♪ >> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. good to have you with us. here is what is coming up -- the discovery of new oil fields threatens a bird's paradise in norway. our summer series takes us to marathon in greece. and we look at why duty really is in the eye of the beholder -- beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. a norwegian state company discovered a gigantic oil field in the north sea. the country is the world's eighth largest oil producer.

just when explorers had given up finding any more oil, there has been a surge of recent finds, but companies are coming closer to the coast in their search for more fields. the company is now looking for permission to drill for oil near an island famous for its birds. residents are worried that their birds paradise will be destroyed. >> it is a huge, craggy rock rising out of the sea. the island off the west coast of norway, 25 kilometers south of austin. it has just one road, two villages, the inhabitants of which earn a living mainly from fishing pier the island will not be anything special if it were not for the hundreds of thousands of sea birds that fly here every spring. the cracks offer ideal nesting conditions, especially in the west side with the cliffs rise 300 meters above the sea.

240 species of bird have been counted. 70 of them nest on the island. in all, there are more than 500,000 breeding pairs fighting for the best nesting places in the spring. one of scandinavia's leading ornithologists lives just a few kilometers away on the mainland. he visits the biggest norwegian bird colony south of the arctic circle as often as possible. >> we have a sea cliff here. one of the very few in this part of norway. then we have the gulf stream crossing the north atlantic, hitting the norwegian coast. this combination of ocean water combined with coastal water will

give it the perfect separation for producing food. >> but this avian paradise is in danger, threatened by climate change and intensive fishing. now, the norwegian government wants to encourage oil extraction of the island, an area especially worth protecting. >> we have been warning about this all the time. we have been arguing against this all the time. both our organization and the others. a lot of agreements about taking care of nature. but when it comes, it seems like they are forgetting what they have said. >> every day in the high season,

up to 30,000 visitors flock to the cliffs each year. most come to see the puffins. some people fly halfway around the world to take pictures of these small birds with the brightly colored beads. ornithologists, nature lovers, and professional photographers. >> i tried to catch flying birds. maybe some closeups later when the light is not so hard. >> no other bird has become so popular. visitors see it as a mixture of cloud, cobalt, and imp.

the most coveted shot of all -- a puffin with plenty of food for its young, but the scene is becoming increasingly difficult to capture. the once huge stocks of herring, sand eels, sardines and sprats have become rare. more and more often, the birds died in vain. since the 1970's, many species have been suffering from the scarcity of food. >> it is quite obvious that the main problem was that the fisheries were intensified, even though the hunting stock was coming down, and that led to the total collapse of the herring stock.

>> the consequences of global warming aggravate the seabird problems. the colonies are getting smaller. the population has almost completely disappeared. he has been observing for more than 50 years. a few bird species have multiplied in that time, but the overall situation has deteriorated dramatically. in drilling for oil begins now, food scarcity could be a secondary threat. ocean currents wash an oil spill onto the coast in no time. >> it could simply wipe out the sea bird populations here. you need only a small amount of oil to kill thousands of seabirds. if you are giving priority to increase the speed of using the

resources, then we will commence somewhere along the route. >> he wants to keep on fighting so that in the future, puffin's can still raise their chicks hear undisturbed. >> an oil-field just 22 kilometers away at sea seems close. on land, the distance can seem far. add another 20 kilometers to that, and you know where we are taking you in today's edition of our summer series. the marathon is one of the highlights of deal in big games. today, it takes just over two hours to run. 2500 years ago, says legend, a messenger on a mission ran the distance from marathon to athens for the first time. today, this iconic route leads

to the heart of the eurozone crisis. than that at precisely 42,195 meters long, this is the route that has become the standard for all marathon runners. the course was inspired by a 2500 year old ms., only today, it is run on asphalt along one of the greek capital's main roads. every november, the classic marathon starts here in the stadium and the town of marathon. at the moment, it is being prepared for the upcoming football season. this father of five is unemployed but takes pride in supporting his third league team.

