1 00:00:04,704 --> 00:00:06,365 l'm almost four months into my quest 2 00:00:06,573 --> 00:00:10,509 to find 80 of the world's greatest man-made treasures. 3 00:00:15,548 --> 00:00:16,742 l'm now in Africa. 4 00:00:16,916 --> 00:00:20,079 The most beguiling and enchanting of continents. 5 00:00:22,188 --> 00:00:26,522 Here, l'm looking for ancient traditions which are alive and well. 6 00:00:28,795 --> 00:00:32,731 l'm going to see works of art with a raw and elemental beauty. 7 00:00:34,167 --> 00:00:36,965 And a lost Roman city on the coast of Libya. 8 00:00:38,538 --> 00:00:39,971 l'll grapple with the mysteries of perhaps 9 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:43,541 the greatest civilisation the world has ever known. 10 00:01:07,233 --> 00:01:11,567 So far, l've travelled through the Americas, Australia, 11 00:01:12,472 --> 00:01:15,100 Asia and the middle east. 12 00:01:15,842 --> 00:01:18,470 From Ethiopia l've just flown across the continent 13 00:01:18,645 --> 00:01:20,875 to the very heart of Africa. 14 00:01:42,702 --> 00:01:44,966 l'm in Mali, west Africa, 15 00:01:45,138 --> 00:01:49,131 where seven hundred years ago or so, 16 00:01:49,375 --> 00:01:53,971 different worlds met and the link came through trade, 17 00:01:54,147 --> 00:01:56,547 much of it river-borne, 18 00:01:57,484 --> 00:01:59,611 in boats and craft like this. 19 00:02:00,553 --> 00:02:05,752 From the north came architecture, ideas, lslam, 20 00:02:05,925 --> 00:02:08,951 as well as products such as salt and silk. 21 00:02:09,129 --> 00:02:12,462 And from the south and from around here, 22 00:02:12,732 --> 00:02:15,428 can gold, ivory. 23 00:02:21,541 --> 00:02:22,940 By the 13th century, 24 00:02:23,109 --> 00:02:25,475 Mali had become a mighty trading empire 25 00:02:25,645 --> 00:02:30,275 which extended across west Africa as far as the Atlantic coast. 26 00:02:39,792 --> 00:02:40,952 To find my first treasure 27 00:02:41,127 --> 00:02:42,685 l've come to Djenne. 28 00:02:45,999 --> 00:02:48,900 This is the oldest known city in this part of Africa. 29 00:02:50,203 --> 00:02:52,694 lnhabited since 250 B.C., 30 00:02:52,872 --> 00:02:54,066 it went on to become one of the most 31 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,902 vibrant and prosperous in the empire. 32 00:02:59,045 --> 00:03:02,208 lt was also a centre of lslamic learning and pilgrimage. 33 00:03:11,324 --> 00:03:12,916 What's most astonishing about Djenne 34 00:03:13,092 --> 00:03:17,392 is that all the buildings are made of mud, glorious mud. 35 00:03:21,968 --> 00:03:23,936 This ancient and noble building tradition 36 00:03:24,103 --> 00:03:27,971 has been passed down the generations from father to son. 37 00:03:36,049 --> 00:03:37,880 This house is being repaired 38 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:41,782 and we can get an idea how the mud building system works. 39 00:03:42,755 --> 00:03:44,620 Here are the sun-dried bricks. 40 00:03:46,125 --> 00:03:50,653 And these are protected with a layer of mud render, 41 00:03:50,830 --> 00:03:55,597 which is renewed every year after the rainy season. And we can - 42 00:03:55,768 --> 00:03:58,362 - see this mud render going on now. 43 00:03:58,571 --> 00:04:00,539 But l say mud, but like the bricks in - 44 00:04:00,707 --> 00:04:06,339 - fact it's a special clay mixed with some straw and um - 45 00:04:06,512 --> 00:04:08,139 - oh, cow dung. 46 00:04:08,314 --> 00:04:09,872 Excellent stuff actually. 47 00:04:10,583 --> 00:04:12,448 Very strong, very resilient 48 00:04:12,919 --> 00:04:16,616 and very beautifully gooey and um - yeah, beautifully smelly. 49 00:04:16,789 --> 00:04:17,551 Let's have a go. 50 00:04:17,724 --> 00:04:20,488 Put this on. My contribution. 51 00:04:22,795 --> 00:04:23,955 Must do this correctly. 52 00:04:29,102 --> 00:04:30,831 So what is my treasure? 53 00:04:31,137 --> 00:04:32,866 Well, it's the miracle of Djenne. 54 00:04:33,239 --> 00:04:37,539 lt is quite simply the largest mud building in the world. 55 00:04:46,085 --> 00:04:47,916 There's been a mosque on this site 56 00:04:48,087 --> 00:04:49,179 since the late 13th century, 57 00:04:49,355 --> 00:04:53,291 though this mosque - was only completed in 1907. 58 00:04:54,193 --> 00:04:56,161 lt may look pretty humble 59 00:04:56,329 --> 00:04:57,023 as a construction 60 00:04:57,196 --> 00:04:58,959 but it's incredibly sophisticated. 61 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:02,761 l mean, the mud bricks are very appropriate for the climate - 62 00:05:02,935 --> 00:05:06,098 - and also these lovely sort of posts that stick out, 63 00:05:06,272 --> 00:05:10,572 those sort of stabilise the structure in the extreme climate. 64 00:05:10,743 --> 00:05:13,541 But also - they act as a permanent scaffolding, 65 00:05:13,713 --> 00:05:14,839 to allow people to hang off - 66 00:05:15,014 --> 00:05:20,247 - the building to carry out this very necessary and regular maintenance. 67 00:05:26,592 --> 00:05:30,551 Wow! Amazingly thick, earthen wall. 68 00:05:30,863 --> 00:05:32,194 Three feet or so. 69 00:05:32,665 --> 00:05:35,225 All to do of course with controlling the temperature. 70 00:05:35,401 --> 00:05:39,098 The wall absorbs the heat of the day, the sun. 71 00:05:39,272 --> 00:05:41,968 lncredible this to be inside. 72 00:05:42,809 --> 00:05:47,143 There are these huge piers which hold the roof up, 73 00:05:47,313 --> 00:05:48,610 the light's flooding in, 74 00:05:48,781 --> 00:05:51,306 so we have this wonderful sense of an organic, 75 00:05:51,484 --> 00:05:54,476 elemental building, these abstract forms. 76 00:05:54,854 --> 00:05:57,322 Lovely details, these pointed - 77 00:05:57,490 --> 00:06:06,296 - arches rising and being supported by the great, almost natural forms of the er, piers. 78 00:06:07,266 --> 00:06:13,136 There are people sitting round, praying, reading the Koran. 79 00:06:14,207 --> 00:06:16,539 Fantastic atmosphere. 80 00:06:16,776 --> 00:06:21,213 l say a place of meditation and communion with God. 81 00:06:23,015 --> 00:06:24,915 lt's er, five o'clock, 82 00:06:25,084 --> 00:06:27,109 towards the end of a very hot day, 83 00:06:27,286 --> 00:06:29,846 but inside here - it's cool. 84 00:06:35,795 --> 00:06:37,194 So how does this work? 85 00:06:37,964 --> 00:06:41,525 The answer is a very ingenious ventilation system. 86 00:06:48,808 --> 00:06:51,675 And er, this is how the ventilation system works. 87 00:06:51,844 --> 00:06:56,213 The thick walls of the mosque absorb the heat during the day, 88 00:06:56,382 --> 00:06:59,351 the earthen walls, and at night they release heat. 89 00:06:59,519 --> 00:07:01,214 So in the evening 90 00:07:01,387 --> 00:07:04,015 these ceramic tops are taken off these ventilation holes - 91 00:07:04,190 --> 00:07:09,093 - and the heat rises and keeps the interior cool. 92 00:07:09,395 --> 00:07:12,387 There are, on the roof, a hundred and four of them. 93 00:07:12,665 --> 00:07:15,156 And here in front of me are three towers, 94 00:07:15,334 --> 00:07:16,266 they're minarets really - 95 00:07:16,436 --> 00:07:18,131 - and on the top is an ostrich egg. 96 00:07:18,304 --> 00:07:19,635 Lovely, can you see it? 97 00:07:19,939 --> 00:07:22,772 And these ostrich eggs represent fertility, 98 00:07:22,942 --> 00:07:26,810 sitting on top of a minaret, which is quite obviously rather phallic. 99 00:07:26,979 --> 00:07:30,847 So we have the male and the female combined. 100 00:07:34,754 --> 00:07:36,984 lt's built and designed by people 101 00:07:37,156 --> 00:07:42,924 who've put their heart and soul into the building. lt's - 102 00:07:43,095 --> 00:07:44,926 - an amazingly powerful creation. 103 00:07:45,097 --> 00:07:50,228 lt is, in its way, as great as any of the great buildings of the world. 