- 7 hours ago
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00Arabia a land of extraordinary wonders it's epic out here where ancient
00:09civilizations there were rock inscriptions scattered all over this
00:13landscape meet rising modern cities I'm Clive Standen and I'm embarking on a
00:23journey across the Arabian Peninsula this place is unlike anywhere else I'm
00:28forging far and diving deep uncovering its best-kept secrets a little precarious
00:35meeting the people who call this place home and the pioneers preserving its
00:41natural treasures that is remarkable I want to show you the beautiful it's just
00:46a little untouched piece of paradise the surprising it's an unbelievable sight and
00:51the heartwarming what am I supposed to do exploring the secrets that make this land
00:56so captivating I really do feel like an archaeologist mom I'm never coming
01:02home Wow this is Arabia like you've never seen before come on there's plenty more to
01:11see
01:24my adventure across the Arabian Peninsula has brought me to its smallest nation Bahrain it is an island nation
01:33shaped by the sea where fishing pearl diving and trade once drew merchants and settlers from across the
01:40region
01:41my journey begins in maharak Bahrain's former capital and the beating heart of its past
01:53long before the 1930s when the discovery of oil transformed the island into a modern kingdom this
02:03was the epicenter of the pearl trade and to truly understand Bahrain you need to know the story of the pearl
02:11I'm meeting Mohammed's slaves descended from generations of divers
02:18this place it's my brother I think I'd never find you yeah these alaways this is a part like that it's made like that I got lost a couple of times
02:30it's like that so everyone lives in everyone's living room you know but this is where it all began
02:36and all the people who worked at the pearl industry they all lived here we're all about pearls in Bahrain
02:40so I'm gonna have to go see where it started and then get your pearl later sounds good to me you lead the way
02:45yeah Bahrain was at the heart of the global pearl trade from the second century BC reaching its peak in
02:56the early 1900s from ancient Rome to Indian Maharajas and fashion houses like Cartier but the rise of
03:04cultured pearls during the 1920s brought the industry to a sudden halt a bittersweet
03:10Bombayers to centuries of tradition still the legacy lives on in every alley and coral stone courtyard of
03:18Moharaq where it all began slaves is taking me to one of the islands best kept secrets I hear in the 19th
03:28century it was like 95 percent of Bahrain's income came from the pearls yeah everyone living here was
03:34working in the district maybe 80,000 people were living here and everyone was working in the industry
03:39this is like one of the main hubs right now we're gonna see Yussef bin Abdulrahman Fakhro was a timber
03:47and boat merchant who made his fortune at the height of the Bahrain pearling boom he owned a fleet of
03:54dals that docked just steps away from his home in Moharaq's pearling quarter so this is the Fakhro house
04:02he's one of the biggest merchants in the industry actually he used to have about 50 boats I believe
04:07he used to ship everything to India and back and all around the world as well so he had like control
04:13over a lot of other ships not even his because he used to loan them money so everyone would rely on
04:17him apparently he used to stay over there on top of that building and he'd be able to see his ships coming in
04:22oh well I recognize this this is your favorite stuff isn't it yeah this is a DAO yeah this one's
04:34called the boom though so one of the biggest ones they used to make how many people would be on one
04:39of these how much how much they used to have like they reach about 100 people on the DAO itself when
04:45they go out on the long periods like there's a lot of stories about them even sleeping on the oysters
04:49because it was so cramped like there'll be probably like a hundred of them on it and their whole lives
04:54will be on top of this boat for about four and a half months so how long would this actually be in
05:00reality I think it's about 40 meters 40 meters and they carry I think 40 tons in weight it's just
05:07looking at it now it's like it hasn't changed since like the times of like Sinbad the Sailor and
05:13the stories you'd read in like Arabian Nights don't fix what's not broke
05:19this is quite an entrance to a boatyard you know being on a desert island getting wood is like
05:30really hard it's very scarce so they stock whatever piece they have you know they won't get rid of
05:35anything the Dow was the lifeblood of Bahrain's pearl trade throughout the 1800s graceful wooden boats that
05:45carried brave divers to oyster beds and brought back treasures from the deep built entirely by
05:51hand without blueprints these vessels were crafted to withstand long grueling seasons at sea their
05:58agility made them ideal for the narrow refilled channels while the larger ships journeyed as far
