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00:00:00I'm just over halfway around my tour of what I've chosen as the greatest man-made
00:00:11treasures in the world. Now I've arrived in the cradle of civilization itself, Central Asia.
00:00:20This is now the heartland of Islam, where trade is an activity blessed by God, and where commerce
00:00:29lives in harmony with the divine. My quest won't be easy. I will travel to some of Asia's
00:00:42most remote corners and encounter ancient codes waiting to be read. I will unearth the
00:00:52hidden treasures of some of the world's most astonishing yet forgotten civilizations.
00:00:59In my journey so far, I've explored the Americas, Southeast Asia and India.
00:01:26Continuing across Asia, I'm now on the most famous trade route in history, the Silk Route.
00:01:41This route was a great artery linking East and West, with the riches moving between China
00:01:54and Europe. But it wasn't just goods that travelled down this road. It was religion, culture, ideas.
00:02:04It was as much about treasures of the soul as valuable artefacts. My first destination is
00:02:17in the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. Trade was suppressed during the communist era, but
00:02:32you wouldn't know it from looking around this vibrant marketplace. The people have re-embraced
00:02:37the world of commerce with a passion. This was a great bazaar, great market halfway along the Silk Route. All merchants
00:02:50would have passed through here 2,000 years ago carrying their silk from East to West. This was known in the Arab world as a gem of the Samarkand.
00:03:00There were hundreds of market towns like this along the Silk Route. But in the late 14th century, Samarkand was transformed into one of the most magnificent cities in the world. It was a vision of a warlord by the name of Tamerlane, a descendant of the great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan.
00:03:27It was a vision of a warlord by Tamerlane.
00:03:32Beneath the jade slab over there lies the body of a man who was one of the most powerful monarchs in the world, Tamerlane.
00:03:42He created an empire that stretched from Turkey right down to North India, and in the process, it is said, killed 17 million people.
00:03:56He epitomises cruel and despotic power. But Tamerlane, as well as being a ruthless ruler, he was also a man who loved and promoted the arts, as the buildings he commissioned in his capital here at Samarkand reveal very dramatically.
00:04:17The beauty of Tamerlane's buildings lies not in their size and grandeur, but in their fine details. Simple objects were transformed into glistening treasures.
00:04:38What unifies Samarkand's great buildings, what gives them distinct and powerful architectural character is the use of tiles all over tiles.
00:04:56Beautiful, strong colours, blues and yellows, blacks. An incredible architectural effect. Put the tiles together and you get this.
00:05:08You get this.
00:05:25Registan Square, the heart of Tamerlane's great city, where religion, trade and power met.
00:05:31In the sunlight, this tile-clad architecture absolutely sparkled. It's fantastic.
00:05:44And these buildings must be seen in that light, really. They're like great Persian carpets, full of life given by this two-dimensional surface decoration.
00:06:02These intense colours and lettering, of course, text from the Koran.
00:06:13And over here, a rather surprising building.
00:06:17And at the top, we have representations of living beings.
00:06:22Something in theory forbidden by the Koran and a prancing deer of some sort, tigers and a human face, a sunlight face.
00:06:35Which says a lot about this empire at the time, free from some of the orthodox constraints of Islamic belief.
00:06:43The glazed and multi-coloured tiles became a signature of Tamerlane's reign, making the great buildings of Samarkand look almost alive.
00:07:01There's one vantage point to Samarkand where you can see the full majesty of his creation.
00:07:05Hello. I understand the entrance to the passageways.
00:07:14Yes, passage.
00:07:18Oh, thank you.
00:07:20Oh, my God, it's a grill.
00:07:22Up I go. It looks for the dark and dangerous.
00:07:27Excellent.
00:07:29A little torch here.
00:07:31Hi. Thank you.
00:07:32Oh.
00:07:36Quite alarmingly dark.
00:07:39Golly.
00:07:41Dark, dusty, ancient and ruinous.
00:07:44Just how I like it.
00:07:53Penetrating beneath the skin of these tile-clad buildings shows me what they're made of.
00:07:58Beautiful, robust brick.
00:08:02And here we see Samarkand, the great capital of Tamerlane.
00:08:11Very little left from his time, although, being on this building, one gets maybe some sense of how this great tile-clad square would have dominated, would have overwhelmed people.
00:08:24Just some sense one gets of the astonishing majesty of this sparkling and glowing composition.
00:08:34And Tamerlane's legacy lives on.
00:08:45Tiles are still being made in the traditional way to restore the miraculous buildings.
00:08:50Good morning.
00:08:51Good morning.
00:08:52Very busy.
00:08:53This is the raw material.
00:08:54Clay.