it is about more than just football, he says. it is about the legend. >> the name says it all -- the battle of marathon. it is really a privilege of being here and being able to help. >> this is the bay where it is said the legendary battle took place. it marked the first greek victory over the persians. according to legend, the athenian warriors gathered in a phalanx formation and managed to fight off the persian invasion appear that a messenger ran the distance to athens with news of the victory. here at the local museum, the marathon's legacy is omnipresent. more modern-day heroes have also been immortalized here. for instance, this marathon runner who won the first olympic marathon in 1896. >> we have his own original

metal from 1896. he never ran another mile. >> at the eight-kilometer mark, there are remnants of an american military base. the last gi's withdrew here in 1990. anti-american sentiment has a long tradition in greece. the country's entry into nato was not without controversy. but today, the deputy mayor remembers the advantages to having a foreign military presence here. >> many young people have jobs at the military base. many americans lived outside and into flats in town here. there was a lot of contact, and

sometimes, there were even weddings, and some of our young women ended up going to america. >> at the 11-kilometer mark, we find the un. he says this kind of grape was being made into wine here as far back as the persians, but even a victorious past like that is of little avail to the winegrower today. emmeline needs -- used to be -- wine used the national increase, but it has become a luxury. how can people who have seen their wage cut by half still afford a glass of wine? >> but he is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. he hopes the marathon label might help his selection of wines find fans abroad.

>> at kilometer 13 stands the monastery, a place of pilgrimage for greek orthodox christians. the state is said to have been murdered 500 years ago by the ottomans. since then, nuns have watched over his burial site. he is attributed with miracle- making powers, so the bush box in the chapel is always full -- the wish box in the chapel. >> i come here every saturday because i have so much to be thankful for. my daughter had bad siriasis. we went from doctor to doctor, but no one could help her. i took some oil from the monastery, and after she rubbed it on her skin, the affliction disappeared completely. -- my daughter had bad psoriasis.

>> at a furred and vegetable stand at the 18-kilometer mark, we meet a 22-year-old egyptian, who fled to greece four years ago. since then, he has held his uncle growing and selling vegetables. he also works in a tire workshop here, but there have been more and more racist attacks in athens, and now, he avoids the capital. >> i have not experienced any racism out here. it is quiet. of course, for immigrants, life is not easy during a crisis. we have to work twice as hard as the greeks. >> some greeks resent the immigrants and say there are too many of them, but not ali's customers. >> there is an egyptian working in my husband's shop, and we are really satisfied. we cannot find any greek workers. a great man came to work in our fields recently and left after just two hours.

>> at the 35th kolomna, the marathon route reaches athens out the limits. the streets are lined with vacant shops. signs of the economic demise. the classic marathon route ends here, venue of the first modern olympic games. the original messenger is said to have delivered his message of victory before collapsing in dying, but the four-time winner of the classic marathon has completed the route and still has strength left. he explains the unexpected growth in popularity of his sport. >> running is something that the greeks have adopted as an activity in order to cope with their frustration into the

crisis and all the things that make their everyday life worse. >> albania was ruled by the dictator until the mid-1980's. he was viewed as one of the most hard-line leaders of the communist bloc. today, albania is a different country and wants to become a member of the european union, but it still struggles to come to terms with its communist legacy. this includes a gigantic network of bankers and a huge -- of bunkers and a huge monument in the heart of the capital. albanians are divided about whether they should be preserved or torn down. >> and opposing pyramid of steel, concrete, and glass. her daughter commission this building after her father's death in 1985, but the

oppressive regime and human rights record -- it is no wonder that it has been neglected and pillage. chunks of marble have been stolen from the exterior. an albanian artist living in switzerland fights to keep the structure alive. >> it is good that we are finally talking about it. in albania, we have not yet started the process of coming to terms with our past. >> this 30,000-square-meter compound is mostly bare. a tv station has been using the empty space, and it is now fighting in court to save the building. they say authorities had intended to refurbish the pyramid. >> the government wanted to renovate it not long ago.