06:04as India and West Africa I'm about to meet one of the last remaining DAO builders keeping this ancient craft
06:11alive Arabia's best-kept secrets presented by Gulf Air Arabia's best-kept secrets presented by Gulf Air
06:27my journey to uncover Bahrain's secrets has led me to its pearling heritage and the wooden dowels that
06:40once carried generations of divers now my guide Mohammed Slays is taking me to Jamal Shaheen one of the
06:49islands last remaining Dow builders Wow you like this incredible so meet the main man who actually built
06:59them I've just been hearing that um only a small handful of men are keeping this art form of traditional
07:06Dow building alive in Bahrain yes this is traditional and we work all by hands and I am now keeping the
07:14cotton inside they call it feteal in Bahrain and we put it inside the gap to not let the water the water
07:21go inside the boats they use the ropes to stitch the wood together but now we use nail yeah yes so
07:29this really is something that needs to be passed on to future generations otherwise it might get lost
07:34forever most of our generation now they they don't like this work it's the hard work so how long does it
07:41typically take to work from start to finish on a traditional Dow like this size it will take nearly one
07:47year and you should use five to six carpenter is there anything you can teach a novice carpenter like
07:55me how to do on a Dow no problem fantastic yes you're welcome you just put your hand like that your finger
08:05and you push the cotton with your finger then after with the hammer slowly slowly like it
08:11that's it you try it I'm a lefty yeah make that cheese illustrate there we go yes you feel the
08:30difference already yeah yes no problem but that's fine we can give you your certificate after one week
08:36one week mom I'm never coming home I'm running away to the boatyard that's fine that's that's good
08:48what particular wood do you use on this one we use teak wood from India oh fantastic yeah mostly wood
08:55coming from India and these boats they would go from they would go as far as Indonesia and China and
09:02you can go you can go in anywhere as this boat it's a big boat fantastic it's nice wood strong boats
09:11for thousands of years pearls have dominated the gulf's economy it was a real gold rush every
09:17able-bodied man would be involved in the summer pearl dives called Gwaz al-Kabir migrants from all over
09:23the Arabian desert and the surrounding ports were turning up to try and find their fortune under the
09:28sea and they were joined by slaves from Zanzibar and Sudakhan balak guards and traders from India
09:36merchants they all added to this cosmopolitan mix but it didn't matter their social standing whether
09:41you were high or low they were all slaves to one master the pearl it's been a long day learning about
09:49Bahrain's rich pearling history but to truly understand these stories of divers traders and
09:55treasures hidden beneath the waves I got to dive myself so tomorrow I'm gonna set sail and head out
10:02to sea it's an early morning and I'm meeting slaves at the marina in the north of the island he's taking
10:21me out to sea because he believes that if I really want to understand the treasure that once defined
10:25Bahrain I have to dive for it just like his ancestors did hey hey hey assalamualaikum
10:38Slaize isn't just a pearl diver he's a field researcher who knows these waters like the back of his hand
11:06on the front line of conservation he regularly monitors the pearl oyster beds
11:11this is the warmest and shallowest sea in the world a vibrant marine sanctuary home to dolphins
11:21dugons sea turtles and the whale shark all thriving in its sun-drenched waters I can't wait to dive in
11:31and experience this underwater world for myself okay let's drop the anchor three two one go it's true
11:40Arabia's best kept secrets presented by Gulf Air Arabia's best kept secrets presented by Gulf Air
11:53I'm exploring Bahrain with my guide Mohammed Slaize having uncovered the secrets of its pearling past we're
12:07out at sea ready to dive beneath the waves in search of the treasure that once defined this nation
12:14so many people think that a pearl inside an oyster is formed because it's just a grain of sand that
12:22kind of like isn't around and it's not the truth yeah they debunked that it could happen but extremely
12:26rare usually it's worms especially in our area it's like little worms that's why you get a lot of small
12:31tiny pearls but if something like a crab or a big prawn can start a big big pearl yeah so it doesn't
12:36start from really small and gets really big it has to start big to become big and then the thing is
12:41that they turn them around to get rid of them that's why it's it comes round because they're
12:45trying to roll it all the way out to get rid of the pearl so I'm just happy to be here I'm gonna
12:49have a great dive no matter what but if I find no pearls I'm still gonna be going home with a big
12:54smile on my face we don't want that energy if I find a pearl no matter how big or small what happens