104 00:07:50,403 --> 00:07:53,497 This is the largest mud-built mosque in the world - 105 00:07:53,673 --> 00:07:56,642 - and looking at it now with the sun setting behind the minarets, 106 00:07:56,809 --> 00:08:00,540 it is almost overwhelming. 107 00:08:23,970 --> 00:08:25,403 Next l'll be driving west, 108 00:08:25,571 --> 00:08:28,631 leaving behind the lslamic world of Djenne. 109 00:08:31,344 --> 00:08:35,804 l'm going back further in time to an even older tradition. 110 00:08:36,816 --> 00:08:40,843 My destination is a remote region of Bandiagara. 111 00:08:47,927 --> 00:08:51,021 For centuries this has been the land of the Dogon people. 112 00:08:51,731 --> 00:08:52,823 Until the 1930's 113 00:08:52,999 --> 00:08:56,162 one of Africa's most isolated tribes. 114 00:09:08,915 --> 00:09:11,008 Dogon is one of the few tribes to have clung to 115 00:09:11,183 --> 00:09:14,084 its traditional way of life and ancient beliefs. 116 00:09:15,488 --> 00:09:16,819 At the centre of Dogon religion 117 00:09:16,989 --> 00:09:20,550 is a fantastical account of the creation of the universe. 118 00:09:34,574 --> 00:09:36,098 According to - Dogon beliefs 119 00:09:36,275 --> 00:09:41,770 there's one god, Ama, who lives in heaven 120 00:09:42,181 --> 00:09:45,275 and one day Ama took a great ball of clay 121 00:09:45,451 --> 00:09:46,281 and threw it down 122 00:09:46,452 --> 00:09:49,387 and it spun and it formed a square, 123 00:09:50,022 --> 00:09:52,889 each corner marking the cardinal points. 124 00:09:53,059 --> 00:09:59,157 And the square formed itself gradually into the body of a woman. 125 00:09:59,332 --> 00:10:00,697 Mother Earth. 126 00:10:08,207 --> 00:10:12,303 Central to the Dogon religion has been the rite of circumcision. 127 00:10:12,778 --> 00:10:16,009 The government of Mali now discourages female circumcision, 128 00:10:16,182 --> 00:10:19,208 but the male ritual is still practised 129 00:10:19,385 --> 00:10:22,821 and has inspired some of the finest Dogon art. 130 00:10:33,633 --> 00:10:37,399 The circumcision ceremony takes place here, 131 00:10:37,570 --> 00:10:41,597 in front of, indeed below these incredible - paintings. 132 00:10:41,774 --> 00:10:44,504 Some people say these date from the 13th century. 133 00:10:44,677 --> 00:10:48,044 Certainly though, they are refreshed on a regular basis 134 00:10:48,214 --> 00:10:51,581 because the ceremony takes place every three years. 135 00:10:51,851 --> 00:10:53,182 So the boys, aged about ten, 136 00:10:53,352 --> 00:10:54,546 walk the route l've just walked 137 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,416 and sit here in a circle, 138 00:10:57,690 --> 00:10:59,783 the surgeon on this stone, 139 00:10:59,959 --> 00:11:01,927 the young fellow over there. 140 00:11:02,094 --> 00:11:04,494 The boys are up here for about a month 141 00:11:04,664 --> 00:11:07,758 during this initiation into adulthood, into manhood 142 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:12,196 and during that time they're told stories of their ancestors, of their gods 143 00:11:12,371 --> 00:11:15,704 and they make or indeed repaint - 144 00:11:15,875 --> 00:11:18,275 - these er, these images in front of me. 145 00:11:18,644 --> 00:11:20,475 They are an amazing collection. 146 00:11:20,746 --> 00:11:22,304 Many are tribal images. 147 00:11:22,481 --> 00:11:26,042 Little medicine bags containing 148 00:11:26,218 --> 00:11:29,278 sort of talismans and um, potent things. 149 00:11:31,724 --> 00:11:34,784 And the most spectacular is a snake 150 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:35,790 and that's Lebaye 151 00:11:35,961 --> 00:11:37,952 one of the great ancestor spirits. 152 00:11:38,264 --> 00:11:41,392 The ancestor responsible for creation of the Earth, 153 00:11:41,567 --> 00:11:44,263 for crops and for plenty and there, 154 00:11:44,437 --> 00:11:49,898 this great serpent writhing and twisting on the rock. 155 00:11:52,845 --> 00:11:54,403 This art is fantastic. 156 00:11:54,580 --> 00:11:56,571 lt has to do with the origins of art. 157 00:11:56,749 --> 00:11:58,580 lt's art without ego. 158 00:11:58,751 --> 00:12:01,481 lt's not self-serving. lt's art - 159 00:12:01,654 --> 00:12:03,121 - which deals with the real things of life. 160 00:12:03,289 --> 00:12:07,055 With religious beliefs, with the continuity of the community. 161 00:12:07,226 --> 00:12:08,124 One could call these naive, 162 00:12:08,294 --> 00:12:09,454 they're not naive of course, 163 00:12:09,628 --> 00:12:11,425 they're simple, they're powerful. 164 00:12:11,897 --> 00:12:13,125 They're painted - with love, 165 00:12:13,299 --> 00:12:15,290 with feeling, with commitment. 166 00:12:15,468 --> 00:12:19,962 They are really - very, very moving images. 167 00:12:32,651 --> 00:12:35,279 l'm fascinated by the myths and legends of the Dogon, 168 00:12:35,454 --> 00:12:37,752 so l head for the village of Sango, 169 00:12:37,923 --> 00:12:40,448 to seek out a powerful work of art. 170 00:12:40,659 --> 00:12:42,217 The symbol of Africa. 171 00:12:46,398 --> 00:12:49,458 Everywhere you look there are sacred images carved on the doors, 172 00:12:49,635 --> 00:12:52,900 the windows and the walls of houses and granaries. 173 00:12:53,939 --> 00:12:57,204 These are clues which will lead me to my next treasure. 174 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:06,149 Ah! Now an image that's very familiar. 175 00:13:06,318 --> 00:13:08,445 This rather abstract image here, 176 00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:11,556 two horizontal bars connected by a vertical. 177 00:13:11,724 --> 00:13:13,351 This represents the heavens, 178 00:13:13,526 --> 00:13:16,791 the great male creator, Ama, 179 00:13:16,962 --> 00:13:19,089 and this pointing down, the Earth, 180 00:13:19,265 --> 00:13:22,234 this being the bridge between the two worlds. 181 00:13:22,601 --> 00:13:27,504 And um, all around this little town are creations of this quality, 182 00:13:27,673 --> 00:13:30,198 which tell ancient and powerful stories 183 00:13:30,376 --> 00:13:33,834 so central to the life of the Dogon people. 184 00:13:40,386 --> 00:13:44,982 But all of this is not just part of some dead, dusty myth, 185 00:13:45,157 --> 00:13:46,181 because there's one event, 186 00:13:46,358 --> 00:13:48,417 the most important event in the Dogon world 187 00:13:48,594 --> 00:13:51,256 that brings all these images to life. 188 00:13:51,430 --> 00:13:54,866 That makes them part of our modern world. 189 00:14:04,877 --> 00:14:05,707 This dance is a bridge 190 00:14:05,878 --> 00:14:09,507 between the world of the dead and the world of the living. 191 00:14:11,417 --> 00:14:14,147 Most importantly it allows the Dogon people 192 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,720 to communicate with their ancestors. 193 00:14:17,289 --> 00:14:19,280 My treasure is the key to the dance 194 00:14:19,458 --> 00:14:22,359 and opens the door to the realm of the spirits. 195 00:14:35,307 --> 00:14:39,767 These Dogon masks aren't symbolic or representative, 196 00:14:39,945 --> 00:14:44,382 they contain the life force that they show. 197 00:14:45,117 --> 00:14:48,951 During the dance they are alive. 198 00:14:49,521 --> 00:14:52,513 The dancers and the mask are one being. 