they set aside a lot of money for that purpose. but nothing has been done. >> in albania, there are few monuments that adjust the time of the regime. the decades of communist rule seem to a been forgotten, and any sort of critical discussion over the past is noticeably absent. the albanian prime minister wants to see the monuments gone for good. >> the building is marked with blood and arose during one of the most repressive dictatorships that europe has seen. it also stands for corruption and nepotism theory the architects were relatives. >> yet, traces of the regime are ubiquitous. hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers dot the landscape across albania,

unwanted reminders of a dark past. >> they are relics of the paranoia that drove him and subsequently the country into isolation. >> for this artist, the bunkers are not only ghosts of albania's past but also its future. >> albanian farms were always surrounded by walls. then the communists build bunkers. now people construct big, unfriendly, closed off buildings. albanians have lived in isolation for centuries, and they still cannot open up. >> a tv crew filming one of the bunkers is planting more seeds of distrust.

the bunkers are not private property, he says. but the crew is not pleased. go away, says this woman. we do not want to be bothered. the sweep of modernization has passed by parts of albania, leaving many areas bunch -- untouched. now, more and more people are fighting efforts to swallow up relics of the country's difficult past. some people believe in giving the bunkers , using creativity and innovation -- giving debunkers new life, using creativity and innovation. this attorneys suffered under

the regime's iron rule. he was imprisoned for 15 years for criticizing the government, accused of being an enemy of the state. today, he is still wary of albanian authorities, including the current government. >> this building is a bad omen. it was a symbol of dictatorship, and now it is a symbol for corruption. where is the money for renovations? it is suspicious. >> on the outskirts of the capital, he has set up an arts center with the stages erected on former bunkers. he sees it as a memorial and a cultural site in one. the best way for albania to finally come to terms with its past. >> they say one picture is

worth 1000 words. today in our digital age, we are surrounded by images. what is even more interesting -- we have the power to change and alter them -- quite a useful skill in a world where people feel under more and more pressure to look good, but how does one define beauty? one italian model an artist digitally manipulated images to demonstrate the changing esthetics of duty over the centuries. her provocative action has inspired a lively debate. >> she is using her beauty for a good cause -- to help preserve this historic amusement park in naples. she and her hand-picked team donate their time, and she is not just a model -- she is also the project's artistic director. >> it is the first theme park in europe from the early 1960's. i chose a team of 10 people to

work on this social campaign to help revitalize the park. >> but anna utopia, her pseudonym, is actually known for something else -- the business project. she has taken 10 famous paintings of this and slimmed down the figures using photoshop. it stirred controversy around the world. >> i wanted to start a discussion about the massive use of photoshop in photography and fashion. i wanted people to discuss how standards of beauty have changed and to examine the pressure to look perfect, to look like today's top models. >> even botticelli's iconic vitas got a makeover, trimmed to fit today's super model size -- bigger breasts, a slimmer waist line, smaller hips.

all of a sudden, the goddess of love has a whole new look. the voluptuous venus has long been celebrated for her sensuous curves, but by today's standards, she would be far too heavy for the runway. anna binds the original much more beautiful. >> i do not think there are natural beauty ideals. they develop over the course of time. earlier, the deal woman was soft and lush with wide hips. today, she is thinner and athletic and somehow artificial, like plastic. >> anna is too short to be a runway model, but she is often booked for fashion and advertising shoots. she is used to being heavily styled on the set and does not have a problem with the hair and makeup and clothes, but she hates being photoshopped afterwards. >> when they change your nose

and eyes beyond recognition and your body is completely changed, you think, "that is not even meet." >> she models to pay for school. she is studying the philosophy of science in milan. she prefers writing poems and experimenting with those, as in her photo series, where she plays a 13-year-old ripostes her pictures online. she says the internet pressures people to conform to a specific standard of beauty. >> almost all young people in italy and maybe in other european countries manipulate their photos. from the lighting and make of to using filters that are more forgiving. they cannot even tell each other apart any more. >> her project proves how easy it is to nip and tuck photos, but she has her own standards. she does not want her image to be manipulated. she wants to be accepted just as

she is. >> i am fine the way i am, just as i am. >> at first, the manipulation was merely a way to play with pictures. she is surprised that her project struck a nerve and at the aesthetics of beauty are being discussed around the world. >> that report wraps up this edition of "european journal." remember that you can watch all our reports again on line on our website, dw.de/europeanjournal. send us an e-mail if you like. the address is europa@dw.de. until next time, from all of us at dw studios, thanks for

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