00:08:55Very dry.
00:08:56Ooh.
00:08:57This is already mixed with the water, this clay, and very different consistency.
00:09:14So it's a very strong clay that gives a translucent look to the final product.
00:09:21Here's the clay has been blended.
00:09:27It's just the right consistency to work.
00:09:30Oh, lovely.
00:09:31Each of these colours, when fired, becomes dramatically different.
00:09:51The final effect, as you can see, is pretty, pretty good.
00:10:06And here are the kilns.
00:10:08A whole series of them.
00:10:10These are wonderful objects in their own right.
00:10:12They're traditionally made out of clay, fire clay, with straw.
00:10:16This one's still very hot.
00:10:19And the tiles are put in these for three or four days.
00:10:25And the heat is high and sustained.
00:10:32Ah.
00:10:34Magical sight.
00:10:37Beautiful things.
00:10:39Sparkling glaze.
00:10:41Blue, greens, yellows.
00:10:45By magic, by fire transformed into these glistening, sparkling, brightly coloured objects.
00:11:02Continuing along the Silk Route, I head to a place where trade was a focus of all human endeavour.
00:11:08And there's no better way to travel to my next city than by traditional donkey power.
00:11:15Good boy.
00:11:17Good boy.
00:11:18Good boy.
00:11:20Allah wa akbaru Allah.
00:11:25Good boy.
00:11:26Good boy.
00:11:30Bukhara is another city famed for the beauty of its ancient architecture.
00:11:35But here, visual power and excitement comes not from surface decoration on the buildings, but from the way the city is planned and used.
00:11:44There's been a city on this site for at least two and a half thousand years.
00:11:57A central trading point on the Silk Route, famous for its bazaars, for its arts and for its richest buildings.
00:12:05The city was rebuilt and was rebuilt in a spectacular manner in the 16th century.
00:12:11It became this great centre of commerce and a great architectural jewel.
00:12:16That's why it's my treasure.
00:12:17It is a great planned city of the 16th century, a city organised around trade.
00:12:26What makes Bukhara so special are the city's trading domes.
00:12:45They were constructed in the 1570s and 80s and they made Bukhara the greatest commercial centre of the region.
00:12:51Looking more like mosques and places of business, the domes raised commerce to the level of religion.
00:13:02There's a whole series of these great structures within Bukhara and each of them relates to a specific trade.
00:13:07This is where duellers were lodged originally, another one for money changers, another one for hat-makers, hat-making being a big local tradition, making dervish hats.
00:13:24So we have this wonderful architectural space, absolutely fantastic, 16th century dome marking the hub of trade and still doing exactly what it was built to do.
00:13:39Ah, this is a wonderful, so around the central dome there are these shops and each shop is a place to do.
00:14:02Here we see them, rather beautifully made actually.
00:14:15Everywhere you walk you find people performing the same tasks their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
00:14:32Silk weavers still work in one of the domes.
00:14:35It's astonishing. Trade is the lifeblood of the people of Bukhara. You feel it in the air. It's hard not to get carried away, to bargain, to buy.
00:14:49My name is Star, welcome to Bukhara. Thank you very much. My name is Zapida.
00:14:52My name is Zapida.
00:14:53It's never too early to start. The young here are obsessed with the hustle and bustle of the marketplace.
00:14:59Walking from one trading dome to another, it's easy to be hijacked by these traders eager to make a sale.
00:15:05The store is going down from here, you have to see all of them.
00:15:08Ah, I like these hats. No, I like the ones down there which are simpler, the old ones.
00:15:13Yes, later.
00:15:14What about pillowcases?
00:15:15I don't want a pillowcase. I can't.
00:15:18No ceramics.
00:15:19Ceramics, I can't, I'm travelling, I'm travelling around the world, I can't carry ceramics.
00:15:24It's not heavy, it's not big, it's very small.
00:15:27No, no, no, but one, two, three, four, I tell you what, it's lovely, I tell you what I'm looking for.
00:15:34One is some nice scarves, cotton or cotton silk, but plain colour.
00:15:40Which one?
00:15:41Oh, there's a black one.
00:15:43There is.
00:15:45This is not mine.
00:15:46It's black, I like it.
00:15:47So how much is this then?
00:15:49This is my first price, I will tell you, and I will do discount, you know.
00:15:53If you are clever, you will choose two or three stuff, it will be cheap price and good discount.
00:15:57Okay, how much is it?
00:15:58My first price for this 20, if you choose more one thing, it will be more cheap.
00:16:02But you're saying 20, so therefore I say 10.
00:16:04Your first price.
00:16:05Your first price.
00:16:06Okay, my first price must be less than that, eight.