199 00:14:53,425 --> 00:14:56,724 These masks are sacred objects, 200 00:14:56,896 --> 00:14:59,922 too powerful for ordinary mortals to - 201 00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:03,729 to hold or even to know where they're kept. 202 00:15:08,307 --> 00:15:09,865 That chap l know - l recognise that mask. 203 00:15:10,042 --> 00:15:11,066 That's heaven and Earth isn't it, 204 00:15:11,243 --> 00:15:13,006 the one with the cross bars? 205 00:15:13,178 --> 00:15:13,974 And these are the same. 206 00:15:14,146 --> 00:15:14,908 Yeah, these are the same. 207 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:20,279 This is called the Kanagan mask and - represents the spirit of man. 208 00:15:20,452 --> 00:15:21,043 Spirit of man? 209 00:15:21,220 --> 00:15:22,152 Yeah, yeah, yeah, man. 210 00:15:22,321 --> 00:15:24,380 And these chaps are fantastic. 211 00:15:24,690 --> 00:15:27,818 This mask represent levels of knowledge. 212 00:15:27,993 --> 00:15:29,790 - Levels of knowledge. - Knowledge, yes. 213 00:15:29,962 --> 00:15:30,929 Of course. 214 00:15:31,096 --> 00:15:33,291 And this is the spiritual animal here, this is - 215 00:15:33,465 --> 00:15:34,432 lt's called lan. 216 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,364 That's lna, lna. 217 00:15:38,771 --> 00:15:40,568 And the last are females, aren't they, 218 00:15:40,739 --> 00:15:41,706 they have breasts. 219 00:15:41,874 --> 00:15:44,240 They have breasts these chaps, pulling and pushing one another over. 220 00:15:44,410 --> 00:15:45,035 Pushing one another over. 221 00:15:45,210 --> 00:15:46,643 Females riding high - above the Earth? 222 00:15:46,812 --> 00:15:48,746 Yeah, this mask represent woman. 223 00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:50,506 And the fact they are up, 224 00:15:50,683 --> 00:15:53,982 that means the situation where the Dogon people want woman to be. 225 00:15:54,219 --> 00:15:54,708 To be raised up? 226 00:15:54,887 --> 00:15:55,649 Yeah, yeah, to be up. 227 00:15:55,821 --> 00:15:57,413 So they give high status to woman. 228 00:15:57,589 --> 00:15:58,146 Very good. 229 00:15:58,324 --> 00:16:01,555 And this leg symbolise the leg of er, a bird - 230 00:16:01,727 --> 00:16:02,352 - you know. 231 00:16:02,528 --> 00:16:04,587 Okay. But yet women can't be in the dance, can they? 232 00:16:04,763 --> 00:16:05,593 No, no, they can't. 233 00:16:05,764 --> 00:16:06,731 They're represented but they can't join in. 234 00:16:06,899 --> 00:16:08,730 Yeah, they can't participate to the dance - 235 00:16:08,901 --> 00:16:11,734 - but they are given the most important mask. - Okay. 236 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:13,063 And the most important stature. 237 00:16:13,238 --> 00:16:18,073 And now - after this they will go back to their place of safety. 238 00:16:18,243 --> 00:16:19,505 ln fact they've danced around me once 239 00:16:19,678 --> 00:16:24,172 and now they're leaving and going into myth. 240 00:16:41,834 --> 00:16:43,961 African masks were a great source of inspiration 241 00:16:44,136 --> 00:16:46,400 for European artists like Picasso 242 00:16:46,572 --> 00:16:49,769 who recognised their emotional and primal power. 243 00:16:50,776 --> 00:16:52,368 Mali's developed a thriving industry 244 00:16:52,544 --> 00:16:55,206 producing masks to sell to visitors. 245 00:16:55,814 --> 00:16:57,782 Most on sale here have, l trust, 246 00:16:57,950 --> 00:16:59,315 been made for tourists 247 00:16:59,485 --> 00:17:02,283 and are not genuine sacred masks. 248 00:17:03,022 --> 00:17:04,046 Ah. 249 00:17:04,323 --> 00:17:05,790 - Monsieur, bonjour. - Bonjour. 250 00:17:06,091 --> 00:17:07,183 You are welcome. 251 00:17:07,793 --> 00:17:10,159 lt's amazing to see so many masks for sale. 252 00:17:10,396 --> 00:17:13,365 They're hibernating, the power - is dormant. 253 00:17:13,532 --> 00:17:17,662 And apparently if one's um, very sensitive 254 00:17:18,170 --> 00:17:19,728 and the mask is very powerful, 255 00:17:19,905 --> 00:17:24,638 even to touch one of these masks, even when dormant, 256 00:17:25,511 --> 00:17:26,876 can burn one's fingers. 257 00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:28,240 l'll have a go. 258 00:17:29,715 --> 00:17:32,513 Oh, well l'm not very sensitive - 259 00:17:32,684 --> 00:17:35,016 - but l'm sure the power's there. 260 00:17:35,187 --> 00:17:35,949 So these - are Dogon masks? 261 00:17:36,121 --> 00:17:37,213 This a Dogon mask. 262 00:17:37,389 --> 00:17:39,380 This is the Kanaga, this is Satimi. 263 00:17:39,558 --> 00:17:40,718 This is Kanaga? 264 00:17:40,893 --> 00:17:42,292 Kanaga, yeah, Kanaga mask. 265 00:17:42,561 --> 00:17:43,186 And this one too? 266 00:17:43,362 --> 00:17:44,761 Yeah, this one too is a Dogon. 267 00:17:45,064 --> 00:17:47,931 - So this is what, an animal spirit? - Yeah. 268 00:17:48,300 --> 00:17:49,232 This one's an old one, isn't it? 269 00:17:49,401 --> 00:17:50,163 Yeah, this is Dogon. 270 00:17:50,335 --> 00:17:51,495 Oh that's - that's water or the sea, isn't it? 271 00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:54,298 This is the er, the lion - lion's figure. 272 00:17:54,473 --> 00:17:56,270 The lion. Okay, rrrh. 273 00:17:56,475 --> 00:17:57,737 ls the power, is a power mask. 274 00:17:57,910 --> 00:17:59,400 Power mask indeed. 275 00:17:59,711 --> 00:18:00,803 Well, how much are you asking for this one? 276 00:18:00,979 --> 00:18:02,344 This one is 25 thousand. 277 00:18:02,514 --> 00:18:04,175 Ah, that's too much. That's too much. 278 00:18:04,349 --> 00:18:05,475 This is - l have - l have them - 279 00:18:05,651 --> 00:18:06,811 Much too much. 280 00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:08,678 lt's a lovely thing but l know it's not worth. 281 00:18:08,854 --> 00:18:10,981 Like this one l'm selling for - for 75. 282 00:18:11,156 --> 00:18:12,418 l don't want that one. That's not very nice. 283 00:18:12,591 --> 00:18:13,717 Yeah, this is ten thousand. 284 00:18:14,093 --> 00:18:16,721 - This is a cheaper one. This is - - No, that's horrible. 285 00:18:16,895 --> 00:18:19,295 Okay. How much, your best price is how much for this one? 286 00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:20,693 Well you're - l'm saying ten, 287 00:18:20,866 --> 00:18:22,026 you're saying - you're saying twenty, 288 00:18:22,201 --> 00:18:27,901 so l suppose we have to go down the middle and say um, twelve, twelve. 289 00:18:28,841 --> 00:18:32,709 Nojoking is no good l'll tell you. Price is no good. 290 00:18:32,878 --> 00:18:36,143 Let's split the difference and l'll say fifteen and that's it. 291 00:18:37,249 --> 00:18:38,238 Fifteen. 292 00:18:38,951 --> 00:18:40,976 No. Okay now you give me seventeen, is okay. 293 00:18:41,153 --> 00:18:43,815 Seventeen you are stopped there, okay? 294 00:18:44,223 --> 00:18:45,952 Sixteen. Oh for god's sake, 295 00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:47,615 seventeen, okay, let's - seventeen. 296 00:18:47,793 --> 00:18:48,919 l'm joking for me, this one. 297 00:18:49,094 --> 00:18:50,618 l've been had, but l don't care. 298 00:18:53,298 --> 00:18:54,492 Seventeen? 299 00:19:02,407 --> 00:19:04,466 lt's with regret that l leave Mali. 300 00:19:04,843 --> 00:19:07,403 A land of ancient and mystical faith. 301 00:19:20,125 --> 00:19:23,288 From West Africa, l travel north to Libya. 302 00:19:24,096 --> 00:19:26,690 On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 303 00:19:40,379 --> 00:19:41,607 l'm in Tripoli. 304 00:19:42,247 --> 00:19:46,274 Until recently it would have been almost impossible to visit Libya. 305 00:19:47,653 --> 00:19:50,019 Under the hard-line regime of Colonel Gaddafi, 306 00:19:50,189 --> 00:19:53,420 the country was closed to most western visitors. 307 00:19:58,430 --> 00:20:00,625 But now relations have thawed 308 00:20:01,233 --> 00:20:02,825 and l can visit two treasures 309 00:20:03,068 --> 00:20:06,469 that have haunted my imagination for decades. 310 00:20:16,014 --> 00:20:18,812 Seventy-five miles east along the coast from Tripoli 311 00:20:18,984 --> 00:20:21,043 lies my next treasure. 