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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
00:35precarious meeting the people who call this place home and the pioneers
00:40preserving its natural treasures that is remarkable I want to show you the
00:45beautiful it's just a little untouched piece of paradise the surprising it's
00:49an unbelievable sight and the heartwarming what am I supposed to do exploring the
00:55secrets that make this land so captivating I really do feel like an
01:00archaeologist mom I'm never coming home Wow this is Arabia like you've never seen
01:08before come on there's plenty more to see my quest to uncover Arabia's best-kept
01:20secrets has led me to Bahrain an island nation shaped by the sea I've explored
01:26its unique pearling history it hasn't changed since like the times of Sinbad the
01:31sailor and near the stories you'd read in like Arabian nights visited one of the
01:35last remaining traditional Dow building boatyards and learned about this age-old
01:41craft they use the robes to stitch the woods together make that cheese illustrate
01:50before joining pearl divers out at sea on a hunt for the treasures that once made
01:55this island so famous there she blows back on dry land in Manama Bahrain's vibrant capital
02:25I'm ready to explore more of the country's hidden treasures
02:29over the past 70 years this island has undergone dramatic changes what was once a quiet place of
02:41just over a hundred thousand people has now become a bustling hub of more than 1.6 million its skyline
02:49has been transformed by oil wealth and rapid urbanization but amidst all that change one
02:57thing has remained deliciously constant Bahrain's love of sweets
03:02I've returned to the old town where it feels like you're never more than 10 steps away from a sweet
03:16shop a nun is more iconic than the shweta sweet factory one of the country's oldest with a history
03:23spanning over a century I want to find out more about Bahrain's enduring passion for sweet treats and who
03:30better to talk me through it all than Moana shweta himself hello hello cloud how are you doing I'm
03:38great how are you really really good just walking down into towards this shop and there's all the
03:42colors of the sweets and the smells and these cabinets of curiosities everywhere this seems a
03:48little bit more than just a sweet shop it is actually this is a part of Bahraini culture and
03:53traditions I mean as you mentioned the houses of our great grandfathers used to have all these
04:00vibrant colors actually each piece here was taken from one of our old houses even the doors and the
04:08windows yeah go back to 150 200 years old I love that gramophone it's incredible I just noticed that
04:15this is over a hundred years old yeah as you see here this is a not only to do with sweets this is a
04:21a miniature museum of shweta family of course our family didn't always make sweets we used to be
04:29merchants and pearl divers all of Bahrain were pearl divers back in the day so they used to go pearl
04:36diving or or into the sea in summer and during winter the seas are too dangerous so they'll come back on
04:43land and do whatever they can as a business they started the sweet business as a sidetime job and when
04:51the pearls were synthesized in Japan they decided to take the sweet business as a year-round business
05:01what's your favorite sweets I I love the original I love the red halwa for me personally and I think
05:07most Bahrainis and people from the Gulf they prefer the original halwa is a jelly-like sweet rich with
05:16nuts and best enjoyed warm it is integrated into the Bahraini traditions and culture now so you won't
05:24have a wedding without having the halwa there during the pearl diving era they used to take halwa with
05:30them the beginning of the season because it has a lot of sugar it gives a lot of energy so they used to
05:35have breakfast with it so that they have enough energy to do their pearl diving during the day
05:40and they don't need their teeth when they know they don't know they don't it's a jelly substance so
05:45they can just swallow it known for preserving age-old recipes the factory has helped carry Bahrain's
05:56rich culinary heritage far beyond its shores I'm about to be treated to a rare
06:05behind-the-behind-the-scenes tour to witness how these beloved sweets are actually made
06:09Arabia's best-kept secrets presented by Gulf Air Arabia's best-kept secrets presented by Gulf Air
06:35I'm in the heart of Bahrain's old town at its most famous sweet factory learning about the nation's
06:44enduring love for sugary treats Mohammed is taking me inside to show how their prized halwa is made tray by
06:52sticky tray you must meet Mohammed life pleasure meeting you I'm excited to see what's behind these
07:01doors you've seen how Bahrain weather is hot but here is extremely different level of heat let's have a