13:00do I get to keep it or is it that does the Bahrainian government keep it maybe I have to share it with
13:04the boat it's terrible you get you get to keep of course just like in olden times all close to share
13:09the yeah we'll find a nice pearl inshallah good luck 113 degrees in a wetsuit I better cool off quick
13:27before I get cooked I'm really passionate about the ocean I love diving but I'm usually looking
13:43for very big things under the sea I'm a sucker for dolphins sharks and whales today we're looking for
13:48to be very very small there's something quite special about being out here and actually kind
14:00of trying to hunt for a pearl hopefully it'll be the kid that gets the candy
14:18oh my god as I follow in the footsteps of slays his ancestors I can't help but admire their sheer grit
14:40oh look at you you're an oldie feel like the Indiana Jones in the ocean really is a bed full of
14:55oysters you know everywhere you look in the early 20th century pearl divers would descend
15:1030 to 50 times a day without a single piece of modern equipment no oxygen tank no wetsuit just a
15:17nose clip a basket and a stone weight tied to their ankle holding their breath they dropped into the
15:24deep in complete silence scouring the seabed for oysters a single rope was their only lifeline
15:31tugged by a hauler waiting at the surface life aboard the dhow was tough it was back-breaking dangerous
15:38work all in the hope that the sea might give up its precious pearls
15:42it's hard to imagine the nerve required to dive in such conditions
15:54arabia's best-kept secrets presented by gulf air arabia's best-kept secrets presented by gulf air
16:10just below bahrain's warm coastal waters lies a world once central to its identity
16:22i've joined the path of the pearl divers in search of the treasure that defined this island's past
16:29i can't wait to get to the surface and shock some of these oysters in the hope of finding that elusive pearl
16:37that was so much fun and i keep forgetting that there's only 50 of the job done fun part's over now it's the hard one all right you want to start pulling yeah let's do it
17:00slays is showing me a technique that's barely changed since the olden days of pearl diving
17:11after returning to the dhow the oysters were sorted and opened under the watchful eye of a foreman
17:17at the end of the day all the divers would gather on the deck shucking open shell after shell
17:23and whatever treasure the sea had offered was shared equally among everyone on board here we go man
17:29here we go positive vibes inshallah we find you a big part now that is not a bad day's oyster scrumping
17:37yeah now you have to open them all though
17:39all right you're going to show me how to do it is there a special knack to this then
17:45so if you see the knife is first of all this is the knife that we use they used to use in the old days
17:50same same one you'll see a hole you see it the difference so you put that towards you always
17:56start like this like a pencil this is where the biggest pearls come if you come from this side you
18:02might scratch something and you know lose a lot of money and then the muscle that we need to cut is
18:06right here always you look at the hinge when you first open it your eye is here because it could be
18:11something round that slips out gotcha you see this bolt right we flip it and then we check underneath the
18:17the skin there you are there we go oh a little little worm in there that's what turns into pearls
18:25see this is a polychaete this is actually the most thing that turns into pearls it's called the
18:31polychaete oh fantastic there's so many different types go make pearls
18:35so we maybe took this one out too early yeah nice bro you want to see yeah let's see
18:47you see there it's beautiful the colors oh wow like people like that yeah it's a drop beautiful
18:54look at that my first iranian fur there'll be more there'll be more but this is a nice drop
19:06there we go but you saw where i found that one yeah so that's the first place you look
19:13oh he looks promising
19:14come on come on there's one in here somewhere
19:22whoa whoa there she blows wow my god it's massive nice one mashallah it's gonna drop yeah wow
19:39jackpot i've never seen something like this
19:42this is big oh my day has been made already so what do we do so i now i want to just put it on
19:48the meat like stick it because it kind of sticks there we go that's it oh wow i think before the sun
19:56goes down we should start getting back we should get back carry on shucking these on the way usually
20:00when we find something that big you just give up you just stop it's the jackpot of the day it's hard to
20:07find more than one like that our diving adventure comes to an end but the spirit of bahrain's
20:15pearling past will forever shine through next time i discover bahrain's enduring love for sweets
20:23feel like willy wonka experience the world famous arabian horses maybe you'll make a real rider of me today
20:36and join a practice that's been unchanged for centuries
20:40hey now that's a good-sized fish
Be the first to comment