Greece - A Celebration In Pictures

[Music] Time Frozen in relief the remains of ancient Greece stone walls step and columns a foundation for civilizations yet to come from these steps ancient citizens spoke their thoughts Socrates hypocrates Pythagoras Plato and Aristotle their ideas became a model for Western culture their values sustained through centuries became our values rational thinking Beauty courage Justice and a morality based on the golden mean Temperance in all things the Timeless Legacy of this early culture includes poetry drama Athletics mathematics medicine and a nation a nation of islands and individuals linked by Common Language religion custom and pride in the glory of Greece [Music] visiting Greece as's a sense of homecoming we come with a camera to record our cultural roots on film but what Delights us most personally and photographically is the charm of Greece today and the character of its people in the Greek language there is one word for stranger and guest kenos we are welcome here wel welcome to share the attractions diversions and the natural beauty of Greece there is much to share and much to [Music] photograph Athens was the center of ancient Greek culture and it remains a great city today a city of contrasts in the center of Athens is a high place Acropolis in Greek here visitors are impressed by the quiet Dignity of the Parthenon and other examples of classic architecture the city below is far from quiet it's a bustling Cosmopolitan Center of Commerce about 9 million people live in the country of Greece more than a third of that total population lives here in Athens [Music] in front of the house of parliament is Constitution Square sintagma square a central Gathering Place for Athenians and visitors alike among its attractions are hundreds of pigeons who make a well-paying business out of entertaining young and old alike these Kilted Mountain troops are Marching to Constitution Square the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is here and we're about to see The Changing of the Guard the traditional uniform is from the northern section of Greece and the formal March steps are like none you've ever seen the last maneuver is a Greek version of the command fall in the ancient Greeks taught us to create Beauty out of stone they brought a refined sense of proportion and style to architecture and sculpture that tradition is carried on in the hands of a modern-day Greek sculptor named Nicolas through an interpreter he describes his art he starts first with a sketch of what he wants to do from this sketch he's making a very small plaster reproduction that has about 30 cm he after this he makes a reproduction plaster reproduction again of 1 M height with some more details and when he's ready he's making an exact plaster reproduction of what he has in mind to do in the mar the statue he's working at now uh is the statue of a common Greek woman that was taken away by the Germans uh she was taken to a square and there she had opened her dress so they could see the cross and she said for religion and for my country I am dying now the best marbling all over the word is the pentelic marble because of the very fine grain so he has to go up to the marble quaries choose the piece he wants he takes it in Athens and then he starts working it exactly as the ancient uh marble sculptor did he had to take everything that is not perfect away and then he has a small piece left and in this piece he's [Music] working through his art Nicolas shapes an image of the people who shaped his country and its culture his Creations honor them and demonstrate the principles of their culture in action the values of skill integrity and [Music] Beauty dance is another ancient art that remains a vital part of Greek life they may not all be professionals but all Greeks are dancers these are professionals they are the Dora stratu dancers performing a variety of folk dances from different regions of the [Music] country The Art of Dance is traced back to ancient festivals in honor of dionis the god of wine and rry if you look closely you can see how these traditional dance steps could lead to the more refined art of ballet those who are not trained in ballet find other ways to add a special flourish to their dancing you'll find them performing in tavernas the friendly and Lively little restaurants located everywhere in Greece they'll be dancing to the music of the bazooki a stringed instrument that creates the unique sound of popular Greek music [Music] [Applause] here's someone who's determined to perform a dance that cannot be topped except of course by placing another table on top of the first table [Music] [Applause] away from the entertainments of Athens there is an altogether different view of Greece in the Villages and Countryside of the Mainland there is a stunning Grandeur to the land most of the Mainland is mountainous and it's easy to imagine how the early Greeks could Envision it as the Throne of the Gods this hard land has not made its people rich but it has made them resourceful they live in tune with the land and this harmony has produced a casual and gentle way of life if the fabled gods of Olympus were to visit these mountains today they would still find Shepherds tending their flocks weaving of wool is the most common cottage industry in Greece and the products that result are among the Traveler's best bu eyes Nikos describes the creation of unique fur rugs called flati we've been weaving flati rocks in this area for at least 800 years it's not just a way of making a living it's a way of life a tradition we start with the longest strands of wool usually 15 to 20 cm in length every house has a handmade loom and the girls start their training at the age of five actually it's a form of Legacy as our women usually weave until they 80 normally a 3 and 1/2x 4 M rug takes about a month to be completed first we have to soak the flati we accomplish this by channeling water from a mountain stream into huge tubs or Vats this powerful stream this channeling creates