00:16:08You know, it's less than me.
00:16:09Business is like a game and we will play the game.
00:16:11It's not the Europe.
00:16:12Okay, you're saying 20, so I...
00:16:13No, it's not the Europe, you know, it's Bukhara, it's business city, if you know.
00:16:16It's not the supermarket and we will play the game.
00:16:18I know this is worth, say, eight or ten, but, but, but, but, I'm going to give you more than it's worth because it's you.
00:16:29Okay, I will cut this and make it for you, okay?
00:16:31These girls, or business persons, as they like to call themselves, are so persuasive it's almost impossible not to give them your money.
00:16:3916.
00:16:4016, one, two, three, four, five, 18.
00:16:44Okay.
00:16:45That's your money.
00:16:46That's mine.
00:16:47Okay, that's yours.
00:16:48Thank you very much.
00:16:49See you again.
00:16:50Bye.
00:16:51Bye.
00:16:52Trade is alive and well in Bukhara.
00:16:53That is clear.
00:16:54Bye.
00:16:55I won't forget.
00:16:56This is exactly what people have been doing in Bukhara for hundreds of years.
00:17:15But the 20th century almost broke the city's link with its trading past.
00:17:24There's been ups and downs, particularly in Soviet Europe, and these great halls, I suppose, would have been abandoned for years, are now coming back into life.
00:17:34And trade is in the blood again.
00:17:38As I've discovered walking the streets, talking to the people, trade, trade, trade.
00:17:43They're good at it, I tell you.
00:17:44And I know that because my wallet's got a lot lighter.
00:17:47After the delights of Bukhara, I now fly to Baku in neighbouring Azerbaijan.
00:18:02But I'm not sure we'll make it.
00:18:16This is hardly what you'd expect from a modern airplane.
00:18:19It turns out to be the air conditioning system spluttering into life.
00:18:24But it's still a gloomy portent of things to come.
00:18:29It isn't only the weather that's depressing in Azerbaijan.
00:18:39The country still hasn't recovered from being forcibly co-opted into the Soviet Union in 1922.
00:18:46Some of the scars are still visible.
00:18:51The capital, Baku, was one of the Soviet's biggest prizes.
00:18:55In the early 20th century, it supplied half the world's oil.
00:19:01But this oil and the gas that accompanies it also produced a strange spectacle
00:19:06that drew people to the city thousands of years ago.
00:19:16I have, in recent weeks, seen many attempts to create heaven on Earth.
00:19:23But this, these flames issuing from the very ground in front of me,
00:19:31this is more like an image of hell on Earth.
00:19:36Infernal flames looking up from the deep recesses.
00:19:41What is actually happening, of course, is slightly less dramatic.
00:19:45It's natural gases bubbling up from dark, dark and deep below.
00:19:51And these flames have burnt here for centuries.
00:19:58And it's this fire that's the key to my next treasure.
00:20:03In the midst of this industrial wasteland,
00:20:06one building bears witness to an earlier age
00:20:09when these flames were thought to be holy.
00:20:15The origin of this temple is ancient and obscure.
00:20:29Only one thing is certain.
00:20:31Fire was once worshipped here as a symbol of divinity.
00:20:34The flames belching from the ground at Baku inspired one of the world's most influential and enigmatic ancient religions.
00:20:46The philosopher and mystic Zoroaster, who was born in Central Asia,
00:20:51came here about 2,500 years ago and contemplated these natural flames and saw in them the voice of God.
00:21:04Not many gods, but one God.
00:21:05One God.
00:21:10This was one of the most significant moments in the history of religion.
00:21:14The worship of a single God, monotheism, was established as the basis of a world religion.
00:21:19All around the site, you can still see clues about some of the worshippers who were drawn to this holy fire temple.
00:21:29The flame, because of its life-giving force, because of its ability to transform base material into energy,
00:21:46is important to many religions.
00:21:49And this shrine, as it survives today, is said to have been rebuilt by Hindu pilgrims,
00:21:58who came here in the 17th and 18th century, on their way, I suppose, to various markets trading.
00:22:05And these little cells is where they would have lodged in cells like this,
00:22:11is one of them, with their beds here and here, sleeping in this space.
00:22:18Incredible. I love this building, actually.
00:22:21So elemental. There's the fire.
00:22:24And today, in the rain, fire and water.
00:22:27It's very earthy, cave-like little cells.
00:22:31An elemental building, worshipping one of the great elements.
00:22:35Fire!
00:22:41But outside this temple is a harsher reality.
00:22:46Baku has been relentlessly plundered for its oil by both communists and capitalists.