312 00:20:24,089 --> 00:20:26,819 Libya was an important outpost of the Roman Empire 313 00:20:26,992 --> 00:20:29,961 and trades flourished along this coast. 314 00:20:31,029 --> 00:20:33,793 l've come to see one of the greatest Roman cities. 315 00:20:34,333 --> 00:20:37,928 A miraculous survival of the classical world. 316 00:20:50,649 --> 00:20:53,311 The city of Leptis Magna was a gateway for trade 317 00:20:53,485 --> 00:20:56,716 between African Europe during Roman times. 318 00:20:57,689 --> 00:21:01,682 Under the rule of Emperor Septimus Severus in the first century A.D., 319 00:21:01,860 --> 00:21:04,420 the city enjoyed its golden age. 320 00:21:07,232 --> 00:21:11,191 lt was one of the largest and most magnificent in Africa. 321 00:21:18,377 --> 00:21:20,971 Nowhere else in the world could get such a good idea 322 00:21:21,146 --> 00:21:22,773 of what it was like to be a citizen 323 00:21:22,948 --> 00:21:26,543 living in a great Roman period city - 324 00:21:26,818 --> 00:21:29,685 - and l'm going to be a citizen of Leptis Magna. 325 00:21:29,855 --> 00:21:33,313 A citizen for the day, going to the marketplace. 326 00:21:33,592 --> 00:21:36,789 Here would be sold - fruit and fish. 327 00:21:36,962 --> 00:21:40,955 But l'm a merchant of fabrics, cotton, 328 00:21:41,133 --> 00:21:44,534 and here is a lovely little arch - 329 00:21:44,703 --> 00:21:46,330 - with ships here 330 00:21:46,505 --> 00:21:49,804 bringing goods to Leptis from afar. 331 00:21:49,975 --> 00:21:51,806 Certainly - my cotton comes from Egypt. 332 00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:57,609 Now - through here is where l did my business, 333 00:21:57,816 --> 00:21:59,681 selling my cotton and perhaps silk, 334 00:21:59,851 --> 00:22:02,285 and in front of me is a very important thing. 335 00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:04,918 lt's a unit of measurements. 336 00:22:05,290 --> 00:22:06,154 lncredible. 337 00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:08,987 The Punic measurement is what's called a Cubit. 338 00:22:09,161 --> 00:22:10,389 A Cubit being an ancient - measure 339 00:22:10,562 --> 00:22:11,927 from the elbow to this finger. 340 00:22:12,097 --> 00:22:14,224 Exactly a Cubit of length - 341 00:22:14,399 --> 00:22:16,663 - where l'd offer up my cloth like this 342 00:22:17,002 --> 00:22:19,903 and sell it on to the retailer. 343 00:22:20,639 --> 00:22:25,576 And here are measures for liquids, wine or olive oil. 344 00:22:25,744 --> 00:22:30,909 Liquids poured into the top of this container, four different sizes, and - 345 00:22:31,083 --> 00:22:33,847 - then there's a plug system, l guess, here - 346 00:22:34,052 --> 00:22:35,314 - and the liquid would then - 347 00:22:35,487 --> 00:22:40,322 - go from here into a pot and be carried away. 348 00:22:45,897 --> 00:22:47,524 After a hectic morning of business, 349 00:22:47,699 --> 00:22:49,428 l make my way to the Forum. 350 00:22:54,406 --> 00:22:57,000 This is the heart of the city. 351 00:22:57,642 --> 00:23:04,741 Here the citizens could venerate the god emperor in the temple standing there. 352 00:23:05,484 --> 00:23:08,248 What a great - space this is. 353 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,082 Remains there of a colonnade - supporting sculpture. 354 00:23:13,258 --> 00:23:15,954 Heads of Medusa, some of which survive. 355 00:23:16,828 --> 00:23:17,487 lncredible place. 356 00:23:17,662 --> 00:23:23,123 Shops over there facing the temple. 357 00:23:24,102 --> 00:23:25,729 And behind the shops 358 00:23:26,037 --> 00:23:30,838 the most important public building in the city really, the great basilica. 359 00:23:38,850 --> 00:23:42,047 With tiers of columns rising up almost ninety feet, 360 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:47,487 the great basilica dispensed law and order to the citizens of Leptis Magna. 361 00:23:55,834 --> 00:23:56,926 lt's the end of a busy day. 362 00:23:57,102 --> 00:23:59,935 l need a - a bath and a massage. 363 00:24:00,205 --> 00:24:02,673 So l come to this magnificent public bath. 364 00:24:02,908 --> 00:24:08,005 This is one of the greatest bathhouses outside Rome itself. And - 365 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,771 - taking my clothes off as l go along, 366 00:24:10,949 --> 00:24:12,746 putting my garments in a locker room, 367 00:24:12,918 --> 00:24:16,410 l go through these rooms and here, 368 00:24:16,788 --> 00:24:21,054 stripped naked by this time, l enter - 369 00:24:21,226 --> 00:24:26,994 - this great chamber here which is the hot room, which is steaming. 370 00:24:27,466 --> 00:24:30,560 Can hardly see as l make my way over here. 371 00:24:30,735 --> 00:24:35,365 Great furnaces creating intense - heat over here. 372 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:37,269 So l sweat, l sweat. 373 00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:38,465 l'm here. 374 00:24:39,277 --> 00:24:41,336 With steam coming out of pipes, 375 00:24:41,513 --> 00:24:42,480 l lie down 376 00:24:42,647 --> 00:24:44,376 and am massaged with olive oil. 377 00:24:44,549 --> 00:24:48,815 My body worked thoroughly by a muscular fellow. 378 00:24:49,321 --> 00:24:50,583 Feels fantastic. 379 00:24:51,823 --> 00:24:52,812 And above me 380 00:24:52,991 --> 00:24:56,654 a great vault keeping the heat in. 381 00:24:57,963 --> 00:25:00,261 lf l'm taken short and need to go to the lavatory 382 00:25:00,432 --> 00:25:01,956 there are these public latrines. 383 00:25:02,133 --> 00:25:03,760 Well, very public actually. 384 00:25:04,069 --> 00:25:05,036 Multi-seaters. 385 00:25:05,203 --> 00:25:09,970 They are a really beautiful, elegant minimal design. 386 00:25:10,141 --> 00:25:16,478 l sit here above this little hole and um, go about my business. 387 00:25:16,648 --> 00:25:19,742 When completed, take a brush - 388 00:25:19,918 --> 00:25:22,216 - put it in this canal of water, get the brush - 389 00:25:22,387 --> 00:25:27,347 - and er, insert it through this hole and - cleanse my person. 390 00:25:27,826 --> 00:25:29,817 And then - off l go. 391 00:25:43,241 --> 00:25:46,768 Much of the city that once housed seventy thousand people 392 00:25:46,945 --> 00:25:49,436 is yet to be unearthed. 393 00:25:49,681 --> 00:25:51,706 By the 11th century it had been abandoned 394 00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:55,341 and covered by sand - the ruins lost. 395 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,215 Excavation has taken place 396 00:25:57,389 --> 00:25:58,651 and the centre revealed, 397 00:25:58,823 --> 00:26:01,053 but where l'm standing now is still covered. 398 00:26:01,226 --> 00:26:02,818 This is where people lived. 399 00:26:02,994 --> 00:26:08,159 Below my feet are the houses of this once thriving population. 400 00:26:08,333 --> 00:26:12,326 Everywhere one looks one sees evidence of the people, 401 00:26:12,504 --> 00:26:14,028 their occupation of - this site. 402 00:26:14,205 --> 00:26:15,968 Bits of pot everywhere. 403 00:26:16,808 --> 00:26:18,571 Lovely bit of ceramic here. 404 00:26:20,045 --> 00:26:20,534 Ancient glass. 405 00:26:20,712 --> 00:26:24,944 And even here - fragments of bronze coins. 406 00:26:25,116 --> 00:26:26,344 Look at that. 407 00:26:28,019 --> 00:26:32,979 lt's very moving to think that below my feet 408 00:26:33,158 --> 00:26:39,495 is so much evidence yet to be revealed - of what life was really like here on this coast, 409 00:26:39,664 --> 00:26:42,895 this trading city, two thousand years ago. 410 00:26:47,806 --> 00:26:50,070 With the decline of the Roman Empire, 411 00:26:50,241 --> 00:26:53,836 the city of Leptis Magna fell prey to its enemies 412 00:26:54,713 --> 00:26:58,274 and was violently sacked by Berber raiders from the desert. 