Restored Greek Byzantine palace offers blueprint for preserving cultural heritage

History buffs heading to Greece are mostly drawn to the country's wealth of classical temples and amphitheaters. But now the culture ministry has opened a stunning restored palace from the Byzantine era in the 1300s. Greeks claim the UNESCO World Heritage Site is a model of bringing ancient treasures back to life. From Mystras in southern Greece, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports. Situated in the Taygetus Mountains, high above ancient Sparta, lies the ruined walled city of Mystras. Its golden years were during the Middle Ages, when Mystras was a center for art and culture, and a key outpost of the Christian Byzantine Empire, ruled from what is now Istanbul. There are two ways to see this ancient treasure. One is by going uphill, the other downhill. There are 900 steps between, and the gradient is really steep. So I think we'll be going downhill. For decades, the palace at the heart of the complex has been closed to the public. But now, after renovation work lasting 40 years, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is open for all to see. It's something unbelievable. And of course, when we first entered, because even myself could not enter the palaces earlier, it was something amazing, something taking you back to another world, to Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings or something, as you're going to find out. It's just amazing, and the work that it did is also great. Dimitris Vlachakos has been a tour guide for 12 years, and is an expert on this, the only remaining Byzantine palace in Greece. The Byzantine Empire actually was a continuation of the Roman Empire to the east, and became a Greek-Roman Christian Empire. So when everything was collapsing in the western part of the Roman Empire, here they were flourishing. One of the priorities of the Greek authorities here has been to try to future-proof this site against the dangers of climate change, in particular wildfires. And that's because the Greeks had a really narrow escape about 20 years ago, when a terrible wildfire got to the perimeter of ancient Olympia, where the Olympics started. And it was just by pure luck and skill of the firefighters that they managed to stop it before it got inside. Surrounded by forests, Mistras is a potential tinderbox. This area is very similar to California. The wildfires, the earthquakes, the flora and such other issues, the temperatures of course. So we have a big issue and a fear, a constant fear of a possible wildfire to break out. And so the archaeological site has been kitted out with water tanks and the latest fire suppressant systems, which please Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. How can we talk about preserving our cultural identity if we do not protect it from the modern threats of the climate crisis, something that sits at the center of our priorities as the Ministry of Culture? At the heart of the renovations is the Palace of the Despots. In the Byzantine language, the word despot meant a prince, not a tyrant. I also want to speak about the future. When we talk about the future, our minds automatically go to technology. All of our archaeological sites now, all of our monuments, are incorporating technology so as to enrich the visitor experience and enable us to create personalized routes. The palace transports visitors back in time by projecting ghostly images onto the stone walls. A lady-in-waiting combs her mistress's hair while a page is chastised by a cook in the kitchen. Overseeing Greece's heritage is Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. Cultural heritage plays a crucial role both for collective self-awareness and for sustainable development and social cohesion. With this strategic concept, we have been implementing in the last seven years the largest and most comprehensive investment policy in culture that the country has ever known. Avatars of minstrels in the throne room provide a soundtrack as a Byzantine prince returns to the palace to the acclamation of his subjects. It's proven in practice that when there's a plan, consistency, cooperation and faith in the power of culture, we can give back to society with a substantial historical, cultural and developmental footprint. As part of that promise, Greece has launched an initiative to protect 19 ancient monuments at high risk from climate change. They include the Knossos in Crete, which is getting a fire suppression network and lightning protection system because ever more powerful heat waves help to generate more wildfires. Christos Xeraphos heads the Academy of Athens Climatology Research Center. People in the past, they would say, OK, it's only a heat wave, it will pass in a few days. Unfortunately, we see that the period of instability in weather becomes prolonged and becomes longer. Scientists are also monitoring coastal erosion and rising sea levels around the island of Delos, where, according to Greek mythology, the sun god Apollo was born. We need to know the rate of deterioration and the extent of changes in the quality of the sea, like the pH of the waters. The heat wave is maintained by the increase of the sea surface temperatures also, which follow the heating of the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases. Visitors to Mistras cannot fail to feel the weight of history. Protecting such irreplaceable treasures is not just a Greek responsibility. According to UNESCO's abiding principles, it is the duty of all humanity. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Malcolm Brabant in Mistras, Southern Greece.