00:22:58In the past, oil and gas and the flame they produced were seen as sacred, as a gift from the gods.
00:23:07Now, oil and gas are merely exploited.
00:23:13In the process, nightmarish landscapes like this, industrial wastelands, are created.
00:23:21Places that are apocalyptic in their image and very, very ominous.
00:23:27This trade has gone horribly wrong.
00:23:31I'm eager to see a land through which many ancient trade routes pass.
00:23:44And so I go to the Islamic Republic of Iran, once known as Persia.
00:23:48Since the revolution of 1979, this is a country seen as a cauldron of religious fundamentalism.
00:24:01George W. Bush has even labelled Iran as part of the axis of evil.
00:24:06But it's hard to reconcile this image of a sinister society with a bustling and friendly market here in Isfahan.
00:24:22It's obvious that this is part of an ancient, sophisticated and highly cultured civilisation.
00:24:29In the early 17th century, Isfahan was rebuilt to become a key destination for traders.
00:24:35But there was more to the city than mere earthly architecture.
00:24:39A route was constructed through the centre to transport people from the material to the spiritual realm.
00:24:46A new bazaar was built, started in about 1610, and this is it.
00:25:00A wonderful place organised around a straight route.
00:25:04There is a wonderful dome.
00:25:07On each side, shops bustling with life now as it would have been in the early 17th century.
00:25:12And this route is clearly leading somewhere like a bolt of lightning.
00:25:17It's going forwards out of this gloomy world of trade into this great urban square, a world of brightness and light.
00:25:26The Imam Square is one of the most spectacular in the world.
00:25:39Measuring 160 by 500 metres, the second in size only to Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
00:25:47But this extraordinary place is only the prelude to my real treasure.
00:25:51I'm moving away from the bustle and noise of commerce over there into the heart of this square which seems in its proportion and in its design to be evoking a sense of paradise on earth.
00:26:09On each side there is an Iwan, a gateway, that one taking the form of a mosque.
00:26:15And there, the Ali Kapil Palace.
00:26:19And in front of me, the focus, the purpose for this great square is the wonderful Iman Mosque.
00:26:27And I'm being drawn towards it.
00:26:29I've moved from the world of trade through an earthly paradise and now I've arrived at heaven itself.
00:26:50I'm now approaching the main door to the mosque. Within the portal, beautiful constructions, walls and vault clad.
00:27:05And here, I'm crossing the threshold.
00:27:12And something fantastic has just happened.
00:27:16I've left the world of man and entered the world of God.
00:27:21And I know this is very clear because the straight route I've been following from the bazaar along the great square has suddenly changed direction.
00:27:29It is now cranked to the side.
00:27:33I'm now looking towards the heart of the mosque, towards the shrine, towards Mecca.
00:27:40The mosque is the focus of Isfahan.
00:27:59And the focus of the mosque is this space, the inner sanctuary.
00:28:03And in front of me is its main feature, the mahrab, an altar, almost like a shrine.
00:28:11And that is what one prays towards because that is orientated towards Mecca.
00:28:17This is a tremendous space.
00:28:19The dome, the walls covered in spectacular tiles showing plants and the promise of paradise.
00:28:33The imam is perhaps the most beautiful mosque in the world.
00:28:48Its splendour looks effortless.
00:28:51But the mosque is also a staggering engineering achievement.
00:28:54With its wide arches rising serenely to enclose spacious interiors and support huge brick-built domes.
00:29:14For the faithful gathered in the prayer hall, the beauty of their surroundings isn't just a superficial detail.
00:29:20The imam mosque is a mighty magnet, drawing worshippers together and giving them a foretaste of the pleasures of the afterlife.
00:29:32I head south now, through the middle of what was the Persian Empire.
00:29:49I head south now, through the middle of what was the Persian Empire.
00:29:53My treasure is the defining icon of the Persian Empire, a thing so valued that kings were buried with it, and there are even legends that it could fly.
00:30:20But not only is this an object of beauty and myth, but also of trade.
00:30:27It is now around the biggest export after oil, worth over half a billion dollars a year.
00:30:34I have travelled to this market in Shiraz, where some of the greatest examples of my treasure are made and bartered.
00:30:48The Persian carpet was highly sought after in Europe, from at least the Middle Ages.
00:31:04And why? Well, of course, the reason is obvious. It's beautiful. Look at them. Incredible.
00:31:08Beautiful and utilitarian. Very practical. Hard-wearing. And also the design. Enigmatic. Compelling. Fascinating.
00:31:22You see here, these designs vary from region to region in Persia. This is typical of the design from this area.
00:31:32And it's very, very ancient in origin. Certainly pre-Islamic.