07:08look as you can see since it's just a furnace here is coming from since 1850 is the same way before I
07:18know it I've become a traditional sweet maker right is there anything I need to know I don't want to
07:22mess up the batch yeah all you have to do is just keeps tearing it yeah what we need to do is to
07:29caramelize the sugar not to burn it caramelizing the sugar is one thing but in this heat I think I'm
07:36the one getting glazed I mean you weren't kidding about the heat in here what kind of temperature
07:41is this furnace hitting now I can say it is like 45 46 degrees extremely hot you know both of these
07:48are different colors so which flavor am I mixing now the reason is the one which you have is going
07:53to be the red saffron halwa and mine is going to be the king of halwa what we call it royal halwa
08:00royal halwa constrated with the cardamom that's why this is yellowish the other one is orangey so
08:06how thick will this get will this literally turn to molasses I can tell you the trick we don't
08:12follow the time but it's about 60 minutes and we're sure it's ready when it gets the texture of the
08:19honey that's how we know it's ready in the last five minutes we are adding the ingredients the rest of
08:25it and the nuts to make sure it lasts on the very last part of the process is adding the nuts yes what we
08:32are proud of is that we're still doing it the old way the older school which is since 1850 that's long
08:38long long long time do you feel the inclination to eat the sweets as well or do you see enough of
08:42the sweets when you're at work that you're actually you're you're done with them believe it or not I
08:47have a cup of halwa every day with a coffee next to my office it's starting to feel the heat a little
08:53bit now as it's sticking it up it's quite a workout feel like Willy Wonka it's getting a really nice
09:03consistency now I think I'm done I'm totally exhausted and the heat is extremely hot I'm happy for the
09:10professionals to take over the beloved Bahraini halwa passed down through generations is more than just
09:34a treat it's a symbol of pride and tradition today these sweets are exported not only to
09:41neighboring countries but as far as the UK Canada and Malaysia I think with all of that work in the
09:52factory you really do work up an appetite I think we deserve a little bit of sugar I think it's the time
09:57we say let's try what we need there oh wow so this is the saffron this is what I was working on
10:05exactly and that's king of halwa royal one feel free to try it I think if you allow me I'll go for
10:13the traditional go ahead oh wow it's lovely and warm it's the way supposed to eat it I love the
10:29different consistencies as well you get the crunch of the nut and then the fine kind of almost creaminess
10:36of the jelly it's creamy without having anything in it other than the sugar and the honey and things
10:40that's the main reason we mentioned that adding the nuts in the last last minutes to make sure
10:45it's well lost currency just like you describe it for a better flavor this is dangerous this is a
10:52dangerous sweet let's try the royal one it's so different you can really taste the honey in this one
11:05it's that one's more comforting that's like comfort food the reason is the cardamom whatever the amount
11:10we're we're adding we're making sure that the caramelized flavor which you just mentioned
11:14the two very similar looking dishes but they taste so different it's just the different spices just
11:20turns it into a completely different sweet dish that feels like that's the taste of Bahrain to me
11:25that's it that's a flavor I don't think I've ever tasted the sweet scent of halwa still lingers but my
11:30journey now takes me from Bahrain's kitchens to its stables to discover a very different national passion
11:37horses
11:39arabia's best kept secrets presented by gulf air arabia's best kept secrets presented by gulf air
11:53i'm exploring Bahrain in search of its best kept secrets i'm leaving the city behind and heading south to
12:07its arid heart it's here where the nation's deep-rooted love of horses truly comes alive
12:19although passion for horses is no secret to this region nowhere is it felt more profoundly than in
12:26Bahrain the legacy of the Arabian horse once vital for desert travel war and trade has evolved into a
12:34national pride celebrated through endurance riding and flat racing to witness this tradition in action
12:42i've been granted a very special audience with prince nasa bin hamad al-khalifa two-time world champion
12:50and the driving force behind Bahrain's racing ambitions there's something about the Arabian horse it's just
12:57elegant it's graceful it's noble incredible this is like our treasure our national wealth and you are
13:03the first one to know we are considering the Bahraini horse as our national animal that's fantastic our
13:11stable and this ranch especially holds a lot of champions in here but then Bahrain is the home of the