413 00:27:06,825 --> 00:27:10,124 l'm going to a Berber village to find my next treasure. 414 00:27:19,904 --> 00:27:22,930 l head south towards the El Azizia desert. 415 00:27:23,208 --> 00:27:25,403 One of the hottest places on Earth. 416 00:27:26,911 --> 00:27:31,245 Temperatures here can reach a baking 136 degrees Fahrenheit. 417 00:27:36,388 --> 00:27:39,448 This arid land was the home of the Berbers. 418 00:27:39,624 --> 00:27:42,320 The original inhabitants of North Africa. 419 00:27:47,165 --> 00:27:49,065 My treasure was created by the Berber people 420 00:27:49,234 --> 00:27:51,600 nearly a thousand years ago. 421 00:27:53,738 --> 00:27:57,071 lt's a building created for the most basic of reasons. 422 00:27:57,542 --> 00:28:00,067 The storage and preservation of food. 423 00:28:01,546 --> 00:28:06,540 ln this inhospitable region it was the difference between life and death. 424 00:28:20,999 --> 00:28:23,229 lt's built from local materials. 425 00:28:23,568 --> 00:28:27,299 Stone, gypsum, plaster. 426 00:28:27,572 --> 00:28:29,972 lncredibly organic in feel. 427 00:28:30,341 --> 00:28:33,504 A perfect O, a perfect circle. 428 00:28:35,814 --> 00:28:40,842 lt was created to store the community's most precious thing. 429 00:28:41,219 --> 00:28:42,345 Not just cereals were stored here, 430 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:47,583 dates, olives, wine, olive oil, figs. 431 00:28:48,193 --> 00:28:52,630 Each window is a little cell belonging to a different family. 432 00:28:52,831 --> 00:28:54,856 Each one a little vaulted space 433 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:57,934 in which really the thing of life itself, 434 00:28:58,103 --> 00:29:01,834 their food, was preserved and guarded. 435 00:29:08,546 --> 00:29:11,481 l'll try and get into one of the storage cells. 436 00:29:11,716 --> 00:29:15,015 Each one is um, sort of a little independent room. 437 00:29:15,754 --> 00:29:18,348 Now this ladder, gosh, seen better days, wow. 438 00:29:18,790 --> 00:29:25,719 Um, okay. So l say each of these little cells would belong to one family - 439 00:29:25,897 --> 00:29:33,531 - and um, on the floor - is the remains of the family's barley store. 440 00:29:33,705 --> 00:29:34,330 l'm gonna to walk on it 441 00:29:34,506 --> 00:29:37,498 because these rooms are now generally abandoned 442 00:29:37,675 --> 00:29:39,540 and this food will no longer be eaten. 443 00:29:39,978 --> 00:29:42,572 Oh, gosh, l'm sinking in barley. 444 00:29:42,781 --> 00:29:44,806 Wow, there's more in than l thought. Wow - 445 00:29:45,116 --> 00:29:47,243 - excellent. lncredible. 446 00:29:47,685 --> 00:29:48,947 lt's er, oh lovely, look. 447 00:29:49,821 --> 00:29:52,312 Um, fresh actually, good quality. 448 00:29:52,957 --> 00:29:55,949 Now, as l look at this room - amazing. 449 00:29:56,127 --> 00:30:00,689 Look at the thickness of the wall of this granary. 450 00:30:01,266 --> 00:30:03,029 lt's hot outside but cool in here, 451 00:30:03,201 --> 00:30:06,534 that's the point, and er, and very, very dry. 452 00:30:06,771 --> 00:30:09,331 One end of this room a little window, 453 00:30:09,574 --> 00:30:11,906 so it's ventilated, very important. 454 00:30:12,177 --> 00:30:15,943 What intrigues me as l stand here is um, 455 00:30:16,147 --> 00:30:17,239 what's carved - on the wall. 456 00:30:17,415 --> 00:30:19,610 Like a little chequerboard here, 457 00:30:19,784 --> 00:30:22,218 or perhaps it's a way of marking off time. 458 00:30:22,420 --> 00:30:25,651 Almost at some point it was inhabited, or partly inhabited. 459 00:30:40,805 --> 00:30:41,931 Some of the structure of the granary 460 00:30:42,106 --> 00:30:47,237 also operates every effectively as a fortification. 461 00:30:47,579 --> 00:30:54,951 lt's a way of protecting the community of Berbers in time of invasion. 462 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,148 ln the courtyard below they would camp - 463 00:30:58,389 --> 00:31:01,153 - and l think to a degree, occupy these rooms 464 00:31:01,326 --> 00:31:07,356 because some of these cells, the doors - can be secured only from within. 465 00:31:07,532 --> 00:31:16,531 So clearly these were to be occupied, l suppose maybe if the enemy penetrated the fortress. 466 00:31:26,951 --> 00:31:32,321 The Berber village lying outside the granary is in ruins. 467 00:31:32,490 --> 00:31:36,187 The granary itself is largely abandoned. 468 00:31:39,631 --> 00:31:44,864 Until recently they lived here much as they would have lived two thousand years ago, 469 00:31:46,337 --> 00:31:49,864 with their own language, their own customs, 470 00:31:50,041 --> 00:31:51,269 their own culture. 471 00:31:51,843 --> 00:31:55,108 But things have changed, times have changed. 472 00:31:55,647 --> 00:31:58,946 They are now succumbing to the modern world. 473 00:31:59,117 --> 00:32:01,108 Their culture is disappearing. 474 00:32:01,586 --> 00:32:04,316 So this fortress failed in the end 475 00:32:04,489 --> 00:32:05,922 to save the Berbers. 476 00:32:07,458 --> 00:32:09,824 lt's a - tragedy. 477 00:32:10,228 --> 00:32:13,823 You see here the end of 478 00:32:15,466 --> 00:32:19,095 thousands of years of Berber life. 479 00:32:28,246 --> 00:32:32,012 lt's time to leave Libya and l head towards Egypt. 480 00:32:36,421 --> 00:32:38,582 Being in this evocative desert landscape 481 00:32:38,756 --> 00:32:42,192 l can't resist trying the traditional means of transport. 482 00:32:42,894 --> 00:32:45,692 - Okay, you have a - you have a camel? - Yes. 483 00:32:45,863 --> 00:32:46,761 Could l see? 484 00:32:47,498 --> 00:32:48,726 Ride him, the camel. 485 00:32:49,867 --> 00:32:53,633 You have a camel? Can't see many. 486 00:32:53,838 --> 00:32:54,827 Do you have a camel? 487 00:32:55,139 --> 00:32:56,401 - No camel. - No camel. 488 00:32:56,574 --> 00:32:57,768 - Horse. - Horse, no. 489 00:32:57,942 --> 00:33:00,137 l rather wanted to mount a camel. 490 00:33:00,311 --> 00:33:02,245 There's a camel. There's a camel. 491 00:33:02,413 --> 00:33:04,108 - There's a camel here. - Yes, yes. 492 00:33:04,282 --> 00:33:05,943 Ah, a camel! 493 00:33:07,986 --> 00:33:12,389 Oh looks like he's a very um, pleasing camel. A reluctant camel. 494 00:33:12,557 --> 00:33:15,390 They're quite - they're brutish beasts, camels, from my experience. 495 00:33:15,626 --> 00:33:17,423 They have a temper, a bit unpredictable. 496 00:33:20,431 --> 00:33:23,662 Sounds already in a bad temper. 497 00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:26,596 Um, okay, well let's see how this goes. 498 00:33:28,006 --> 00:33:29,064 - Morning. - How are you? 499 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,674 Morning. Very well. Say hello to the camel. 500 00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:32,400 Pleased to meet you. 501 00:33:32,577 --> 00:33:34,135 Nice to meet you. How's the camel? 502 00:33:36,047 --> 00:33:37,105 What's the camel's name? 503 00:33:37,382 --> 00:33:38,041 Name Whisky. 504 00:33:38,216 --> 00:33:40,013 Whis - Whisky? l can live - with that. 505 00:33:40,184 --> 00:33:45,622 Okay. l know getting - camel's getting up is always a bit - 506 00:33:45,790 --> 00:33:46,347 Lean back. 507 00:33:46,524 --> 00:33:48,219 - Lean back and hold on. - Yeah. 508 00:33:50,895 --> 00:33:53,386 Argh. Lovely moment. 509 00:33:53,564 --> 00:33:55,225 l always love the er - 510 00:33:56,968 --> 00:34:00,734 nothing like getting on a camel in the morning. Wah. 511 00:34:01,239 --> 00:34:03,764 - Okay? - Okay. Let's go for a walk. 512 00:34:05,676 --> 00:34:06,836 Now Whisky, what you don't do Whisky 513 00:34:07,011 --> 00:34:09,138 is you just don't suddenly sit down, okay? 514 00:34:10,048 --> 00:34:11,743 l know that's what you want to do. 515 00:34:15,319 --> 00:34:17,514 l'm in search of a great civilisation. 