00:31:37And I believe this diamond shape and this step here is from the time of the Persian Empire, two and a half thousand years ago.
00:31:49Most of these carpets are from the Shiraz area. And this one over here. Incredible.
00:31:54It has, um, good heavens, it could be a woman, even if it is. Bare breasts. I mean, absolutely amazing object.
00:32:03Goodness knows what, well, what purpose is that? Well, I suppose from a, hmm, I don't know, anyway. Sorry.
00:32:09Well, um, and this one's lovely here. This is, um, shows birds. I've seen from paradise.
00:32:17Cooine doves. Lovely, absolutely lovely. That one I'd love to own.
00:32:24The carpet has humble origins. It was developed by nomads to make their tents more comfortable and draft-proof.
00:32:45Today, carpets remain central to the lives of dramatic people.
00:32:48In a day, we can say 18,000 knots.
00:33:01The pair of them, so they do 9,000 each a day.
00:33:05I mean, how many knots in a carpet this size? And how long would it take a pair of them to complete a carpet of this size?
00:33:11About a month, roughly speaking. It takes longer if it is more detailed design.
00:33:27Maybe two months.
00:33:28Maybe two months.
00:33:32God.
00:33:33No wonder there's such a sort of myth and magic about carpets.
00:33:37One sees them being made and one contemplates the process, the human endeavour, the concentration, the moods, and then the object itself.
00:33:45It's like an instrument, made of millions of little bits, tens of thousands of knots, each knot tied with love, care, and awareness.
00:33:58One hole made of thousands of parts.
00:34:09It's not enough for me just to admire all these carpets.
00:34:12I'm now hungry to possess one as well.
00:34:20Hello.
00:34:21Hello.
00:34:22How do you do?
00:34:23Lovely, lovely carpets, beautiful.
00:34:26I love the colour. That's a lovely colour.
00:34:30Where are these from?
00:34:31This gillian.
00:34:32These are gillian.
00:34:33Oh, gillian, yes.
00:34:34Lovely.
00:34:35And these are more Persian.
00:34:36Oh, that one.
00:34:37This is mashat.
00:34:38Mashat.
00:34:39This carpet in mashat.
00:34:41Beautiful, very detailed, very fine work.
00:34:45I love it, I love it.
00:34:46So how much, how much is this one?
00:34:49These are $118.
00:34:51$118.
00:34:52$118.
00:34:53$118.
00:34:54$118.
00:34:55$118.
00:34:56$118.
00:34:57$118.
00:34:58$118.
00:34:59$118.
00:35:00$118.
00:35:02So, your best price to this, let's think, normally if you half it, so sort of something like, I don't know, $75, $80, would you take this sort of thing?
00:35:12$118.
00:35:13$118.
00:35:14$118.
00:35:15$118.
00:35:16$118.
00:35:17$118?
00:35:18Yes.
00:35:19$118, no, $10.
00:35:20You must be a little, you must come down a bit more.
00:35:23$100.
00:35:24$118.
00:35:25No! $117.
00:35:29No, it's too much. I can't take it. $117.
00:35:33That's a lot of money.
00:35:35I would hope that we would come down and meet almost halfway.
00:35:39No, no. Impossible.
00:35:41Oh, yes.
00:35:42Well, never mind, never mind.
00:35:44See you.
00:35:46It was nice almost doing business with you.
00:35:48OK.
00:35:49Thank you very much.
00:35:50See you. Bye-bye.
00:35:52Well, I don't think I won. I also didn't lose. I like it.
00:35:57But not for that price. No.
00:36:00He doesn't want to sell it. Doesn't want to sell it.
00:36:10I don't mind too much about not buying that carpet.
00:36:13For me, it was a bit too perfect, a bit too delicate.
00:36:16The colours are lovely, but too bright.
00:36:18It was essentially too new.
00:36:20And on the other hand, it can be very frustrating failing to buy something.
00:36:26Failing to strike a bargain and to win the battle.
00:36:31So, I went back to the lovely carpet showing the birds in paradise.
00:36:38And bought it for, not $50, not $40, but $30.
00:36:45And here it is.
00:36:46A little charming scene of birds cooing and sitting.
00:36:53A little image of paradise.
00:36:55And here it is.
00:36:56On this bench in front of the mosque with a scene of paradise above me.
00:37:02I am indeed in paradise. It's lovely.
00:37:05After all this bargaining, I need a break from the hectic marketplace.
00:37:24My next destination is a little known place called Bissetoum.
00:37:35Two and a half thousand years ago, it was on one of the key trade routes of the ancient world.
00:37:40The link between China in the east and Babylon in the west.