13:16pure Arabian bread horses
13:18sheikh nasa tells me Arabian horses aren't the fastest but their genetics give them remarkable
13:27endurance their nostrils filter out dust and they're built to handle heat and lack of hydration i was
13:33wondering if you could talk me through the the process of getting these horses ready to compete in
13:38the endurance championships we look at first of all where does the horse live what is the atmosphere
13:44inside the barn what is the hygiene of that one and then we look at the food and the type of food
13:49that the horse would have that keeps them highly energetic throughout the training because we train
13:54them hard you know the volume is so high and then we have for them some paddocks for them to relax and
13:59stretch out after a long day or sometimes they take a recovery day in that paddock they like to walk
14:04around we have hyperbaric chambers for our horses we have cryotherapies we have labs that test the horses
14:11every single day we have swimming pools for our horses but then at the end of the day no matter what
14:18you do you know genetics play a big role in a country where horses were once essential to bedouin life
14:25that heritage now finds a new life on the racetrack whilst i'm admiring the horses i get an unexpected
14:32invite to ride with sheikh nasa i carefully selected these horses for you and for myself to go out for a
14:38gentle ride they say you're not a rider until you fall off at least twice and i've only fallen off
14:42once so maybe you'll make a real rider of me today believe me you want the more experienced horses
14:57because they know their power so they don't get edgy when you ride them as we ride together sheikh nasa
15:15surges ahead giving me a moment to savor the majesty of the bahraini desert at sunset
15:22well that's a ride i won't forget in a hurry that really was incredible not only
15:35these horses graceful elegant and noble they don't have kicks and power keep it calm incredibly well
15:45as the sun sets in the bahraini desert it's a clear signal to rest
15:52as i have something special planned for tomorrow
16:01arabia's best kept secrets presented by gulf air arabia's best kept secrets presented by gulf air
16:15as i'm exploring bahrain a nation whose identity has been shaped by the sea i'm heading now to the
16:28coast to meet my guide muhammad slays who wants to show me hadra an ancient fishing method unique to
16:34this island
16:37he's taking me to meet one of his fisherman friends part of a small group still practicing this traditional
16:43craft
16:52is all of this the trap or it's just the central part over there well it's a really big trap you can see
16:56all the way down there yep so when the tide goes in the fish goes near shore and then when the tide
17:00goes out the fish goes back so when it's going back it hits on the edge of the net and then it comes
17:06all the way into the heart of the the trap
17:07hadra relies solely on the rhythm of the tides fence-like traps fixed to the seabed gently guide fish
17:18in as the water recedes all without a single net or boat
17:22okay yes first
17:34wow we definitely have some fish in here you show me how it's done yeah okay okay so it kind of just
17:42scoops them out oh oh that's a big fish that's my favorite one the beyond
17:48oh wow oh that's blue crabs here there's a couple i can see like this is with line goes
18:12steady okay okay then it's my turn yes let the edge on the side yeah
18:26oh look i don't think i'm going to be giving up my day job just yet
18:30it's not a great hole but i can see a fish there that will be part of the fisherman's catch
18:46in an age of industrial trawlers stripping the seabed clean it's so refreshing to see that bahrain's
18:53strict fishing rules are helping this quiet sustainable practice to endure
19:07sleighs and the boys have invited me to a proper fisherman's feast
19:12they've done all the cooking so i can just focus on clearing my plate
19:16that's good yeah it's almost too good pizza fish and chips
19:29this experience and the tastes and the flavors is not something i'm gonna i'm gonna forget anytime
19:34soon this is this is a special special treat which is about that muhammad or this one
19:56in bahrain the sea is never far away and as my time here comes to an end i find a moment of calm
20:02the sea is never far away by its shores after being in bahrain now for a few days and hanging
20:08with sleighs and the people he's introduced me to it's the sense of community that impresses me the
20:14most there's a sincere and genuine hospitality and it's easy to understand why some consider this
20:22small island to be the gemstone in the middle east's crown
20:26this is a nation shaped by water rooted in tradition and charging into the future with its heart still
20:38this is a nation shaped by water rooted in the future with its heart still anchored proudly in the past
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