Special - World History: The Middle East

The Middle East is known as the "cradle of civilization' for good reason, the area has been home to some of the most formidable empires the world has ever known and is the birthplace of the world's three biggest monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Globe Trekker team goes in search of the major empires, religions and conflicts that have, and continue, to shape the region.

The Ancient Egyptian Empire flourished for over 3000 years and bequeathed us some of the most amazing structures in the world. Estelle Bingham visits the Giza plateau, home to the Pyramid of Khufu, while Megan McCormick visits the Valley of the Kings and Ramses II's sun temple at Abu Simbel.

Meanwhile, the Persian civilization was flourishing to the northeast on the site of modern-day Iran. Ian Wright visits the ruined city of Persepolis built by Darius the Great over 2,500 years ago and the Tombs of Naghsh-É-Rostam where the four greatest shahs of the empire are buried.

The Nabatean empire's capital was Petra, a city carved out of sheer rock in the sixth century BC, located in modern-day Jordan. Ian Wright checks out this premier tourist attraction.

In 100 BC the next great empire appeared on the scene, the Roman Empire. Justine Shapiro goes in search of the empire's archaeological sites in the Middle East including Ephesus in Turkey, while Ian Wright visits Omira in modern day Libya and the Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Lebanon.

After the ebb and flow of religious doctrines, monotheism took over with the birth of Judaism. Justine visits Mesada, a palace built by Herod the Great and then journeys to Jerusalem and watches a bar mitzvah, a celebration of a Jewish boy's coming-of-age at 13, at the Wailing Wall.

Christianity gained its ascendancy in the region after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Justine watches the haunting Easter procession through Jerusalem retracing his last steps along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. While Megan visits the world's first Christian monastery in Egypt.

Islam arose in the seventh century among followers of the Prophet Mohammed. We venture to Jerusalem one of Islam's sacred cities and Cairo the 'city of a thousand minarets'.

As Islam took hold as a religion it drove the Christians back to Rome; the Ottoman Empire established itself out of Constantinople, modern day Istanbul. Estelle Bingham visits the 'Blue Mosque', commissioned by Sultan Ahmed to atone for his sins, and the Aya Sofia, originally the greatest church in Christendom.

The Persian Empire also fell under the influence of the Ottomans. Ian visits Esfahan in Iran, site of a beautiful mosque built over 300 years ago. Estelle visits Topkapi in Istanbul the site of the Ottoman Sultans' palace for over four centuries.

Middle Eastern history has been shaped by war and upheaval. We take a tour of key sites of conflict, taking in the fairytale Citadel of Arkbar in Turkey, the Oman Desert, the Gallipoli peninsula, El Alamein in Egypt, Beirut and Israel and the Occupied Territories.

Not all wars are between religions. In 1980 the Shi'ite Iranian government led by Ayatollah Khomenei went to war with its Sunni neighbor Iraq, ruled by Saddam Hussein. Ian attends an Iranian funeral procession for soldiers whose bodies have recently been retrieved from the Iraqi border. Eventually Saddam went a step to far for his Western sponsors in his quest to rebuild the Babylonian Empire and invaded Kuwait in 1990. Megan visits the country's oil fields that were torched by Iraqi troops as they withdrew under fire from the Allies' Desert Storm bombardment.

In search of a woman's perspective on the area, Megan travels to the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai she tries on the abayya and in Abu Dhabi she visits a women's-only shopping center. Meanwhile Justine finds that Tel Aviv is a city split between the expectations of Orthodox Judaism and the desires of young people who party hard on Shabbat.

Megan ends our tour at the Sultan Kabuz Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman. It's a perfect place to reflect on what we've seen during this adventure across the Middle East. Not only is it a richly historical area; it's also a vibrant, richly diverse region, often far removed from the foreboding images of death and destruction that flash across Western TV screens every night.

Category:

• Travel

Starring:

• Ian Wright
• Justine Shapiro
• Megan McCormick
• Zay Harding
• Adela Ucar
• Estelle Bingham

Produced by:

• Pilot Productions

Tags:

• Globe Trekker
• Globetrekker
• Estelle Bingham
• Justine Shapiro
• Megan McCormick
• Ian Wright
• Egypt
• Giza
• Nile
• Valley of Kings
• Abu Simbel
• Iran
• Persepolis
• Petra
• Jordan
• Turkey
• Ephesus
• Lebanon
• Baalbek
• Mesada
• Jerusalem
• Wailing Wall
• Via Dolorosa
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Cairo
• Ibn Tulun Mosque
• Istanbul
• Blue Mosque
• Aya Sofia
• Esfahan
• Topkapi
• Citadel of Arkbar
• Oman Desert
• Gallipoli
• El Alamein
• Beirut
• Hebron
• Kuwait
• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi
• Tel Aviv
• Sultan Kubaz Grand Mosque