00:37:57I've come to see a work of art that now seems incredibly remote.
00:38:02This location on the western border of Iran and cut in the cliff face above me somewhere here.
00:38:11But, two and a half thousand years ago, when this work of art was created, this location was far from remote.
00:38:20And this work of art carried a very specific meaning.
00:38:24To be read, I suppose, by the people travelling along this great road, this great trade route.
00:38:29It was a cry of triumph and a dire warning.
00:38:34And it was meant to last for eternity.
00:38:37My next treasure will be one of the hardest to reach.
00:38:53Carved on this rock face, 200 feet above ground is a series of figures and inscriptions.
00:38:59An artistic marvel, but also a key that would unlock history itself.
00:39:06The meaning of this mysterious cliff face was lost for centuries.
00:39:22But in 1835, an English soldier and amateur archaeologist, Henry Rawlinson, came to Bissetoum.
00:39:29Rawlinson was impressed by the carved figures, the basilis, but what really caught his imagination was the lettering.
00:39:41He recognised it as a cuneiform, a type of lettering that hadn't been deciphered in the 1830s.
00:39:49Indeed, very little of it had been found.
00:39:51So he wanted to get nearer the inscription to copy it, to take it away and study it and try and begin the process of working out what this inscription said.
00:40:05Nobody really knows how people read the writing from the road.
00:40:13There may originally have been some kind of grand platform stretching up here.
00:40:17Certainly the road level was once far higher than now.
00:40:21But in the 1830s, there was no easy access.
00:40:26Rawlinson risked his life to behold these carvings.
00:40:31Was his work on this perilous rock face that would finally crack the cuneiform code,
00:40:37allowing scholars to read ancient languages and learn the secrets of the past?
00:40:43Oh, lovely.
00:40:53Gosh, I've got here...
00:40:57I've got up here using a steel staircase, but Rawlinson only achieved his location by using his ladders and ropes.
00:41:06Absolutely amazing.
00:41:09He was up here during most of the 1840s and his various seasons, you know, just simply tracing and studying his lettering.
00:41:22He realised pretty early on that there are three different languages represented here.
00:41:28This is Old Persian, these four and a half big panels.
00:41:33This was somewhat easier for him to decipher.
00:41:37Then that is Elamite, an ancient language of the area.
00:41:41And over there is a Neo-Babylonian or Akkadian.
00:41:46He started to work out what was being said.
00:41:50He realised that all three languages were saying the same thing, which is very useful.
00:41:56So you crack one and you crack the others.
00:41:59Eventually, by the late 1840s, he'd done it.
00:42:03He'd worked out what they said.
00:42:05He'd worked out how to read cuneiform.
00:42:08And suddenly this world of his ancient peoples was opened.
00:42:12It could be read. It could be understood.
00:42:14And because of Rawlinson, the past came alive.
00:42:18This wall is a great poster, really, with a proclamation of power.
00:42:27It says how the king of kings, the king of Persians, Darius, how he had overcome rebellious false kings.
00:42:37And these defeated enemies are shown. There's nine of them in a row.
00:42:41Looking at Darius, who stands triumphant up there, with his foot on the body of one of the defeated false kings.
00:42:49This is a powerful piece of art, an art serving politics, serving a triumphant monarch who wants to keep an iron grip on the land he's conquered.
00:43:00An incredible, incredible, incredible piece of work.
00:43:03And the very end is interesting too. The very end of the inscription down here.
00:43:08I'll edge my way along.
00:43:10It invokes the gods.
00:43:13This inscription, so high.
00:43:15It's clearly protected by its height.
00:43:18Hard to be vandalised. Hard for any rebel to the face.
00:43:23And it says here that anyone who respects this inscription will be blessed by the gods.
00:43:29Anyone who defaces it will be damned.
00:43:32This is an amazing statement.
00:43:34And I stand here on this precarious ledge, looking down on the road those merchants used 2,500 years ago,
00:43:44all reading and trembling at this statement.
00:43:48This inscription was a warning and helped Darius to establish himself as the most powerful monarch in the known world.
00:44:02I now travel 600 miles through what was once Darius's empire, to the great city he started,
00:44:21the pinnacle of Persian civilisation.
00:44:25Even in its ruined state, Darius's city still evokes visions of power and majesty,
00:44:43but also of great violence and tragedy.
00:44:46The building of Persepolis came at the very height of the empire's power.
00:45:11It served as a summer capital and architecturally was one of the finest cities the world had ever seen.
00:45:26Darius started the construction of his great city, Persepolis, in about 512 BC.
00:45:34It was a very political gesture.
00:45:37It was to make Persian power apparent to all, to show the wealth and achievements of the great empire.
