In this episode Joanna explores some of the fourteen hundred Greek Islands that make up this maritime nation. Each has a story to tell, often a fascinating history spanning thousands of years. Tthe Greek islands are a familiar destination for many a British holidaymaker. Yet beyond the deck chairs and white sands is a culture which has created one of the greatest seafaring nations of the world. Hitching a lift on board a shipping magnate’s yacht, Joanna’s route begins on the ancient island of Crete, where she learns about a way of life that has transcended centuries, spending time with the shepherds in the high, remote mountains of the island. The shepherds played a key role fighting alongside the Resistance against the Nazi occupation of Crete with the British SOE Agent, Patrick Le Femour, whose exploits became the basis for the film, Ill Met by Moonlight. Crete is also Zeus’ birth place and the home of Raki, a local firewater that fuels traditional Cretan festivities. On the island of Kos she explores the birth place of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, before ascending the only active volcano on the island of Nisyros.

Joanna is travelling across the northern most regions of Greece, through an area that has been vastly influenced by the world around it, more so than anywhere else in the country. Her route is from the western Ionian island of Corfu to the turbulent eastern border it shares with Turkey and Bulgaria. It’s a frontier-land where foreign invasion and occupation have left a fascinating legacy. The British ruled Corfu for 50 years. Joanna discovers how they left their mark with cricket, brass bands, ginger beer and the staunchest local anglophiles in “Kensington-on-sea”. Crossing to the mainland, Joanna retraces the steps of another lover of Greece. Lord Byron’s inspirational journey through the western highlands by horseback became the stuff of legend and, just like the great poet, Joanna also gets caught in a ferocious rainstorm. Travelling across a land shaped by generations of invading empires to its far eastern corner, Joanna discovers traditions and cultures inspired by their occupation.

Joanna is travelling across the northern most regions of Greece, through an area that has been vastly influenced by the world around it, more so than anywhere else in the country.

An aimless Englishman finds he has a small inheritance on a Greek island. His joyless existence is disturbed when he meets Zorba, a middle aged Greek with a real lust for life. As he discovers the earthy pleasures of Greece, the Englishman finds his view on life changing.

An aimless Englishman finds he has a small inheritance on a Greek island. His joyless existence is disturbed when he meets Zorba, a middle aged Greek with a real lust for life. As he discovers the earthy pleasures of Greece, the Englishman finds his view on life changing.

The first comprehensive survey of Standard Modern Greek, this book offers a descriptive analysis of the structure of the language and of present-day usage, highlighting the discussion with examples drawn from a wide cross section of spoken, written, and literary sources.