516 00:34:17,688 --> 00:34:20,486 A mighty land ruled by divine kings. 517 00:34:20,658 --> 00:34:22,091 The pharaohs. 518 00:34:23,394 --> 00:34:27,421 They created one of the most brilliant empires the world has ever seen. 519 00:34:29,333 --> 00:34:31,301 For all our attempts to understand it, 520 00:34:31,469 --> 00:34:34,870 Ancient Egypt remains shrouded in mystery. 521 00:34:39,444 --> 00:34:40,206 My first stop is 522 00:34:40,378 --> 00:34:43,370 on the outskirts of the largest city of Africa. 523 00:34:53,958 --> 00:34:55,016 Being in Cairo 524 00:34:55,193 --> 00:34:59,527 you can probably guess what my first Egyptian treasure's going to be. 525 00:35:18,249 --> 00:35:21,047 Pure, ideal, elemental forms, 526 00:35:21,219 --> 00:35:24,746 as if exploding from the desert. 527 00:35:26,958 --> 00:35:35,263 The power comes from the combination of the huge scale and the perfection of the geometry. 528 00:35:35,433 --> 00:35:36,491 lncredible - experience. 529 00:35:36,667 --> 00:35:40,501 One can see these as a work of nature really, 530 00:35:40,671 --> 00:35:44,004 the force of nature, the work of the gods. 531 00:35:47,478 --> 00:35:49,878 The Pyramids remain an enigma. 532 00:35:51,215 --> 00:35:53,046 We still don't know for sure when they were built, 533 00:35:53,217 --> 00:35:54,184 by whom 534 00:35:54,352 --> 00:35:56,479 or indeed how they were built. 535 00:35:58,489 --> 00:36:01,253 The Great Pyramid is the largest of the three. 536 00:36:02,827 --> 00:36:06,126 lt's believed to have been made over four thousand, five hundred years ago 537 00:36:06,297 --> 00:36:09,789 by Pharaoh Cheops to house his tomb. 538 00:36:16,073 --> 00:36:19,304 lt was constructed with incredible accuracy. 539 00:36:19,710 --> 00:36:21,234 lf we accept the conventional view 540 00:36:21,412 --> 00:36:24,506 about the limited technology available at the time, 541 00:36:24,682 --> 00:36:29,915 then, quite simply, the Great Pyramid would have been unbuildable. 542 00:36:32,023 --> 00:36:34,685 lt's made out of two and a half million blocks of stone, 543 00:36:34,859 --> 00:36:40,354 laid in 203 courses, rising to 481 feet. 544 00:36:42,166 --> 00:36:43,997 lt's an amazing sight. 545 00:36:44,969 --> 00:36:46,027 The only survivor of 546 00:36:46,204 --> 00:36:49,173 the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 547 00:36:57,181 --> 00:37:00,014 But the reason for choosing the Great Pyramid as my treasure 548 00:37:00,184 --> 00:37:02,015 lies inside it. 549 00:37:16,434 --> 00:37:21,565 This entrance route l'm in was quarried into the pyramid in the 9th century, 550 00:37:21,739 --> 00:37:24,469 by the Caliph that ruled Cairo. 551 00:37:24,642 --> 00:37:26,906 He couldn't find the secret hidden entrance 552 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:29,546 so he cut - this passageway. 553 00:37:30,047 --> 00:37:35,314 Amazing. l'm walking through the body of the pyramid. 554 00:37:35,820 --> 00:37:37,947 lt's absolutely wonderful. 555 00:37:38,956 --> 00:37:43,586 Ah, now here we are, connecting with the original entrance passage, 556 00:37:43,761 --> 00:37:44,921 the ascending passage, 557 00:37:45,096 --> 00:37:49,465 still blocked by these great stones. 558 00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:53,627 Put there to seal the interior, stop people penetrating. 559 00:37:53,804 --> 00:37:57,171 And this passage l'm about to go up, 560 00:37:57,341 --> 00:38:00,003 leads to the chamber - 561 00:38:00,177 --> 00:38:05,581 - in which the pharaoh Cheops, is said to have been buried. 562 00:38:10,421 --> 00:38:12,582 lncredibly low, this passage. 563 00:38:13,024 --> 00:38:14,321 l'll have to go up on my hands and knees, 564 00:38:14,492 --> 00:38:17,256 or at least l suppose in an attitude of prayer 565 00:38:17,428 --> 00:38:19,020 with my head bowed. 566 00:38:24,435 --> 00:38:27,927 The gallery's beautifully constructed. 567 00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:32,075 - The huge weight above of the stone, 568 00:38:32,243 --> 00:38:35,872 the solid body of the pyramid is being carried - 569 00:38:36,681 --> 00:38:39,275 - by these stones above my head. 570 00:38:39,450 --> 00:38:42,385 lt's quite an alarming idea actually, 571 00:38:42,753 --> 00:38:45,620 walking through this little passage. 572 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:14,117 Oh. Well, another obstacle. 573 00:39:14,318 --> 00:39:17,151 This passage is even lower 574 00:39:17,355 --> 00:39:18,788 than the ascending passage. 575 00:39:18,956 --> 00:39:20,514 Oh, gosh! 576 00:39:23,060 --> 00:39:25,551 Walking through the granite wall. 577 00:39:26,063 --> 00:39:30,966 And - good Lord! 578 00:39:31,836 --> 00:39:36,296 What a space. What a room. 579 00:39:37,975 --> 00:39:39,840 This is called the King's Chamber, 580 00:39:40,010 --> 00:39:47,542 because it is thought in here the Pharaoh Cheops was entombed 581 00:39:47,718 --> 00:39:51,984 and here is the great sarcophagus. 582 00:39:56,060 --> 00:40:01,259 And in the sarcophagus one supposes was once - 583 00:40:01,465 --> 00:40:06,266 - the body of the great Pharaoh, Cheops. 584 00:40:06,737 --> 00:40:12,642 Certainly this sarcophagus had to be built into this room and there's no - 585 00:40:12,810 --> 00:40:14,539 - other way this could have got in here, 586 00:40:14,712 --> 00:40:18,978 apart from being lowered from above. 587 00:40:19,517 --> 00:40:21,348 But just look at the space. 588 00:40:22,887 --> 00:40:28,018 The room is formed by great granite slabs - 589 00:40:28,192 --> 00:40:30,285 - some of gigantic size. 590 00:40:30,461 --> 00:40:35,831 The one there - weighing, it is thought, about eighty tons. 591 00:40:36,033 --> 00:40:37,398 Look at the size of it. 592 00:40:37,568 --> 00:40:42,437 And look at the joints. They are so precise. 593 00:40:42,606 --> 00:40:44,767 Cut in granite. How? 594 00:40:45,443 --> 00:40:47,809 Four thousand five hundred years ago, 595 00:40:47,978 --> 00:40:50,208 with that primitive technology? 596 00:40:50,548 --> 00:40:55,247 lt almost defies belief. 597 00:40:55,719 --> 00:40:59,086 Defies understanding. 598 00:41:01,058 --> 00:41:03,117 Nothing about a room - like this 599 00:41:03,961 --> 00:41:07,658 is a mistake or a chance. 600 00:41:07,832 --> 00:41:11,962 And the proportion - this becomes the central proportion of classical architecture. 601 00:41:12,136 --> 00:41:13,330 Greece and Rome, 602 00:41:13,504 --> 00:41:14,300 ltalian Renaissance, 603 00:41:14,472 --> 00:41:15,336 the double cube 604 00:41:15,506 --> 00:41:19,840 is always the volume created by man when he wants to create a powerful sacred space, 605 00:41:20,010 --> 00:41:23,309 a space connecting with the gods and the higher world. 606 00:41:23,747 --> 00:41:25,738 And it starts here in this room, 607 00:41:25,916 --> 00:41:27,611 four thousand, five hundred years ago. 608 00:41:27,818 --> 00:41:30,480 This is in a way, this room, 609 00:41:30,654 --> 00:41:32,918 is the beginning of time, the beginning of civilisation, 610 00:41:33,090 --> 00:41:35,285 the beginning certainly of architecture. 611 00:41:35,459 --> 00:41:36,483 lncredible. 612 00:41:36,660 --> 00:41:39,652 But the more one stands here the details are phenomenal. 613 00:41:40,064 --> 00:41:43,397 For example, this room, 614 00:41:43,567 --> 00:41:46,661 where we believe the dead Pharaoh would reside, 615 00:41:46,837 --> 00:41:50,568 is connected to the outside world - by two air shafts. 616 00:41:50,741 --> 00:41:52,402 lncredible, these creations, 617 00:41:52,843 --> 00:41:55,778 to - allow the Pharaoh's soul. 618 00:41:55,946 --> 00:42:00,144 Eh, as l mentioned the word 'soul' the lights go out. 619 00:42:01,085 --> 00:42:05,647 Scary? Yes. lncredible. lncredible. 