forms a whirlpool in which the rugs circulate and Tumble after several hours the rugs shrink and the wool becomes extremely fluffy the quality of the wool has to be ex otherwise the rug will fall apart after 5 or 6 hours in the whirpool some of the rugs are sold but others become a dow for our marriageable daughters these are then used to decorate the floors and walls of the newly W home not only are they colorful but they provide excellent insulation the second largest city in Greece is Thessaloniki located in northern Greece among its Pleasures are excellent restaurants and they observe a custom familiar throughout Greece you are invited into the kitchen where you select your meal from a display of tempting choices to accompany your meal you can try a wine that is flavored with pine rosin an unusual native wine called [Music] Rina the fur industry is centered here in the north and fur coats are counted among the bargain available able in Greece Sophia hadadi explains how coats are made in her family shop uh to make a fair coat um we usually use male and female first uh when uh we use uh female we have to uh use about 45 uh F and when we have to make mail from M about 30 John the one that works here in our shop he learned how to work with first in school in Castor here in Greece John needs about uh four or five days to make a gold and um he takes the F he cuts them in small pieces about 3 or 4,000 uh then he uses a machine and SS them John Cuts uh the first into small pieces because he wants it to to take enough length for making a coat uh then he shows them all these pieces he uses a pattern to cut this and uh after this his wife fi helps him to put the lining on and then it becomes a beautiful creation for the customers uh the beauty of fur coat is that uh it keeps you warm in Winter and it lasts for a long time there is surprising diversity and warm Mediterranean charm in the Greek Islands this is the island of Corfu its history includes occupations by Italy and Britain the venian influence is evident in the architecture surrounding its narrow streets the British occupation ended in 1864 but the British influence remains there's Cricket today on the esplanad a British team the FI philanderers against a local team the Greek team is the byrons named for Lord Byron who played Cricket on Corfu during his travels in Greece on the islands the sea is never far away and where there there's water there's fun wet wild and wonderful [Music] fun part of the fun in grease is is traveling from Island to Island plotting a course that leads to new and different places one popular way to sample the variety of the islands is by cruise [Music] ship cruises are designed for relaxation and pure pleasure and among their most Pleasant moments are meal times [Music] cruises are scheduled so that much of the distance between ports is covered at night during daylight hours there's time to enjoy the activities on board and to visit the island stops along the Route our destination is the kodis island group known for its whitewashed Villages windmills and Tiny chapels ahead of us is the rim of a volcanic crater in the Bronze Age a tremendous eruption was centered here the sea swallowed up islands and an entire civilization was destroyed the early Menan culture the main island formed by the Towering Cliffs of this crater is called Santorini perched high above is the peaceful whitewashed town of Hera a long Winding Stone path leads to the town it's an easy walk if you're walking down going up you can hire a ride from the Island's unusual taxi service the trip is slow but sure the island of Santorini is a world apart from the island of Corfu and that difference is what Delights us as we travel among the Greek Isles different sites and surroundings there are different details to photograph as a visual Diary of each day's experiences excavations on Santorini have exposed the remnants of an early City encased in volcanic ash it's been called the second Pompei others claim this is the city Plato called the lost city of [Music] Atlantis throughout Greece grapes are grown on low-lying Vines without trellises to support them here on Santorini the wine making process is especially colorful after the freshly picked grapes are loaded into the wine press comes the first stage of crush a procedure as old as wine [Music] itself grapes grown in the fertile volcanic soil of Santorini produce wines that are among the best in all of [Music] Greece for the ultimate and leisurely sea goinging there is yachting a seaworthy vessel captain and crew are supplied the destinations are up to you and so is the schedule [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] watching from the bow of the boat you enter a story book Harbor sheltered by the surrounding island of idra idra is a favorite Retreat for artists and writers among others who appreciate its Serene atmosphere there are few cars on any of these small Islands but here there are none there is little for visitors to do in idra except to stroll its streets browse in its boutiques and enjoy its quiet Beauty [Music] the style of life in the islands appeals to the soul of an artist and the images appeal to the eye Peter apostolis has lived an artist's life on the island of mikonos despite the fact that MOS is a very quiet Island there always seems to be hum of activity on the Harbor a very very popular dish is octopus which takes quite a bit of preparation after the octopus is caught the fisherman's got to stand on the Harbor and throw it to the ground 100 times to uh tenderize the meat and then it's washed and sort of scrubbed down on the cement and this further tenderizes it the maconi to me are very very wonderful and warm people they're very very friendly they have been good to me as I walk through the monean streets just coming to work in the morning to the art gallery I've got to say hello and stop to talk to at least 20 25 people it's a half hour to walk 30 m you know but that's that's part of life here it's slow it's Pleasant very amiable it's a nice