.

Something very smooth like this.

Oh, so that was the finish? Yes.

That the finish part of the inside. Yap.

So, tell me, how many houses are abandoned in Thirasia?

In Thirasia, probably three to 400 houses.

And how many rooms are there to rent here?

It's about 25. Wow!

And are they always full?

Always full during the Summer?

Doesn't that tell you something,

that maybe they should start renovating these things?

Yeah, tells me many things. Yes.

We have people has to renovate their houses

and start bringing people over here.

I think this looks like a great little project

for a Summer house, here in Thirasia, by the Aegean.

I'd love to be able to do that.

I reckon there'd be a lot of people who want to do. It's fantastic.

Look at it!

Now, before you say, "Why would anyone bother?"

Wait until you see the house that was renovated by Pandelis,

the local math teacher.

His place is directly opposite this one,

so, you'll clearly see the potential.

Where one person sees a dusty cave,

another thinks creatively and sees opportunity.

Mind you,

it would've taken plenty of hard work,

but what resulted is today a modern,

naturally cooled home, which is very comfortable.

There's bedrooms,

a kitchen twice the size that Kyriako has to work with

and a cosy living room.

Without a word of a lie,

after Pandelis made us a beautiful lunch,

I dozed off to sleep on the couch.

Thankfully, he let me have a power nap

while he showed the camera crew around.

It's one of my many perks.

I really like this walk.

Yeah, the road's not the best road in the world,

but it's so peaceful. There's nobody around.

How many people are on the island?

About 150 during the Winter. Yeah.

And 300, 350 during the Summer.

But there's so many houses.

What's the story? Why are they empty?

Because back in 1956,

after the big earthquake, people left, the island

and moved to Athens, because they were afraid.

Since then, the population dropped from 800 to 1,000 people,

down to 150.

Wow! And still today,

we are 150 people on the island, during the Winter,

and about 300 and 350 during the Summer.

People have been living in and around the Caldera

for thousands of years,

remnants of which were only discovered

when they were mining in the 1800s.

The population has ebbed and flowed,

following the ups and downs of environmental cycles,

fortune and wars.

Today, it's on the up,

in line with the growth of tourism.

Yannis, I can see some sort of

archaeological exploration trench here.

What are we looking at here, right now?

Well, this is a pre-historical settlements

like from the Bronze Age.

Yeah? 4,800 years ago, about.

And this actually is the second one,

because the first one has been found,

that they mined all the way down there, yes,

back in 1866.

That's when they were mining pumice, right?

Oh, yes.

Is this the one that they found,

that led them to finding Akrotiri in Santorini?

This is where it all began! Exactly. Exactly.

They found the first house over there

and the second one over here.

And then they went back to Akrotiri.

The discovery of the ancient ruins

totally changed the history of these islands.

Prior to them being unearthed, little was known about life here,

especially how big the population was

and the importance of the settlements

to regional trade.

A nearby building that encapsulates the modern architecture of Greece,

is a pretty monastery.

It's about as cliched a scene as you could imagine.

You know, Yannis, I love this Cycladic architecture,

the blue and white.

It's so beautiful.

It's Greece.

Well, this is actually not a monastery.

It's a church.

And it's the last church at the island,

and the people are coming.

They call it a monastery because they have the cells.

Ah, these cells. Exactly.

The cells. And they're coming for a week.

They celebrate the church,

and that's why they call it a monastery.

Oh, OK, OK. But it's fantastic up here, mate.

You can see everything. Wow!

You can see on the right.

There is Anafi on the right and then Ios behind the island.

And then Sikinos and Folegandros

and all the way, when you go South when the sky is clear

and it's a clear days, you can see even Crete.

Wow! Yes.

Wow. Well mate, we've been walking for a while.

We've got to walk back. It's about an hour to walk back?

Yes. Well, let's go, mate. Let's go.

You better lead the way, 'cause I forgot where we went.

Come on. OK. Thank you.

I got no idea where we are.

I know we're on the top of the island.

Join me in the next episode,

as I make my way East, to the island of Anafi.

It was once known as the island hoppers dead end.

Thanks to it having very few boats bringing people here,

and there being a vast distance

to the next well-known Eastward land mass.

Today, it has a healthy number of tourists,

who come to enjoy a taste of traditional Greece,

in a pretty and peaceful setting.

Captioned by Ai-Media ai-media.tv