620 00:42:06,690 --> 00:42:09,284 Perhaps it's time to leave. 621 00:42:18,702 --> 00:42:24,470 The survival of the pyramids is threatened by the ever expanding suburbs and air pollution. 622 00:42:34,852 --> 00:42:37,252 With a growing population of ten million people, 623 00:42:37,421 --> 00:42:41,255 Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. 624 00:42:44,895 --> 00:42:46,453 And in the middle of this urban chaos 625 00:42:46,630 --> 00:42:51,033 is the tranquillity and inspiration of the Cairo Museum. 626 00:43:04,715 --> 00:43:07,650 l'm here to see the most exciting archaeological find 627 00:43:07,818 --> 00:43:09,809 of the 20th century. 628 00:43:15,726 --> 00:43:19,423 ln 1922, a British excavation team discovered 629 00:43:19,597 --> 00:43:21,588 the tomb of Tutankhamen. 630 00:43:21,799 --> 00:43:24,996 The boy pharaoh from over three thousand years ago. 631 00:43:32,009 --> 00:43:34,136 Pharaohs were buried with objects and spells 632 00:43:34,311 --> 00:43:38,338 to aid them in theirjourney through the Underworld to rebirth. 633 00:43:42,152 --> 00:43:45,588 Tutankhamen's tomb was a remarkable find. 634 00:43:46,490 --> 00:43:50,654 lt was one of the few royal tombs to have escaped the grave robbers. 635 00:43:53,464 --> 00:43:56,331 Within the tomb was a vast gilded box, 636 00:43:56,500 --> 00:43:59,560 covered with hieroglyphs on a great casket. 637 00:43:59,803 --> 00:44:03,671 And within that box was another box, slightly smaller - 638 00:44:03,841 --> 00:44:05,775 - also covered with hieroglyphs. 639 00:44:05,943 --> 00:44:07,570 Within that, a third box. 640 00:44:07,911 --> 00:44:11,608 And within the third box a fourth box. 641 00:44:12,216 --> 00:44:15,743 And in the fourth box was a great stone sarcophagus. 642 00:44:15,986 --> 00:44:17,886 Within that three coffins. 643 00:44:18,055 --> 00:44:20,523 And only, having got through all of that, 644 00:44:20,691 --> 00:44:22,750 would you have found my treasure. 645 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:46,980 And here it is. Tutankhamen's mask. 646 00:44:47,217 --> 00:44:50,345 An object that, since it was discovered eighty years ago, 647 00:44:50,621 --> 00:44:54,148 has captured the imagination of the world. 648 00:44:54,992 --> 00:44:59,053 The boy pharaoh who died, some say was murdered, 649 00:44:59,229 --> 00:45:02,630 over three thousand, three hundred years ago. 650 00:45:03,567 --> 00:45:07,833 lt shows - the pharaoh reborn, life after - death. 651 00:45:08,005 --> 00:45:10,337 But he's reborn as a divine being, 652 00:45:10,507 --> 00:45:15,843 his flesh replaced by gold - and other precious objects there. 653 00:45:16,013 --> 00:45:19,380 l mean there's Lapis, cornelian - turquoise. 654 00:45:21,085 --> 00:45:22,916 An incredible piece of work. 655 00:45:23,387 --> 00:45:28,222 Beautiful in detail, beautiful in form - and the colour and the meaning of it, 656 00:45:28,392 --> 00:45:29,984 power is here. 657 00:45:30,294 --> 00:45:34,094 On the front we see - the image of the vulture and the cobra, 658 00:45:34,264 --> 00:45:36,630 so worldly power, spiritual power. 659 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:38,427 People are attracted to it 660 00:45:38,602 --> 00:45:40,763 and l find myself strangely attracted to it. 661 00:45:40,938 --> 00:45:46,433 l look - into the eyes of the pharaoh. 662 00:45:46,910 --> 00:45:48,275 The stares back at me. 663 00:45:50,547 --> 00:45:54,711 lt is an astonishing experience. 664 00:46:05,562 --> 00:46:10,158 Well, um, my train's just arrived. 665 00:46:10,434 --> 00:46:11,332 lt's late. 666 00:46:11,668 --> 00:46:13,795 lt's also the end to an exhausting day. 667 00:46:14,138 --> 00:46:19,667 So, plan is to leave the turmoil, bustle of Cairo 668 00:46:19,877 --> 00:46:22,744 and get the overnight sleeper, 669 00:46:23,113 --> 00:46:24,546 nine hours journey, 670 00:46:25,215 --> 00:46:29,515 running beside the Nile to the relative peace, 671 00:46:29,686 --> 00:46:31,347 l hope of Edfu. 672 00:46:33,157 --> 00:46:37,890 Right. Okay, let's see how it goes. 673 00:46:39,296 --> 00:46:41,321 Don't feel like any trouble. 674 00:46:43,634 --> 00:46:44,760 Tourists. 675 00:46:50,541 --> 00:46:53,237 Very nice. l've got a saloon. 676 00:46:54,578 --> 00:46:57,638 Um, what's this? Widescreen television? 677 00:46:57,815 --> 00:47:01,046 Er, no, actually it's fine. 678 00:47:01,852 --> 00:47:05,618 And er, l'm gonna go to bed, so goodnight. 679 00:47:14,998 --> 00:47:17,228 l travel south beside the Nile. 680 00:47:17,534 --> 00:47:20,298 The River is the lifeblood of this land. 681 00:47:23,140 --> 00:47:24,402 Cities cluster along it, 682 00:47:24,575 --> 00:47:26,372 crops flourish beside it, 683 00:47:26,543 --> 00:47:29,410 and beyond is only desert. 684 00:47:38,589 --> 00:47:39,681 Without the Nile 685 00:47:39,857 --> 00:47:42,985 there would have been no great Ancient Egyptian civilisation 686 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:46,152 and certainly not my next treasure. 687 00:47:57,107 --> 00:48:00,076 This temple is the best preserved in Egypt. 688 00:48:01,044 --> 00:48:02,909 Completed around 60 B.C., 689 00:48:03,247 --> 00:48:07,013 it is dedicated to Horus, the falcon-headed god. 690 00:48:07,184 --> 00:48:10,017 God of the sky and god of light. 691 00:48:10,587 --> 00:48:14,580 The pharaohs were believed to be the embodiment of Horus on Earth. 692 00:48:23,300 --> 00:48:26,235 Temples like this are organised in a very particular way. 693 00:48:26,536 --> 00:48:30,097 They go from large, light - open, public areas like this 694 00:48:30,274 --> 00:48:34,301 to increasingly dark, intimate, enclosed areas 695 00:48:34,478 --> 00:48:38,107 where only the elite of the land, priests and the royal family, 696 00:48:38,282 --> 00:48:39,647 can penetrate. 697 00:48:43,654 --> 00:48:46,987 These walls tell the story of Egyptian theology. 698 00:48:47,391 --> 00:48:49,154 Of many gods, each one representing 699 00:48:49,326 --> 00:48:53,057 a different aspect of daily and spiritual life. 700 00:49:04,841 --> 00:49:06,638 This sort of sliver of a room 701 00:49:06,810 --> 00:49:09,938 is where offerings to - the gods were made. 702 00:49:10,113 --> 00:49:13,014 lt's incredible the way these stones speak. 703 00:49:13,183 --> 00:49:14,445 They're sort of living stones, 704 00:49:14,618 --> 00:49:17,553 incredible space to enter. 705 00:49:18,989 --> 00:49:27,089 And somewhere here on this wall among the hieroglyphs should be the image of Min, 706 00:49:27,264 --> 00:49:29,994 the god of fertility with his - 707 00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:33,034 - huge erect penis, phallus, 708 00:49:33,337 --> 00:49:38,365 symbolising the power given to mankind to recreate, 709 00:49:38,542 --> 00:49:42,478 to create life through the sexual act. 710 00:49:42,946 --> 00:49:45,107 And the phallus removed. 711 00:49:45,282 --> 00:49:46,977 This is - appalling. 712 00:49:47,417 --> 00:49:49,408 Removed over there as well, l see. 713 00:49:49,686 --> 00:49:50,948 Nothing else has been vandalised. 714 00:49:51,121 --> 00:49:56,616 l suspect this is some frightful souvenir hunter in the 19th century 715 00:49:56,793 --> 00:49:59,284 commissioning the removal of his member. 716 00:49:59,529 --> 00:50:02,930 Ah, now you see higher up, where people couldn't reach, 717 00:50:03,100 --> 00:50:06,592 the member's intact - protruding, 718 00:50:06,770 --> 00:50:11,400 showing the world the power of fertility. 719 00:50:13,710 --> 00:50:19,945 Now beyond this we get to the shrine itself. 720 00:50:20,117 --> 00:50:20,879 ln front of me, 721 00:50:21,051 --> 00:50:25,147 but now there's another division marked by this threshold. 