Inside the machine-crammed Mouhtarides factory near the Greek-Turkish border, Ioanna Pistola deftly spins a silk thread in a loom, ignoring the deafening noise around her. `I`ve been working in this hall for 20 years,` the middle-aged weaver shouts above the din. The dormant, isolated town of Soufli has been a key centre for Greek silk production since the 19th century. This was also the first area in Europe to rear silkworms after they were smuggled by Byzantine monks out of India in the 6th century AD. Silk, much of it homemade, has sustained the town of around 4,000 inhabitants for decades, although the number of factories has fallen. Now though, say the town`s last two active producers, silk is again de rigueur on the world`s most prestigious catwalks, and demand from designers for the luxurious fabric is on the up. `Penetrate into the world of fash
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