this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. coming up this week, i am on the greek island of evia, a year on from the devastating forest fires. look at these guys! look at them go! and taking a dip in natural hot springs built for the gods. 0h! that's so hot! we are off to denmark to take a look at the ancient treasure rewriting histories there. and nick's in istanbul, testing his artistic skills. oh, there it is. 0h, we need lips.

the island of evia, the second—largest island in greece after crete, famed for its verdent mountaintops, blue seas and glorious sunshine. but in the summer of 2021, that idyllic picture was turned on its head. last year in early august, temperatures were hitting over 47 celsius in greece. the forest became a tinderbox and evia burned for over ten days. many scientists say that climate change makes events like this more likely.

been sent some pictures of the place that we are on our way to right now and looks lovely. looks really lush and green and fertile. but i've been told, since the fires that have hit this whole area, it now looks very different. even looking out the window, look at that! just as far as the eye can see, all you can — all you are looking at is burnt trees. it's really sad. these people work for trekking hellas in evia. they used to take tourists on hikes through these once—stunning forests.

it looks like our path is blocked. i don't think we've got anymore routes. that is astonishing. i remember seeing it from the television, from the news. i remember it on tv. i felt it was fake news. i couldn't realise this is really happening. i was thinking it can't be true. how much of this area was damaged by the fire? well, in numbers, it was half a million hectares. you can consider it as even bigger than the city of athens. so an area larger than the city of athens? yes. was burnt by the fires? even teams of firefighters from other countries had to come here to support us, bringing planes, helicopters, trucks, in order to try to stop the fire.

my next stop on the island is an animal sanctuary. before the fires it was home to horses and donkeys. children could visit for riding lessons. something so exhilarating and majestic about watching horses run. i had a chance to see the extent of the damage the fires have had on the land here in this area. but now i want to see what sort of impact it's had on the lives around here. what was like before fire? it was a paradise. it was calm. it was a forest, it used to be a forest, with so many trees, green. i can see in your eyes how emotional it is and it must have been a really

difficult time. what was it like when the fires were raging here and what did you do? we knew the other villages was completely burnt, so we just say, we look at the place for the last time and we went. we go. i was thinking, i am gonna get out alive, because everyone was leaving by car and we were on foot with six horses and two donkeys. as the fires raged through the night, the animals broke loose and ran away. we lost them. you lost them? yes, because we were just four people, us two and two friends that came for help, and the others escaped. when it was finally safe to come back, it was with a heavy heart. it was really difficult to come inside this place because all the trees

was burnt and down. so there was no entrance, nothing. but they were here, all together. they went away to survive from the fire and then they came back here and theyjust... waiting. when you are so unhappy, suddenly you are happy. so they are alive, we are alive. out on a fishing boat, the scars of the fires are evident from the sea. apparently, in this area, there was a fire here in 2016. but you can see the difference and the recovery because it is green and lush compared to back there were the fire hit only last year. and just with your foot, it's your own style, yes? yes! hands—free.

although the forest trails are slowly opening up again, something new that's been developed is fishing tourism. the hope is it will entice visitors back to the island. look at these fish! at the start, it was very difficult for us because they learned to be alone in the sea, fighting with the sea, but after some people started it, it was more easier to see the profit of this project. the more tourists they carry, the fewer fish they have to catch to earn a living. every day a fisherman do fishing tourism in greece, that's better for the environment. i've been really impressed by the resilience of everyone i've met here and their determination to see the place that they love thrive again, in a more sustainable way, using many of the lessons that

have been learnt from those devastating fires one year ago. let's hope that happens. if you're planning to head to greece this year, here is a travel show guide of some things to maybe look out for. in autumn, the ferocity of peak season is over. but the greek waters are still lovely and warm. if you are a snorkeller, try the protected zakynthos marine park, famous for its dense population of loggerhead turtles, so there is a good chance you'll see one. while we are in the sea, greece's first underwater museum's worth a mention. you'll find it on the island of alonissos, which you can get to by ferry from evia. it's an ancient merchant shipwreck dating back to around 420 bc, and until last year,

off limits to recreational divers. finally, autumn means harvest time. and it's a big deal in greece. do a vineyard or olive oil tour somewhere like crete or something more niche — you could try the pistachio festival on aegina in mid—september. it's only a ao—minute ferry ride from athens. right. stick with us because, coming up, the ancient treasures rewriting danish history. ole sent me some pictures and i was like, "whoa," when i saw it. and nick is getting arty in istanbul. it's coming to life in a quite creepy fashion! like, ifeel like i've made an actual person now. so see you after the break.