722 00:50:25,522 --> 00:50:28,753 Only the high priest of the land 723 00:50:28,925 --> 00:50:35,296 and the pharaoh in his capacity as supreme high priest can make this step. 724 00:50:43,707 --> 00:50:49,304 Now the space is constrained more, darker, tighter space. 725 00:50:50,781 --> 00:50:52,146 An altar here. 726 00:50:53,717 --> 00:50:57,881 And here the shrine 727 00:50:58,955 --> 00:51:06,020 in which would have stood an image - of the great god Horus. 728 00:51:06,863 --> 00:51:09,127 This is very epicentre. 729 00:51:10,133 --> 00:51:16,197 lt is, in a sense - the birthplace and the powerhouse of Egyptian religion. 730 00:51:29,152 --> 00:51:33,054 l travel to the one time spiritual capital of Ancient Egypt. 731 00:51:33,957 --> 00:51:37,290 Even today, it still has the energy of a great city. 732 00:51:44,468 --> 00:51:47,266 Oh fish. There's the catfish from the Nile - 733 00:51:47,771 --> 00:51:49,568 - alive and kicking, breathing. 734 00:52:00,083 --> 00:52:03,678 l'd love a bit of pigeon. Hot Egyptian food. 735 00:52:04,688 --> 00:52:06,849 Takeaway, just like that. 736 00:52:14,965 --> 00:52:16,398 The last of my Egyptian treasures is 737 00:52:16,566 --> 00:52:19,399 for me one of pure romance. 738 00:52:29,446 --> 00:52:31,073 l'm pursuing a woman. 739 00:52:31,281 --> 00:52:33,977 Said to be one of the most beautiful in history. 740 00:52:34,885 --> 00:52:39,185 She was married to the great and powerful pharaoh, Ramesses ll. 741 00:52:40,891 --> 00:52:44,156 l've come to Luxor Temple for my first glimpse of her. 742 00:52:44,828 --> 00:52:46,352 Would l be disappointed? 743 00:52:54,137 --> 00:52:57,265 Ah, Queen Nefertari, at last we meet. 744 00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:02,935 Here she is, crouching below her husband's gigantic knee. 745 00:53:03,146 --> 00:53:05,114 lncredible image, look at her. 746 00:53:05,515 --> 00:53:09,349 Beautiful to touch. To run one's hands over. 747 00:53:09,953 --> 00:53:13,480 Amazing. But her face is gone. 748 00:53:14,024 --> 00:53:16,356 Destroyed in Ancient times. 749 00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:18,084 lncredibly frustrating. 750 00:53:18,261 --> 00:53:21,788 To find out more about her l must go to her tomb. 751 00:53:22,232 --> 00:53:25,099 There l'll discover about her life, her death, 752 00:53:25,268 --> 00:53:28,066 her life after death and, more important, 753 00:53:28,238 --> 00:53:32,902 l hope l'll find out exactly what she looked like. 754 00:53:45,488 --> 00:53:46,955 Tired of cars and trains, 755 00:53:47,123 --> 00:53:49,523 l fancy a ride in the open air. 756 00:53:49,993 --> 00:53:51,756 l head towards the Valley of the Queens 757 00:53:51,928 --> 00:53:53,987 where Nerfertari was buried. 758 00:53:56,600 --> 00:53:58,568 Nefertari means, 'the lovely one' 759 00:53:58,735 --> 00:54:01,602 and even over three thousand years later 760 00:54:01,771 --> 00:54:04,433 she still has the power to arouse. 761 00:54:13,283 --> 00:54:15,877 Nefertari's tomb is closed to the public. 762 00:54:18,888 --> 00:54:22,915 lnside it are the most beautiful and best preserved wall paintings 763 00:54:23,093 --> 00:54:25,118 ever discovered in Egypt. 764 00:54:36,573 --> 00:54:37,335 lncredible. 765 00:54:37,507 --> 00:54:42,774 The images here tell the story of Nefertari's journey after death, 766 00:54:43,146 --> 00:54:45,512 to the Underworld and then to rebirth. 767 00:54:45,682 --> 00:54:49,675 And here we see her, perfect and complete, the beautiful queen. 768 00:54:49,853 --> 00:54:50,911 Look at her. 769 00:54:51,655 --> 00:54:53,452 What a fantastic face. 770 00:54:53,757 --> 00:54:55,224 So calm in death 771 00:54:55,392 --> 00:54:59,624 and she's being escorted by Horus, the falcon-headed god. 772 00:54:59,829 --> 00:55:04,994 He's taking her on this journey to meet all the other gods 773 00:55:05,168 --> 00:55:10,196 where she can ask their protection and their help in herjourney. 774 00:55:13,443 --> 00:55:18,039 This is a rare survival of a golden age of Egyptian painting. 775 00:55:19,416 --> 00:55:21,213 The colours are fresh and vivid. 776 00:55:21,584 --> 00:55:22,846 Figures are stylised 777 00:55:23,019 --> 00:55:26,284 and follow Egyptian conventions for sacred images. 778 00:55:26,756 --> 00:55:28,280 Faces are seen in profile, 779 00:55:28,458 --> 00:55:31,291 while the eyes are shown front on. 780 00:55:32,562 --> 00:55:34,257 The bodies are elongated, 781 00:55:34,431 --> 00:55:39,164 beautiful and clad in tight, revealing garments. 782 00:55:45,809 --> 00:55:48,505 Now l'm descending into the tomb proper, 783 00:55:48,678 --> 00:55:50,737 going down into the rock. 784 00:55:50,914 --> 00:55:55,476 And here, on each side of me, is Anubis, the jackal, 785 00:55:55,652 --> 00:55:58,678 now in the form of a guardian of - tombs. 786 00:55:58,855 --> 00:56:04,225 He's here to welcome Nefertari to the Kingdom of the Dead. 787 00:56:08,198 --> 00:56:11,463 Now l can see the ordeal of Nefertari. 788 00:56:11,634 --> 00:56:12,396 There she is, 789 00:56:12,569 --> 00:56:18,132 and she's appealing to the Guardians of the Seven Gates to the Underworld, 790 00:56:18,341 --> 00:56:19,000 the world of Osiris. 791 00:56:19,175 --> 00:56:21,939 She must pass through these gates to get to the Underworld 792 00:56:22,112 --> 00:56:25,275 or she stands no chance of being reborn. 793 00:56:25,448 --> 00:56:27,916 Here's one of the terrifying guardians 794 00:56:28,084 --> 00:56:31,918 with his two big knives, like an alien. 795 00:56:33,690 --> 00:56:37,888 And here the goddess lsis offering Nefertari on the left 796 00:56:38,061 --> 00:56:39,119 the ankh. 797 00:56:39,295 --> 00:56:42,059 The symbol of eternal life. 798 00:56:44,801 --> 00:56:48,100 This is the key space in the tomb, 799 00:56:48,271 --> 00:56:51,069 defined by these four square columns. 800 00:56:51,241 --> 00:56:54,642 Here the queen would have been reborn 801 00:56:54,811 --> 00:56:56,676 as a finer creature, 802 00:56:57,480 --> 00:56:59,914 ascending to the heavens. 803 00:57:00,016 --> 00:57:02,712 l've got to lie down here where the tomb would have been, 804 00:57:02,886 --> 00:57:06,822 to see the view she would have had as a mummy, 805 00:57:06,990 --> 00:57:08,355 as a corpse also, 806 00:57:08,658 --> 00:57:11,252 at the moment of rebirth, as a finer spirit. 807 00:57:11,428 --> 00:57:14,420 This is an incredible experience, my goodness me. 808 00:57:14,597 --> 00:57:16,588 When was this last done, looking up. 809 00:57:16,766 --> 00:57:20,964 And of course the ceiling - is the starry sky. 810 00:57:21,371 --> 00:57:24,772 The stars representing the world she came from - 811 00:57:24,941 --> 00:57:31,005 and the world - the heavens to which she hoped to return. 812 00:57:31,748 --> 00:57:34,080 Amazing to see this. 813 00:57:46,062 --> 00:57:49,361 My journey around Africa ends just like it started, 814 00:57:49,532 --> 00:57:51,022 on a river. 815 00:57:54,471 --> 00:57:57,031 lt's a great experience on the Nile. 816 00:57:57,941 --> 00:57:59,704 Like all the great rivers of Africa, 817 00:57:59,876 --> 00:58:02,344 it brings life to arid land, 818 00:58:02,512 --> 00:58:05,106 carries trade, and - 819 00:58:05,281 --> 00:58:06,839 - it carries travellers, 820 00:58:07,050 --> 00:58:11,009 and l'm travelling, travelling back to Europe. 821 00:58:11,187 --> 00:58:11,915 Home to Europe. 822 00:58:12,088 --> 00:58:15,319 l haven't been forjust over four months. 823 00:58:15,625 --> 00:58:19,288 And um, l must admit l'm sad to leave. 824 00:58:19,462 --> 00:58:21,430 l'm sad to leave this land 825 00:58:22,065 --> 00:58:27,594 and l feel almost nervous about returning to my home continent.