quiet way of life and a beautiful place to paint they Vol um local characters that I I paint one of my favorites is uh I just call her Yaya which means grandmother she's also one of the first people I met on the island she's 85 87 she doesn't really know the records at that point uh aren't very clear and it's not really important to her she was born on mikinos she's lived all her life on mikinos in the same house raised her children in the same house and isn't curious at all about the rest of the world [Music] yeah there's a um fell here by the name of gas but he's also a little ship model Carver and he reproduces exactly all the old uh fishing boats from different islands and around Greece and he sits in his little shop which is just uh uh the bottom of a stairwell actually it's just enough room for him to sit in there and carve uh with all this activity that's going on in the harbor uh the colors are absolutely fantastic mccon take great great pride in keeping their boats freshly painted and clean when one of the mccon wants to take a boat out it's it's a beehive of activity all the friends gather and they come out of their coffee shops leave their OS and Cafe on the table and uh they grabb the line and just start pulling and tugging and it's it's it's quite exciting actually and the same goes when they're pushing a boat in It's All Pure muscle you're talking about several tons of boat it's uh it's really something to see Petro the Pelican Petro was actually born on MOS or hatched and uh he's been here ever since 27 years uh he's become of course an internationally known personality he's been on television the rest of the time he's been here letting all the tourists snap his [Music] pictures the unique character of the Greek people is difficult to Define Peter expresses it in his paintings it is expressed in words by Maya sakalu she explains some of the qualities that distinguish the most Greek of all Greeks the people of her native island of creit crean people are very proud for their Island for their in Heritage it's there for 4,000 years and it's a constant struggling for survival at the same time they know how to enjoy the life all this Heritage that they have it Springs up to their character even outside appearance they are tall men very proud wearing the boots wearing that black scarf which is the traditional costume and the boots have a practical reason to walk all that rough land up in the mountains they say that Incas generally in grease women I have a love position which is not true maybe is the wrong impression that you get because they're all working making themselves productive it's not easy to make a living so they all make themselves productive they all knew how to weave the truth of their daughters and they do it also to sell and get some money out of it and they make all these things with much love the ties of the families are very close so when a family gets together and they wants to have a nice evening the liar comes first to entertain the people and then the songs they all sing together accompanied by the liar the liar is used as the traditional instrument the Greeks have buzuki now all over Greece you hear buzuki the traditional instrument here is Li to be Greek is to be intensely devoted to two things above others the family and the church families and the community joined together in religious celebration Father Basil a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church describes the symbolic pageantry of a Greek Orthodox Easter as observed on the island of pmos the priests now led by the icon of Christ the bridegroom are leading down to the center of the village where the reenactment of the washing of the feet will take place the principal celebrant in this particular case in pmos being the Abbot of the monastery or IO will take Christ's place and reenact the washing of the feet of the disciples Holy Week in the Orthodox Church takes you on an emotional Journey that explores the full gamut of human emotions from despair to Hope from Death to life from Triumph to betrayal and destruction the resurrection it is a total renewal of both the community life and the religious life a number of services from the Saturday of Lazarus through an 8-day period ending up with the resurrection of Christ and the aapi service the service of Love on Easter Sunday could Encompass 20 Services these Services run from an hour to perhaps 3 and a half 4 hours one candle becoming many candles come receive the light the church totally dark jammed with the faithful as they come forward to receive the Light of Christ The Gospel is read proclaiming that resurrection and the words that culminate the week Christ is risen are proclaimed and in one of the hymns we hear it is the day of the Resurrection let us be glorious in splendor for the celebration a true celebration of life on Sunday afternoon the celebration continues families gather and the feasting begins there is a special quality to life in Greece it relates to the people to their Customs to the glories of the past to the beauty of the land and the waters that surround it even the sunlight seems special here adding a bright Sparkle to everything you see photography allows you to capture and collect those sites and it does much more as you travel photography focuses your attention on images and experien es on stunning Vistas revealing details and memorable moments Greece is a visual experience and it comes alive in [Music] pictures picture yourself in this far away land where life has a heart of gold touching the Earth like a Blue Water Breeze a sun of Glory the spirit of lives on in the of another Liv on in the spirit of PR [Music] today a cration of Life a celebration of [Music] life picture yourself in a celebration of life where tradition lives on in a magical da a rainbow of col dance to the S of PR a celebration of life a celebration of life a celebration of [Music] life picture yourself in a celebration of f the islands of f the war of the Sun a rainow of colors to the side of Green a cration of [Music]