i am in this town of aedipsos in greece and i was a bit worried because i thought the travel show set me up because that water looks freezing cold. i've been told that these are hot springs which have been here for thousands of years. they've been visited by roman emperors, hollywood superstars and now an east london geezer. savage! oh, man! this isjust gorgeous. now, there is a lot of history to these pools because, legend has it that goddess athena created these springs for her favourite hero, hercules, so he could come here and kick back and heal himself after his herculean tasks. i think it's quite fitting for someone like me. now, they say that the minerals in these baths have got healing properties.

but the best thing is, they're free. we will see what this one is like. this looks super hot! 0h! get over. it doesn't feel that bad. 0h! that's so hot! i could put a teabag in here and make a proper cuppa! i'm not getting in there. i think i'd boil my own chestnuts. not happening. this is more my temperature. from greek mythology to norse history, where a chance discovery of an ancient treasure trove of gold has caused much excitement. hidden for almost 1,500 years in the danish village of vindelev, researchers say this could rewrite their country's history.

0le sent me a text, and he sent me some pictures, and i was like, "whoa," when i saw it. this find opens the door to an enigmatic world of persons of mythologies, of religion, that we really only know a little slice of. my name is 0le ginnerup schytz. for my 60 years birthday, | my father—in—law gave me this metal detector. you can't be a more - new beginner than i was. one day i was contacted by my old schoolmate, 0le, who asked if he could take a walk with this metal detector. we started at the corner of the field there and found a lot of the usual old nails and screws and scrap items and after 30 minutes, the detector gave us a very, very clear signal.

i thought, this is worth digging for. i dug a hole and up come this yellow thing, filled up with mud and dirty, and i put it in my bag here with scrap iron because i thought it was a lid from food can. the minute i put the detector to the surface again, i got exactly the same signal. and up came the second gold item. when we looked more carefully, we can see it has inscriptions, and when we found the third item, we saw clearly the face of a roman emperor. and by that time, we knew this is most probably gold. 0le sent me a text and he sent me some pictures and i wasjust like, whoa, when i saw it. immediately, i took pictures of it and i sent it to my colleagues at the national

museum, where we have these experts in all these areas. and from their reaction, i could see that we had stumbled on something extraordinary. there are some roman medallions, they are actually from the fourth century. and then there are the golden bracteates and also part of a sword. the treasure belongs to the sixth century and then the viking age starts in the eighth century. my first reaction when i heard about this was almost that i fell off the chair. when we start looking at the details of the pictures and the runes, i realised that this is a very unique find. the most rare inscription on this find is the one where the god 0din is probably mentioned. that would be, to my knowledge, the first time you ever had that. 0din is the supreme god of the vikings. here we have something new also in terms of religion, the old norse religion, because we know only that

from the writings of scriptures from the 13th century, and here we are starting to push it further back in time, even more than four or 500 years. this is still a work in progress and we have hardly dusted off the dirt. now vindelev, here, is some kind of a central power place, there is no question about it. it has never been on a map before, we always thought of an early iron age rich centre some 100 kilometres to the east. so was this the centre? and the other place a periphery? we have to go in and rethink the whole period here and the whole formation of the danish kingdoms. i am very overwhelmed. i still don't understand the unpredictable and i unforeseen luck that hit me.

it is qualitatively a very, very important find because of the iconography and the runes. it is one of the most important gold finds we have had in this century. now to istanbul, where the ancient city is celebrating its arts and cultural riches, and looking to reposition itself as a global hotspot. we sent nick kwek to check out the creatives and creations being thrust centrestage. busy, beautiful and vibra nt. it is easy to see why napoleon once said, if the world was one country, istanbul would be its capital. this transcontinental jobless is a bustling melting pot, an amalgamation of influences old and new.

but despite its appeal, istanbul has been going through some tough times recently. the turkish economy has taken a hit, meaning the value of the lira here has dropped by about 20%. while that is not great for many locals, it means that your money will definitely go a lot further if you are visiting from abroad. but throughout the ups and downs, as empires have come and gone, some things have stood the test of time. built in 1348, the famous galata tower has been used as a prison and fire watchtower over the centuries. legend has it that back in around 1630, scientist hezarfan celebi famously took off from the tower here and landed safely on the other side of the bosphorus. while the facts around the story are disputed, historians think there was some

sort of flight from the tower. intriguing. today, the 63 metre tall landmark is an exhibition space and museum and provides panoramic vistas which are not too shabby, especially at sunset. now, through its heritage and contemporary artistic pedigree, turkey is hoping to bring back visitors. it launched the beyoglu culture route which stretches four kilometres through the historic end of the city. there's been a good turnout, the queue is running around the corner. this is the start of the route, the ataturk cultural centre, also known as the akm. that is a lot of flashing lights. rumi dreams is an audiovisual experience inspired by the works of celebrated 13th century islamic poet and mystic, mevlana rumi, in commemoration of the 750th anniversary of his death.

