Top-rated
Wed, Oct 12, 2011
Joanna Lumley travels to Greece to visit the region that has so influenced Western civilization. Her first stop is the Acropolis which is painstakingly being restored after years of abuse and suffering the ravages of pollution. She experiences the nightlife, where she gets to throw flowers rather than plates. She then travels to Evia, the second largest island in Greece, where people in a small village speak with whistling sounds. Her next stop is the 4th century theater of Epidaurus and a tour given Nana Mouskouri. Then the Gates of Hades, ancient Olympia and Delphi rounds out her visit.
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Wed, Oct 19, 2011
Joanna Lumley travels to northwest corner of Greece and visits the island of Corfu. Now a major holiday destination, the island has been fought over for centuries given its strategic location. There is a strong British influence on the island and Joanna visits one of the island's beautiful homes. In the town of Corfu, she walks the narrow streets in the center of the town where in the main square, there is a cricket pitch. She also visits a marching brass band one of more than 20 on the island. From Corfu, she travels overland to the far Eastern corner of Greece. On the way she tours a monastery visited by Lord Byron; in the town of Nigrita, she witnesses traditional Greek wrestling; at Philippi she visits a baptistery where St. Paul preached the gospel for the first time on European soil; and learns about the migration of Christians and Muslims when the border between Greece and Turkey was set in 1923. This leg of her trips ends with a visit to a military base along the sensitive Greco-Turkish border.
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Wed, Oct 26, 2011
Visiting some of the numerous Greek islands, Johanna elaborates on their stunning variety, largely due to a long and complex history, and how much Greeks are oriented to the sea, especially for trade. A special case is Crete, southernmost and by far the largest, almost a country in its own right as it has often been.
Top-rated
Wed, Nov 2, 2011
In this last episode, Joanna Lumley visits Mount Olympus and looks at the stories and legends of ancient Greece. The climb to the top of Olympus is demanding and she rests at a refuge at 2100m. The first official climb to the top was in 1913 and is now home to one of the toughest marathons in Europe. She visits the birthplace of the 9 muses. Then it's on to a fortune telling festival and attends a street party. In Thessaloniki, she tours the city with the mayor. It was once home not only to Turks and Greeks but also to a large Jewish community which was decimated by the Nazis in World War II. She visits a nearby sanctuary for the dwindling bear population, a botanical garden and a number of monasteries before bringing her journey to an end.