00:45:47It was to show the empire had created a new world order.
00:45:52This great city wasn't fortified. It didn't have to be. All the enemies had been defeated.
00:45:59It was more like a great temple, raised on a man-made plateau.
00:46:05An incredible place, started by Darius, completed by his son Xerxes.
00:46:13And this is the great gate, built by Xerxes, leading to the centre of this great city, to where power resided.
00:46:22Through that gate is the throne room, the heart of Persian power.
00:46:27This gate was called the gate of all the nations.
00:46:37All people coming to pay tribute to this great Persian emperor had to pass through here.
00:46:45And it's had an amazing attraction over the centuries.
00:46:49People have come and left their names carved in the stone.
00:46:541800, these ones.
00:46:56British army officers, central India horse, 1912.
00:47:01Incredible, full of graffiti, of people drawn here to, in their way,
00:47:06pay homage to Persepolis and the memory of the great Persian empire.
00:47:15Entering what was once the Palace of 100 Columns, you can't help but be overwhelmed.
00:47:28It must have been a breathtaking sight of subjects who travelled from every corner of the Persian empire
00:47:34to pay tribute to the king.
00:47:37Everything about Persepolis was calculated to make a monumental statement
00:47:42about the power of Persian civilisation.
00:47:57I follow the route of the tribute bearers as they brought their tribute to lay it before Darius.
00:48:04And this wall shows 23 of the subject people of the Persian empire carrying their tribute.
00:48:14And it shows that the empire stretched from North Africa to North India to South East Europe.
00:48:22Incredible lump of the world under the control of the Persians.
00:48:27Here, for example, we have Ethiopians bringing an elephant's tusk.
00:48:37And each group is being led by a Persian.
00:48:40This is how it's possible to work out who's who, really.
00:48:43The next group here.
00:48:45These are Libyans and they are bringing a chariot and a mountain goat.
00:48:51This is incredible.
00:48:53Incredible.
00:48:54I'm walking in the footsteps of these people.
00:48:56This is where they would have walked.
00:48:58By images of themselves.
00:49:00And here, if they were minded to rebel, there's a very ferocious lion, savaging,
00:49:07a defenceless gazelle, I think.
00:49:10Here, are the people of Samarkand with their two-humped camel marching forward carrying pots containing goodness knows what.
00:49:23Here, Indians are something in a basket.
00:49:31Spices, I should think.
00:49:33This, in a way, is a diagram of trade.
00:49:37Two and a half thousand years ago, the objects being brought by these people,
00:49:41the objects they were renowned for, the objects they traded.
00:49:44This is like a view into the marketplace of the time.
00:49:48And then the tribute bearers would have found themselves here, in the vast audience hall, the Apadana.
00:49:53This would have been an overwhelming experience.
00:49:59This would have been a bigger building than any of them had ever seen.
00:50:14Absolutely extraordinary.
00:50:15You've got to use your imagination here.
00:50:16This would have been a forest of massive columns, rising 20 metres, supporting a cedar wood ceiling.
00:50:20Incredible.
00:50:21Dark, gloomy, intimidating.
00:50:22These poor fellows would have walked along here.
00:50:29There would have been soldiers and personal officials watching them against the wall, no doubt.
00:50:36Light trickling through.
00:50:38They would have come over here, to come over here.
00:50:42towards Darius, with their tribute, no doubt now feeling rather pathetic.
00:50:43And they would put the tribute down, I guess about here, like this.
00:51:00Looking at the great emperor, feeling, I guess frightened, supposing the tribute wasn't adequate.
00:51:18What would happen to them?
00:51:19However, they put it down and then they'd back away towards the door.
00:51:24Feeling terrified, hoping to get away with it.
00:51:29They would go looking back like this.
00:51:44I enter the palace of Darius.
00:51:47Incredible.
00:51:48His private world.
00:51:50Once famed for its central mirror hall with the walls of polished stone.
00:51:59The palace is exquisite and relatively well preserved.
00:52:05I get a sense of the architectural space and the architectural decoration of Persepolis.
00:52:11You have these great portals and within them, these spectacular carvings.
00:52:18The light is beautiful here.
00:52:20You can see clearly the quality of the carvings somewhat eroded over the centuries.
00:52:29Originally, this interior was painted as well as the walls polished and the carvings ornamented with gold showing crowns, false beards and weapons.
00:52:43Those have long gone looted in the tragedy that overtook this great city of Persepolis.
00:52:58It took 150 years to complete Persepolis.
00:53:02It then enjoyed a mere 30 years of prosperity before it was cruelly destroyed by the Macedonian Greeks.
00:53:09Destruction came in the form of Alexander the Great.
00:53:22In 330 BC, he arrived here with his army having finally defeated the Persians and he sat outside and contemplated Persepolis and his great palace.
00:53:35And one night, when drunk, he, with his army, came into the great city, the great palace of Persepolis and they set fire to it.
00:53:47They destroyed it.
00:53:49Absolute abomination.
00:53:51This great Greek, this great, in many ways, pinnacle of civilisation, the great champion of civilisation here committed a frightful, barbaric act, an act of vandalism.
00:54:05It still hurts to think, it's still painful to look around.
00:54:09It's still really a disgrace.
00:54:28I fly now from Iran to Syria, my final destination on the Silk Route.
00:54:34I fly now from Iran to Syria.
00:54:42Fresh bread.
00:54:43That's the case.
00:54:44Excellent.
00:54:45Thank you, check around.
00:54:47Very good.
00:54:55Damascus, the glorious capital of Syria, was founded 7,000 years ago.
00:55:01ago. It's the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, but my treasure is a relatively
00:55:15recent addition that weeds its way through the ancient quarter. After weeks on the trade
00:55:26route this is the perfect place to end this part of my journey. I've chosen a
00:55:33marketplace, an arena full of life and excitement.
00:55:56It's not the biggest, oldest or most famous souk in the world, but for me this street is one of the most exciting anywhere. I love the way it snakes through the old city. It's dark, constrained, full of life, activity.
00:56:12The shops date from the late 18th century, each one divided by lovely elongated columns. It is a terrific place to shop, to walk, to look, to linger.
00:56:27The souk was roofed over in the late 19th century with a cast iron barrel vault. Its covering is pierced with bullet holes, dating from the 1920s and 30s, when the souk saw fighting between the people of Damascus and the French occupiers.
00:56:49These holes now sparkle like stars in the firmament.
00:56:56And in this souk you can find all the great traditional articles of trade. Silk, silver, spices, and in this shop, I believe, damask, which of course is a speciality of Damascus.
00:57:16Here it is, a cotton embroidered on both sides with silk, damask, from Damascus.
00:57:38The souk is a feast for the eyes and also for the nose and the taste buds.
00:57:43There is a vast array of spices, nuts, and flowers piled up in mounds for the shoppers.
00:57:55At the centre of all this frantic activity is an oasis of calm.
00:57:59Traders and customers can find refuge from all the cacophony in one of the holiest places in Islam.
00:58:14At the end of the souk, in the heart of the old city, is the 8th century great mosque, created within the walls of the Roman Temple of Jupiter.
00:58:21This mosque encapsulates all my experiences travelling through Central Asia.
00:58:31It's incredible because it's an amalgamation of life, of God, of spirit, of trade.
00:58:37It's in the heart of the city and all around it.
00:58:42People coming and going from the marketplace, from trading and bartering.
00:58:46Then come in here, sit, contemplate and pray.
00:58:50It is a spectacular place, this convergence of human activity.
00:58:56God, of mammon, of barter, of prayer.
00:59:01I absolutely love it here.
00:59:02After weeks of travel, I need to unwind.
00:59:18So I leave the realm of God for a place of more earthly pleasures.
00:59:21This is just the ticket.
00:59:42After a day bartering and praying, traders will come to bath houses, known as hammams.
00:59:49They would wash, relax, soak and steam their troubles away.
00:59:56Just as important as a bath, though, was the socialising afterwards.
00:59:57When the traders, wrapped in towels, would gather together and smoke an Aguila,
00:59:59or Hubba Bubbles away.
01:00:00Hubba Bubbles pipe.
01:00:01Just as important as a bath, though, was the socialising afterwards.
01:00:05When the traders, wrapped in towels, would gather together and smoke an Aguila,
01:00:07or Hubba Bubbles pipe.
01:00:08Hubba Bubbles away.
01:00:09Just as important as a bath, though, was the socialising afterwards.
01:00:18When the traders, wrapped in towels, would gather together and smoke an Aguila, or Hubba Bubbles pipe.
01:00:23The thing about these ancient trade routes, it wasn't just trade that went down them.
01:00:38Many things travelled.
01:00:40Ideas, of course, cultures, traditions, like blood flowing through the great body of the world.
01:00:48And Silk From Here ended up where I will be ending up in a couple of months' time,
01:00:54back in London, in Spitalfields, which was the Silk Centre of London.
01:00:59And, erm, of course I'm looking forward to being at home, I suppose.
01:01:06Yes, of course I am.
01:01:08But, to be quite honest, at the moment, I rather like it here.
01:01:29In the future of the world.
01:01:44In the future of the world.
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