this is just one of around 1,500 activities at the festival. also housed within the akm is a plethora of provocative materials ranging in materials and scale. all this art is making me want to get creative. and a few steps along the route i have the chance to, at free workshops like this, where visitors can sign up for some sculpting. oh, there it is. there it is. you need some lips. we need lips. that is probably critical. her name is emily, maybe. emily, oh? it gave me a chance to hang out with istanbulites. it's coming to life in quite creepy fashion. ifeel like i have made an actual person now. look at that face! but what are the judges think? she says it's perfect. thank you.

we all have work but with these activities we can have fun. make some new friends. actually after covid—19, it's a big relief for all people in istanbul. art certainly has a way of bringing people together. a short hop on the old tram takes you to pera, which this hotel was named after. opened in 1885 to accommodate passengers fresh off the orient express, the pera palace hotel is steeped in history. the walls which agatha christie would write from. joining me for a cuppa is defne tulga, a local art buyer for turkey's megarich. we have great contempory art, we have beautiful museums, beautiful digital art.

i mean, yeah, we're on track. where do you think that turkey and istanbul sit on the global art stage? we definitely need improvement and we need more young, creative souls who will lead us in the scene. i believe that. 500 metres away at the end of the festival route, the galataport has recently received a major overhaul. it's home to the sculpture and painting museum, and soon we'll see the much anticipated reopening of istanbul museum of modern art. but whether or not all of this is enough to bring tourists back and make up for the millions lost as a result of covid, and now the ukraine war, we willjust have to wait and see. and with my trip drawing to a close, i have gotjust enough time to catch one

of the evening's performances. applause well, that's it from us. coming up next week. there's another chance to join rajan in qatar to check out what football fans can expect at this year's fifa world cup. this is the perspective that players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. 0k, pleasejoin us for that if you can. and also, you can check us out on social media, and let us know where you are heading to next time. in the meantime, from me, ade adepitan and the rest of the travel show team here in greece, it's bye—bye.

little change on the weather front as we head into friday and the weekend. for most of us, it's going to be predominantly dry. there is some rain in the forecast, but it'll fall in the form of hit—or—miss showers, and most of that is expected in western and northern scotland. indeed, the weather fronts that have been crossing the country in the last few days mostly fizzle away by the time they reach southern parts of the country. so, here, it remains bone—dry, and this high pressure which will be building across the uk and europe will be responsible for bringing some very warm weather, some hot weather towards the end of next week.

so, the short term, then — a few showers around western scotland, around the irish sea as well, but elsewhere, it's a case of clear spells or clear skies. temperatures around 1a in london, but in rural spots of scotland, five degrees possible on friday morning, so a bit of a nip in the air there in the north. let's have a look at friday — a northwesterly breeze, scattered showers for scotland, the lake district, maybe the pennines, maybe one or two sneaking across the pennines and getting into lincolnshire and hull, but south of that, it is predominantly bright or sunny. warm in london, 2a degrees. typically more around 20, so not all that hot — 17 in the north. for the commonwealth games in birmingham on friday, we're expecting highs of around 20 degrees with bright or sunny skies, so very pleasant weather overall. here's the weekend, and saturday, the weather fronts bringing those outbreaks of rain that we're forecasting for northwestern and northern scotland, so fresher here — 15. elsewhere, it's generally dry, turning very warm in the southeast, up to around 26 by the time we get to saturday.

and those temperatures will continue to climb into sunday and monday and tuesday and wednesday as this high pressure builds in off the atlantic, spreads right across the uk into scandinavia and many other parts of europe as well, and will draw in that hotter air, that really warm atmosphere from the southern climb. so, the confidence is increasing for that hot spell to arrive, at least from midweek onwards. let's have a look at those temperatures — in fact, quite conservative estimates here. the indication is that temperatures by the end of the week could actually approach low or the mid 30s. in some parts of southern britain. bye— bye.

welcome to bbc news — i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories: us basketball star brittney griner gets a 9—year sentence on drug charges in russia. president biden denounces it as "unacceptable." japan and the us condemn china's military exercises in the waters around taiwan and call for an immediate halt. this afternoon, china fired dongfeng ballistic missiles from the coast of china across the taiwan strait, and they fell into waters in the exclusion zones just here off the north taiwan coast. the primary objective is obviously intimidation. the conspiracy theorist alexjones is ordered to pay more than four million dollars in damages afterfalsely claiming the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax.