1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:05,640 I'm on a journey around the Mediterranean. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,720 It's the sea that attracts around a third of world tourism. 3 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:19,000 The birthplace of civilisations... 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:20,640 Just look at that! 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,720 ..where extraordinary wealth... 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,040 This one has got a helicopter on it. 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,400 ..meets shocking poverty. 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,440 I take my flipping hat off to them, I really do. 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:34,640 Look at the scale of the destruction! 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,000 They are on the edge of the Med. 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,440 It is a sea of wild extremes. 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,200 Yes, yes! Look! 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,400 On this second part of my journey, 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,920 I am travelling around the eastern Mediterranean, 15 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,960 from the island of Cyprus, 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:55,720 across the sea to Lebanon 17 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,560 and on to Israel and Gaza. 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,320 It's a region of awesome beauty and extreme landscapes... 19 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:06,560 Look at that! 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,280 That's not where we're going? Yes. We are going there. 21 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,560 ..torn by bitter divisions. 22 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,320 It's a fully active, combat-ready patrol. Yeah, yeah. 23 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:19,360 GUNSHOTS 24 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,040 My God, there's somebody living up here. Look. 25 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,280 Have you ever been down here? No. 26 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,120 In the eastern Med, ancient cultures are struggling to survive 27 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,600 in the face of daunting challenges. 28 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,640 This is technology, how you take money from the brain. 29 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:40,440 CHEERING 30 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,040 This isn't what you were expecting, was it? 31 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,480 I am up a mountain, on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean 32 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,000 and I'm starting this leg of my journey in Cyprus! 33 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:13,600 Look at this! 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,240 There's a ski lift here. 35 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,960 There is a ski resort in the mountains of Cyprus. 36 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:21,720 I had no idea. 37 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,400 The Mediterranean is a place of such extremes! 38 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,640 Part of the reason I wanted to come up here, into the mountains, 39 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,440 is because I think most of us think of Cyprus 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,560 as being a place for summer sun, 41 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,520 but there is a whole world of life up here, 42 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,440 well away from the beaches. 43 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,160 At the eastern end of the Mediterranean, 44 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,800 Cyprus has sat at the crossroads of civilisations, cultures 45 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,080 and great religions for centuries. 46 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,720 We're on our way to a village and life up here in the hills, 47 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,000 in the mountains, is said to revolve around three things, 48 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,640 God, goats and grappa. 49 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,320 Cyprus is a divided island. 50 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,240 Christian Greek Cypriots now live in the south, 51 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,840 with mainly Muslim Turkish Cypriots in the north. 52 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,880 In the south, I was going to see and stay with the head of a large, 53 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,040 proud family of Greek Cypriots, a goat farmer with a big character. 54 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:29,560 Michalis! 55 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:35,960 Simon, very nice to meet you. 56 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,160 We're going to walk up. 57 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,080 Here, here, here. 58 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,680 I'm impressed, Michalis! Look at that! Hey! 59 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,640 GOATS BLEAT 60 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,360 Come on, come on! Inside! 61 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:00,880 How many goats have you got? 62 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,280 This is quite deep, this is... Your roots are here. 63 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,920 After Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, 64 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,960 there were disputes and then conflict between Turkish Cypriots 65 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,760 and then Greek Cypriots - even neighbours. 66 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,600 Is it OK to come in? 67 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:55,720 Come in, come in! 68 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,120 VOICEOVER: In 1974, Greek Cypriot generals 69 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:59,960 helped seize power on the island. 70 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:02,600 The Turkish Army then invaded the north, 71 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,320 ostensibly to protect Turkish Cypriots. 72 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,760 There was hand-to-hand and street-to-street fighting, 73 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,120 followed by the division of the island. 74 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:13,760 Relations between the two sides 75 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,840 are still the subject of heated debate. 76 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,880 Do you remember a time where Turkish Cypriots 77 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,720 and Greek Cypriots lived happily together? 78 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:46,520 We are now nearly... nearly four decades on from this, 79 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:48,880 it's more than four decades, 80 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,920 it's just unbelievable that this situation 81 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:53,720 is still existing today. 82 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:13,280 THEY ALL SING 83 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,560 SINGING CONTINUES 84 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:41,920 It's not just families where there is still disagreement. 85 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,560 I headed towards the capital, Nicosia. 86 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,520 It's a city with a physical split right down the middle. 87 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:52,720 So, this wall here marks part of the dividing line? 88 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,560 Yes, this is the Buffer Zone. And... Oh, my God, look! 89 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,440 A barricade at the end of the street! 90 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,000 That is unbelievable. 91 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,760 Nicosia is divided by a wall and the so-called green line. 92 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:11,160 A ceasefire, more than 40 years ago, left Nicosia split 93 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,200 between the Greek Cypriot half of the city 94 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,920 and the Turkish Cypriot zone. 95 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,560 In the middle is a no-man's land, 96 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,360 patrolled by a force of British UN peacekeepers. 97 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,160 Colonel Wildish, hello there. 98 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,680 Welcome to Ledra Palace Hotel. Thank you very much indeed. 99 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,320 Good to see you. Simon Reeve, nice to see you, too. 100 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:34,760 Thanks for agreeing to meet us. No problem at all. 101 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:36,440 Thank you very much, thank you. 102 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,600 VOICEOVER: Colonel Tim Wildish and his men 103 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,640 oversee the abandoned Buffer Zone, 104 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,160 and help keep the peace in Europe's last divided city. 105 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,920 This is one of seven official crossings, 106 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,200 north to south, south to north. North, south... 107 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:54,200 North, south, and this is the patrol track, 108 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,720 which runs through the Buffer Zone. 109 00:07:58,080 --> 00:07:59,360 Ricardo? 110 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,960 We're just going to... 111 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,600 So, this is the Olympus Hotel on the left-hand side. Right. 112 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,480 Winston Churchill stayed here several times, 113 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,720 it was the only five-star hotel at the time. 114 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,320 It's seen happier days, hasn't it? Seen better days, yeah. 115 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,960 As has this part of the city. As has all of this. 116 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,520 These buildings have just been abandoned and cleared out. 117 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,120 Ahead, we've got a Turkish Cypriot outpost, is that right? 118 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,560 Are we allowed to film that, or you'd rather we didn't? 119 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,720 No, don't film that, if you wouldn't mind. OK. 120 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,040 What's the closest that the two sides along the line? 121 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:38,120 It goes down to about two to three metres in places, 122 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,560 so you get tensions, you get low-level problems 123 00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:43,600 with discipline, throwing stones at each other, that kind of thing. 124 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:45,640 Stone-throwing sounds like little stones, 125 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:47,640 but it can be some pretty big rocks, 126 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:49,720 launched from catapult-type things. 127 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,960 Want we don't want is some sort of low-level incident 128 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,640 rapidly escalating into something that gets out of control, 129 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:57,640 and that's one of the reasons that we're here, 130 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,680 to keep things under control, keep the status quo. 131 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,960 This is actually quite a huge area of the island 132 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,200 that is in the Buffer Zone, 133 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,920 something like 3% of all of Cyprus is inside the Buffer Zone. 134 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,160 My God, there's somebody living up here! Look! 135 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,960 You can somebody putting their washing out. 136 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:23,360 Yasou! Yeah. 137 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,320 How long have you lived here? 138 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:30,920 Have you ever been down here? 139 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:32,040 No, no, no. 140 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,800 You've never stood down here? No. 141 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,720 What if you dropped something down here? 142 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,560 We are calling to the UN and we are asking for help! 143 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:45,360 You would have to ring the United Nations for assistance? Yeah, yeah. 144 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:47,360 Do you think there will be a solution, 145 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,960 do you think there will be peace? No. 146 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:52,920 No, immediately, you don't? No, no. Why? 147 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:54,680 Because, I don't know, 148 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:57,320 Turkish people and Greek people, 149 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,200 they hate each other for no reason, 150 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,600 because before 30 years or more. 151 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,000 VOICEOVER: I was stunned to see this divide. 152 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,280 We've got the UN on patrol again. 153 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,080 Turkey says, perhaps with some justification, 154 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,200 it invaded the island to protect Turkish Cypriots, 155 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:17,840 but the Turks stayed. 156 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,840 The European Court of Human Rights has ruled the invasion 157 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:23,760 and subsequent occupation 158 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,600 of the northern third of the island illegal. 159 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,240 Decades of talks have done nothing to resolve this bizarre situation, 160 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,800 on an island in the European Union. 161 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,360 I crossed the border to find out more 162 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,800 about Turkish occupied northern Cyprus. 163 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:41,560 Ezra? Hi, Ezra! 164 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:42,840 Simon Reeve, nice to meet you. 165 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:44,680 Nice to meet you, too! Welcome. 166 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,720 Thank you very much for coming to see us. 167 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,240 Are you going to show me around? Sure, let's go. Is that OK? Yeah. 168 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:50,440 Thank you. 169 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,400 Ezra is a Turkish Cypriot. 170 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,040 Her family was one of thousands, from both sides, 171 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:57,640 uprooted by the conflict. 172 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,120 My parents are from the south of Cyprus, 173 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,000 and they had to flee, 174 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,200 they had to move to Kyrenia in 1974. 175 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,040 So, they came north, why? 176 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:11,640 There was a war. 177 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,600 Greek Cypriot Army attacked Turkish Cypriots. 178 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,600 I mean, there was a lot of fighting and people were scared. 179 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,320 There was conflict and people feared, not just... For their lives. 180 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,720 For their lives? Definitely, and there have been a lot of people 181 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,760 who went missing, who died, on both sides. 182 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:34,440 Because of the occupation, 183 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,720 the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state is under an international embargo, 184 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,680 which blocks its business, financial, sporting, 185 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:45,400 cultural and trade connections with most of the planet. 186 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,080 We feel that we are cut off from the whole world. 187 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,520 Everything has to go through Turkey, 188 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,800 from flights to telephone lines 189 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:55,960 to postal services. 190 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,400 It sounds like it must dominate life here? 191 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,680 It does, it does dominate life. 192 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:06,520 Of course, we have had a big population transfer, too. 193 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,720 Turkish people who accepted to come and settle here 194 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,240 were offered two years of salary, 195 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,600 a house and agricultural land. Wow. 196 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,160 So, they were offered incentives to come and settle in Cyprus, 197 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:27,200 and, of course, this changes the political will of the community. 198 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,080 It takes away from the culture. 199 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:35,000 So, there's almost been a degree of social engineering, then? 200 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,000 Definitely, definitely there has been. 201 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,640 And it still continues. 202 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,040 Turkish Governments have encouraged hundreds of thousands 203 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,160 of Turks to settle here, and many think they're trying to link 204 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,920 Turkish Cyprus more closely to Turkey. 205 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,680 Settlers are now thought to be more than half the population. 206 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:56,520 Many Turkish Cypriots feel they're more religious. 207 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,880 The Turkish Government is paying to open huge new mosques for them. 208 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,240 The people who came to Cyprus from Turkey 209 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,760 were more from the conservative rural areas of Turkey, 210 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,320 who were looking for a better life. 211 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:16,320 So, you got that cultural clash right from the beginning. 212 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,480 And the feeling is like they are pushing Turkishness on us. 213 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,760 When you push it in my face, then the reaction you get 214 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,280 is the exact opposite. 215 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,240 Turkey seems to be encouraging a more traditional 216 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,880 Turkish religious and patriotic culture here. 217 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,120 Many Turkish Cypriots aren't happy - 218 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,920 they say they're more liberal and laid-back. 219 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:40,360 We're going to a village 220 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,000 that's still very strongly a Turkish Cypriot village, 221 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,960 and I'm going to meet the head of the village, the Mukhtar. 222 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,120 This is proper agricultural area, 223 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,560 not cars parked outside people's houses but tractors! 224 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,360 Look at his place! Merhaba. 225 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,080 Merhaba! 226 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,960 Very nice to meet you, sir. 227 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,800 Wow, look at your place, your office here! My office. 228 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:17,360 How is that specifically Turkish Cypriot? 229 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,720 Not specific to one side or the other? 230 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,040 From his village HQ, Mukhtar Omer Merakli 231 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:43,640 is leading a campaign to preserve traditional Turkish Cypriot culture 232 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,680 and stop it being overwhelmed by Turkey. 233 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,040 He's become a bit of an online celebrity. 234 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,680 You're on Facebook here! Yes, my Facebook. 235 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,560 This is your Facebook page. Look, it's you, you're on a donkey! 236 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,240 Is he always checking Facebook? 237 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,880 The Mukhtar gave me a speedy tour of the village. 238 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,840 We're going off road. 239 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,800 This is like a rally! It's a rally car! 240 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,560 We made it up the hill! 241 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:55,440 All right, let's have a look. 242 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,280 Unlike much of northern Cyprus, 243 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,760 Turkish settlers have yet to populate this area in large numbers, 244 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,120 and it seems the Mukhtar would like to keep it that way. 245 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,160 When you look out at the village, what are you most proud of about it? 246 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,200 What does that mean? 247 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,600 As if the divide between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots 248 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,400 wasn't bad enough, there are now tensions in the north 249 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,000 between Cypriots and settlers. 250 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,920 On Cyprus, there seems little prospect of resolution. 251 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,160 There it is. 252 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:56,600 The Mediterranean! 253 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,320 Looking particularly beautiful. 254 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,520 It's the very size and shape of the Mediterranean 255 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,560 that makes it so extraordinary. 256 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,440 Wide enough to support countless empires and civilisations, 257 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,520 yet narrow or small enough to ensure they come into plenty of contact, 258 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:15,880 and often conflict. 259 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,360 Radically different cultures and religions have always lived, 260 00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:25,040 existed, in close proximity around the Mediterranean, 261 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:26,920 often they've thrived together. 262 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,960 But here, now, there's a bitter divide. 263 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,680 Cyprus has long been the Mediterranean gateway 264 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,760 to the Middle East. 265 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,840 I headed to Lebanon, just 200 miles away. 266 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,320 In recent years, as the Middle East has plunged into war and chaos, 267 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,560 Lebanon has been a haven of relative calm, 268 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,880 even though it's another country with a history 269 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,280 of religious and ethnic division. 270 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,160 Lebanon is a small country but it's a real melting pot 271 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:16,400 of something like 18 different sects and religions, 272 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,640 all living together. 273 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,000 The ultimate Mediterranean mix. 274 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,200 Look at this sight. 275 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:25,880 Man and dog! 276 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,200 Raja! Welcome to Lebanon! 277 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,640 Thank you very much indeed, mate. This is Sam. 278 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,080 He's wandering around behind the car! Hello, Sam. 279 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,240 Sam, this is Simon. Are you coming with us, as well? 280 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,160 Yeah, he will spend the week with us! 281 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,200 Excellent, fantastic. 282 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,240 Thank you. Agh! 283 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,080 Today, we'll discover Lebanon... 284 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,360 ..but in another way. Another way? 285 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:55,000 Yeah, not walking and not driving. 286 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,240 You've got just this sort of cheeky look on your face 287 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,920 that is causing me a small degree of concern. 288 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,960 What have you got planned? I'm smiling because I'm happy. 289 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,480 Welcome to the take-off, Simon. 290 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,240 What have I let myself in for...? 291 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:20,680 My guide, Raja Saade, was about to give me my most spectacular view yet 292 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:22,440 of the beautiful Med. 293 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:25,840 Not good. 294 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,560 This is much, erm, higher 295 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,320 and more vertical 296 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,440 than I imagined...and want. 297 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,400 Simon. Yes. Keep running. Keep running, OK, keep running. OK? 298 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,840 Even if you feel you can't run, you keep running, OK? 299 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,760 Keep running. OK, yes, boss. 300 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,440 Are we ready? Yes! 301 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,040 One, two, go! 302 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,880 You have to run more. More, more, more. Run. 303 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,440 Keep running, keep running, keep running. 304 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:55,960 Agh! 305 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,640 Very nice day. 306 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:59,240 Oh, my God! 307 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:02,720 We're flying over Lebanon! 308 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,280 And it is incredible! 309 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:07,920 Very good. 310 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:11,600 Oh, this is blissful! 311 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,680 Blissful and...and nervy and wonderful and... 312 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,120 ..and a long way down! 313 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:22,960 This is the eagle eyes, you know, 314 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,840 you see, we can see the whole Lebanon. 315 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,000 I see Beirut, down the coast. 316 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,880 You see why I like my country? Look, Simon, around. 317 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,320 This is just stunning. 318 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:33,920 Look at Harissa, you see? 319 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,800 It's Virgin Mary, very famous in Lebanon. 320 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:38,200 Agh! 321 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:42,240 Gently, gently. 322 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,000 Looks as though we're about to land into the hotel! 323 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,160 Agh! 324 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,400 What do you want me to do? OK, you can stand up. Stand...? 325 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,000 Ready to run, OK? 326 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,240 I'm ready! 327 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,320 Remember, ready to run, OK. I'm ready. Ready to run. 328 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:57,480 Agh! 329 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:58,720 OK, stand up. 330 00:20:58,720 --> 00:20:59,960 Very nice. 331 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:01,920 Oh, my goodness! Congratulations. Bravo. 332 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:03,800 The best landing ever! Nicely done. 333 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,440 Well, not bad anyway! 334 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,000 Like more than a third of the population, 335 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,480 Raja is a Lebanese Christian. 336 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,760 When it was founded, the country was a predominantly 337 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,640 Christian nation. 338 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,560 Raja is an adventure tour guide in Lebanon. 339 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,880 To get more of a sense of the country he loves, 340 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,080 and see the ancient roots of Christianity 341 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,880 in this area of the Mediterranean, we headed up into the mountains. 342 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,920 We'll be halfway now between mountains and... And sea. 343 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,160 And sea. Perfect. 344 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,800 We are just a short distance from the Mediterranean 345 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,080 and we have climbed straight up into the mountains 346 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,520 and ahead of us is a giant snowy peak, 347 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,240 straight from the Swiss Alps. 348 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,720 Just inland from the Mediterranean, 349 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,480 this rugged mountain range stretches the length of the country. 350 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,440 We were heading to the Qadisha, or Holy Valley, 351 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,120 a sacred area for Lebanon's Christians 352 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:19,160 and one of Raja's favourite places to hike. 353 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:22,360 Look at this! 354 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,440 This is... 355 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,080 This is incredible. 356 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,160 Yes, Sam, look! Look at the view! 357 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,200 Wow. 358 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,440 You see, this is the valley. 359 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:43,280 Raja was taking me to an abandoned monastery deep in the valley. 360 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,800 Look, from here, you can have a look. You see? 361 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,520 That's not where we are going. Yes, we're going there. 362 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,960 We'll sleep here tonight. 363 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:55,520 And this is the monastery of Mar Aboun, the first Christian, 364 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,040 the first Maronite choose them to live. 365 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,800 This is why they were happy in this valley, 366 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:02,680 because it's full of caves. 367 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,560 Maronite Christians are an ancient Christian sect. 368 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:12,160 It's thought they were originally driven away from the Mediterranean 369 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:13,600 and up here into the mountains, 370 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,880 where they found seclusion and safety. 371 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,200 Millions of them have since fled into exile abroad, 372 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,920 now living in the Americas and Europe. 373 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:25,400 Look at this. 374 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,000 It's completely epic. 375 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:32,480 Built inside a cave, this Maronite monastery 376 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,440 is thought to have stood for 1,000 years. 377 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,080 Hey, why were you saying we have to be careful with our lights? 378 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,360 We can have hyenas. "Hyenas"? You're pulling my leg. 379 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:52,200 No, really. There are no hyenas here. 380 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,280 I can show you some pictures, for sure there... Seriously? 381 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,480 Yeah, there are hyenas. Oh, my goodness' sake. 382 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,160 Every winter when there is a lot of snow, 383 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,840 they found hyena in the village, they come to the village. 384 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:04,200 Right. My goodness. 385 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,920 If you meet a hyena, you don't have to look to his eyes. 386 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,480 Because if you look to his eyes you can't move after. 387 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,680 Do the stories you have of hyenas end well for the humans? 388 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,400 There is no story with well... No story ends well! 389 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,840 Yeah! Bloody hell! 390 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,640 Do we have any sharpened spears or anything? 391 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,320 I've slept in some strange places, 392 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,600 but this takes the biscuit! 393 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,280 DISTANT YELPING OUTSIDE 394 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,200 What is that noise? 395 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,960 He's really spooked me by talking about the hyenas! 396 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:45,600 YELPING CONTINUES 397 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,400 There was quite a lot of howling in the night. 398 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,120 I can't wait to get outside. 399 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,760 This is going to be the best view for morning ablutions, 400 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,440 possibly ever! 401 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,160 The Middle East was the birthplace of Christianity. 402 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,720 But today, the persecution of Christians across the region 403 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,840 is a forgotten human-rights tragedy. 404 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,840 100 years ago, one in seven people in the Middle East were Christians. 405 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,560 Now, it's just one in 20. 406 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,960 Lebanon has long been one of the safest places 407 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,640 in the Middle East to be a Christian. 408 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:50,600 Now, it's becoming a sanctuary. 409 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:57,200 Brutal civil wars and targeted attacks in Iraq and Syria 410 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,760 have resulted in their Christian populations collapsing. 411 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,160 Thousands of Christian refugees from across the region 412 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,280 have fled to safety here in Lebanon. 413 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:11,320 Raja took me to meet one Christian community with a defiant message. 414 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,160 Oh, my goodness! 415 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:15,840 That is a big cross! 416 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,240 That's a tower! Yes. 417 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:24,120 Can you actually go up inside it? Yes. That is a very big statement. 418 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,200 Father, hello. Hello. 419 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,320 Lovely to meet you, Simon Reeve, hello. 420 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:32,760 Father Charbel Khachan. 421 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,880 Very nice to meet you. 422 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:36,720 Oh, flippin' heck. 423 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,240 My vertigo's going to get a workout here! 424 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,160 VOICEOVER: This is said to be the largest 425 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:42,800 inhabitable cross in the world. 426 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,280 OK... 427 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:48,920 Oh! 428 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:51,120 Oh, no, I don't like this! 429 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:54,120 I don't like this, I'll just stay just here, I think. 430 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:55,960 Sadly, I don't have your faith! 431 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,840 In any sense! 432 00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:59,440 Sam! 433 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,280 Sam, don't go near the edge! 434 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:04,840 Sam is OK, don't... 435 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:06,240 Just be careful! 436 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,400 Overlooking the Mediterranean, 437 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,800 the giant cross, 60 metres high, 438 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,120 is going to house a church and a prayer centre 439 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:17,240 for the Christian community. 440 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:22,200 How would you describe the situation at the moment for Christians 441 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,880 in the Middle East? 442 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,760 This community might be staying, but elsewhere in the Middle East, 443 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,400 Christianity is facing collapse. 444 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,600 Church leaders are starting to wonder 445 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,440 whether Christianity could vanish from the region of its birth. 446 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,520 I continued my journey around the Mediterranean 447 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,880 as Raja drove me towards the south of Lebanon. 448 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,600 I can see what looks like a big military checkpoint up ahead. 449 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,200 These checkpoints actually have been quite a surprise to me, 450 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,520 I think they're a constant reminder that there is fragility here, 451 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,280 there is risk, there is instability still in Lebanon. 452 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:54,240 We're heading into the territory controlled by Hezbollah. 453 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:59,520 Hezbollah is a militant Shi'ite Muslim group 454 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:01,760 that Israel, the United States, 455 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,400 European countries and Arab countries, as well, 456 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,640 say is one of the biggest terrorist groups in the world. 457 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,080 Hezbollah is backed by Iran. 458 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,160 Here in Lebanon, Hezbollah controls an area 459 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,280 bordering Israel to the south. 460 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:23,280 In 2006, Hezbollah fought a brief, but bloody, war with Israel, 461 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,720 a conflict which still defines this area. 462 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:27,600 Wow. 463 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:32,440 So, that's a huge poster, a martyr poster, basically, 464 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:36,800 with the faces of almost entirely young men who have died 465 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,800 fighting for Hezbollah. 466 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:43,560 And here you see three, basically, three young guys. Look at them! 467 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,640 So, look, we're coming to, 468 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,280 so, "Hezbollah Resistance Museum". 469 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,880 To mark what they say are their victories against Israel, 470 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,640 Hezbollah have spent a reported $20 million 471 00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,680 building a strange tourist attraction 472 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,560 that's been described as a terrorist Disneyland. 473 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:03,880 Oh, my God. 474 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,600 So, this is what they call the Abyss. 475 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,160 The Abyss proudly displays the spoils of war 476 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,920 captured from Israeli forces and their allies. 477 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,080 I think what's really striking about this site 478 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,840 is just the scale of it, and what it really says to me 479 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:34,800 is that obviously this isn't just a small militant group, 480 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,720 Hezbollah is now a rich and powerful 481 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,600 militant military organisation. 482 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,680 A mini army! They have their own tank divisions, for goodness' sake! 483 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:53,000 In Lebanon, they have become like a state within a state. 484 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,960 Hezbollah also run hospitals, schools and welfare. 485 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,800 Many people in Lebanon think they stand up against the might 486 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:06,280 of Israel and describe Hezbollah as the "resistance". 487 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,920 Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are again escalating, 488 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,000 and, tragically, both sides have said they're ready for another war. 489 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,680 So, this is the divide between Lebanon and Israel. 490 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,920 We've got our United Nations armoured truck here. 491 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,760 We're going to pull over and have a look. 492 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,320 At a viewpoint, there's a group of United Nations soldiers here 493 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:36,120 playing cards or something next to a poster of the leader of Hezbollah, 494 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:37,560 this is just surreal. 495 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:47,920 This is a really, I suppose, defining feeling 496 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,400 and point for me travelling around the Mediterranean. 497 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:55,040 I cannot believe we've gone from the green line dividing Cyprus 498 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:59,080 to the blue line dividing Lebanon and Israel. 499 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:04,160 And on both of them, the United Nations is keeping neighbours apart. 500 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,400 There are tensions elsewhere in the Med, 501 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,000 but this is one of the world's most dangerous flash points. 502 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,160 It is perhaps the most extreme of all Mediterranean borders. 503 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:20,040 There is no way of crossing here from Lebanon into Israel. 504 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:24,040 So, to continue my journey around the Mediterranean, 505 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,760 I've got to fly to Jordan, 506 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:30,760 and from there, to Tel Aviv on the coast of Israel. 507 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,920 Surrounded by often hostile countries on land, 508 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,080 and with few open border crossings to its neighbours, 509 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:44,840 Israel is almost an island in the Middle East. 510 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,400 The Mediterranean is the country's main connection 511 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:48,840 to the outside world. 512 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,720 Perhaps more than any other country around the sea, 513 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,360 Israel relies on the Mediterranean for its survival. 514 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,920 The colonel commands the Ashdod Navy fleet. 515 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,760 We have patrol boats that patrol 24 hours a day, 365 a year. 516 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,440 Patrolling your patch of the Mediterranean? Yeah, yeah. 517 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,280 It's going to get crowded in here, isn't it? 518 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:30,800 Before you are going to the sea, 519 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,760 you're checking everything and you see that everything is in order 520 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:38,800 and it's correct and it's OK, and then you can go on your mission. 521 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:43,520 So, it's a fully active, combat-ready patrol? Yeah. OK. 522 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:00,880 Now finish everything and check everything 523 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,920 and now we can go out to the sea. OK. 524 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:04,640 This is what we are doing. 525 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:07,760 And you can see the big ships that are coming in and out 526 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,800 to bring all the stuff to Israel. 527 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,760 Israel, it's like an island. 528 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,520 Because all around of us, 529 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,760 we have, most of the countries 530 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:17,960 we don't have a relationship with them, 531 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:19,840 and then we have to use the sea 532 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:22,400 and this is the reason that the Mediterranean 533 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,320 is so important to Israel. 534 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,440 With most of its land borders closed, 535 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,480 an incredible 99% of Israel's imports by volume 536 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:36,120 arrive via the Mediterranean. 537 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,960 Defending three key commercial ports has long been a major part 538 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:41,800 of the Navy's mission. 539 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:46,520 But now, it's what's under the Mediterranean that is a new focus 540 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:48,520 for Israeli security. 541 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,360 We have not only the trade through the Mediterranean, 542 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,760 now we have the electricity, you have the energy. 543 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:00,880 For a long time, Israel's been relatively starved of energy. 544 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,080 In a part of the world that is completely awash with oil, 545 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,400 Israel has always been the country that didn't have the oil reserves. 546 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,520 Now, in the last few years, 547 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,280 underneath the eastern end of the Mediterranean 548 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:15,560 have been discovered some of the largest 549 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:18,200 remaining gas reserves on the planet. 550 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,800 And that's a complete game-changer for the country. 551 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,720 From a security point of view, of course, the problem is, 552 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,480 these rigs are like sitting ducks. 553 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,280 Defence experts say the rigs are vulnerable to attacks from rockets, 554 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:39,320 divers and even remote-controlled submarines. 555 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,920 The Israeli Navy has deployed countermeasures, 556 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,480 including missile systems, undersea sensors 557 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,800 and even the first operational combat unmanned drone boat. 558 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:53,080 On this ship, they have guns, they have cameras, 559 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,160 they have radars, all this stuff, 560 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,760 and they control the ship from the shore. 561 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:02,720 Israel and Israelis have really led the world 562 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,680 in airborne drone technology and now, they're extending 563 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,400 the same sort of technology to the sea. 564 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:10,560 Look at the weapon on the top there. 565 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:14,120 It looks like Star Trek stuff, doesn't it? 566 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,680 This was a live-fire training exercise. 567 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:20,520 The Israeli military have faced criticism and condemnation 568 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:24,120 for using excessive force on land, but also at sea. 569 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:28,840 It's looking for a target or a terrorist boat. 570 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:31,200 And then when he will find it, 571 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,960 he will go and he will fire it on... 572 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,920 He will fire first of all in the air and then on the target. 573 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:40,400 RAPID GUNFIRE 574 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:44,680 Goodness me. 575 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,960 That's really rather extraordinary. 576 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,840 It really does feel like the future of war. 577 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,280 In horrific... 578 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,720 and a sophisticated way. 579 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,520 Israel was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust. 580 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,960 Its early years and often the decades since 581 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,400 were marked by conflict and the threat of annihilation. 582 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,080 In response, Israel invested heavily 583 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:14,720 in the military and innovation. 584 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,200 I suppose, the first thing you think when you come here 585 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:21,840 for the first time is, 586 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,840 this wasn't quite what I was expecting! 587 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,960 Personally, I've been raised my entire life, 588 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,880 the Arab-Israeli conflict has been just endless. 589 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:34,680 Here, this is party town! 590 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:43,200 Israel the best! 591 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:51,160 In Tel Aviv, the problems of the Middle East 592 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,040 can seem a long way away. 593 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:56,400 Israel has become one of the most crowded countries in the world. 594 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:58,440 And its population is likely to 595 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,080 at least double in the next few decades. 596 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:02,480 To face the challenge, 597 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:07,520 Israelis are using the Mediterranean Sea and cutting-edge inventions. 598 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:10,320 It is very green here. 599 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,360 Which is weird, because it hasn't rained very much 600 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,120 this winter in Israel. 601 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,440 But the grass and the crops are still growing. 602 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,200 There's no drought here. 603 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,880 And that is because the Israelis have learned 604 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,480 to make drinking water out of sea water. 605 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:31,920 The Sorek Desalination Plant, 606 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:33,960 right next to the Mediterranean, 607 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,720 is the biggest of its kind in the world. 608 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,280 So, we take the water from the sea 609 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:43,320 directly from the Mediterranean, it is, in distance, 610 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:46,760 about two kilometres from here inside of the sea. 611 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:49,000 So, you have a big pipe sticking out into the sea? 612 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,240 Yeah, you can see this pipe, this is the size of the pipe, 613 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:55,400 the big one, you can see it. 614 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,760 Just a few years ago, Israel teetered on the edge 615 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:00,800 of the worst drought in more than 900 years. 616 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:02,840 It faced catastrophe. 617 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,240 But innovators like Dr Boris Liberman helped 618 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:09,160 turn the Mediterranean into Israel's salvation. 619 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,960 Today, five huge plants like this line Israel's coastline, 620 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:17,680 producing an astonishing 2 billion litres of fresh water every day. 621 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:25,560 So, this is where the magic happens. 622 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,400 Yeah, if you like! 623 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,400 It's absolutely enormous! 624 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:35,240 Where is everybody? 625 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,480 It's hard to understate the importance of these plants. 626 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:51,760 Clean water is liquid gold. 627 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,160 Israel, one of the driest countries on Earth, 628 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,040 now has more water than it needs. 629 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,520 OK, this is the place we can try water. 630 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,200 This is the water. 631 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,560 You see, I immediately feel like I should turn them off! 632 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:09,640 Doctor, what are you doing? 633 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:11,200 You cannot run all the taps! 634 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,520 Keep it, keep it, keep it! What on earth are you doing? 635 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:18,560 Keep it, keep it, keep it! Take a glass. 636 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:22,520 Even in Britain, where we have a fair old amount of rain... 637 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:23,840 Plenty of water. 638 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,080 ..we have to conserve water. 639 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,720 You can't do this in the Middle East! You can! 640 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,880 But now you can. You can. 641 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:33,840 It does taste like mineral water. 642 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:36,840 It is, it is high-quality mineral water. 643 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,080 You can start bottling this! 644 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:43,000 Yeah, but it is not our business to make bottles, 645 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,520 our business is to make the mass production. 646 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:49,040 Let's go, guys. 647 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:50,880 Follow me! 648 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,040 In the past, large-scale desalination, 649 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,320 turning salty sea water into drinking water, 650 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,800 required huge amounts of energy and polluting chemicals. 651 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,360 There are still environmental costs 652 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:02,680 but this new process is energy-efficient 653 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:06,120 and almost entirely chemical-free. Oh, my goodness, look. 654 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:09,880 It is absolutely natural sea water. 655 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:15,000 Maybe we will later see some fishes or crabs can be in the water. 656 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,280 You really can, look. There you can see one fish. Yes. 657 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:21,360 One, two... There's lots. You see? 658 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:23,080 So what will happen to the fish? 659 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:25,400 During backwash process from this pool, 660 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:28,240 they can go back to the sea. 661 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:32,120 Turning sea water into drinking water is... 662 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,760 There's something quite biblical about it. 663 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,800 It's something that humans have never really done 664 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:40,720 in large quantities before. 665 00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:43,400 Yeah, the problem technologically is solved, 666 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,200 we can do it and we can do it in very large quantities. 667 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,760 And we can do it for relatively low cost. 668 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:55,720 This is also, I think, an example of Israeli innovation, 669 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,520 which is something very special about the country. 670 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:00,960 Israel is made from the brain. 671 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:05,840 This is technology, how you take money from the brain. 672 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:08,160 You have to know how to do it. 673 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:11,640 And there are a lot of money inside of the brain. 674 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:14,760 While other wealthy Middle East nations 675 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:16,800 have relied on oil for prosperity, 676 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:19,960 Israel has relied on innovation technology, 677 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:23,120 one of Israel's biggest exports. 678 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,160 It's helped make the country wealthy. 679 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:29,240 By contrast, my final destination on this leg of my journey 680 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,960 is one of the poorest places in the region. 681 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:34,760 I took a train south. 682 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,440 I was heading to the Gaza Strip, 683 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,800 a tiny stretch of land along the Mediterranean 684 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,560 around 25 miles long. 685 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:50,160 Nearly two million Palestinians live there. 686 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:53,280 It was the most dangerous part of the journey. 687 00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:57,840 This is actually part of the train station that is a bomb shelter 688 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:02,080 or a rocket shelter, because of missiles launched from Gaza. 689 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:06,520 Look at the doors here, it's unbelievable. 690 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:10,280 Anyway, so, I've got to go through loads of security now, 691 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,120 we're going to have to stop filming 692 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:16,200 and then we'll pick up and start again when we're inside Gaza. 693 00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:25,040 I cross one of the world's most heavily fortified borders. 694 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:30,000 So, this is a long walk through a cage, 695 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,160 a caged passageway, 696 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,600 that takes us from the very modern, 697 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:38,240 pretty wealthy state of Israel, 698 00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:42,680 to the much poorer and densely packed Gaza Strip. 699 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:47,600 I've never been through a border crossing quite like this. 700 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:50,840 It is extraordinary... 701 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,280 ..in every possible sense. 702 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,280 And, my God, you look across here, 703 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:02,240 look at the barrier that encircles Gaza. 704 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:05,280 It's a very forbidding, foreboding place 705 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,160 to walk towards, quite frankly. 706 00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:13,160 You know, there's a dehumanisation of the people who live here, 707 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:17,560 the whole process makes you feel like you're entering 708 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,080 the cage of the wild animals. 709 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:25,600 Westerners are at risk of kidnap and shooting in Gaza, 710 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:29,040 but also from being caught up in an Israeli military strike. 711 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:32,680 Our crew vehicle had some special modifications. 712 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,920 We have to have, while we're here, 713 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:37,600 the back of the vehicle, 714 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:40,560 well, all the sides, every part of the vehicle, 715 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,240 is heavily armoured. 716 00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:45,480 You've got this armoured window 717 00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:48,480 here that goes there. 718 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,680 Then this thick, solid armour goes across... 719 00:44:54,240 --> 00:44:56,240 ..and then the outer shell closes. 720 00:44:56,240 --> 00:44:58,440 And that is how you feel safe. 721 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:00,720 At least, when you're in the car. 722 00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:07,320 So, we're now in Gaza proper. We are now in Gaza. 723 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,880 So this is Rushdi here. 724 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:12,920 Rushdi is going to be our guide in Gaza. 725 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,320 It's the most bizarre thing, crossing. 726 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:21,320 Of course, they keep calling Gaza as the biggest open-air prison. 727 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:24,880 Which is true because it's closed from four sides. 728 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:29,960 So, Israel is calling this strip of land, it's like a hostile entity. 729 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:34,400 Since elections in 2006, 730 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:37,080 Gaza has been controlled by Hamas, 731 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:40,360 a militant Islamic group considered terrorists by Israel 732 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:43,000 and many Western governments. 733 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,520 It's not the only militant group here. 734 00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:51,880 That's the black flag flying there of... 735 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:54,320 Is that Hamas or something else? 736 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:55,680 It's Islamic Jihad. 737 00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:00,120 We've just gone past an Islamic Jihad checkpoint?! 738 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:03,840 It's not a checkpoint, it's like military compound. Bloody hell. 739 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:06,720 Is this a safe...? 740 00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:08,800 This isn't a safe place. 741 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:13,120 They operate in this area because it's not far from the border. 742 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:18,160 So, they always try to be ready for an Israeli escalation or... 743 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:22,960 Checkpoint ahead. Put the cameras down. Cameras down. 744 00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:33,800 He wants to see what you have been recording. 745 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:37,640 We've been stopped at a checkpoint, they've taken our cameras out. 746 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:39,240 They're being serious about this. 747 00:46:39,240 --> 00:46:42,480 This is not Islamic Jihad people. Who is this? They are Hamas. Hamas. 748 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:46,720 They are the border police...force. 749 00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:47,800 Hamas Border Force. 750 00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:49,400 OK, well, that's... 751 00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:52,640 I'm actually slightly relieved we've been stopped by Hamas. 752 00:46:56,720 --> 00:46:57,920 OK. 753 00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:04,240 Since 2006, Gaza has endured one Palestinian civil war, 754 00:47:04,240 --> 00:47:06,520 three wars between Hamas and Israel, 755 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:08,680 ten years of strict rule by Hamas 756 00:47:08,680 --> 00:47:10,840 and blockade by Israel and Egypt. 757 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,120 This has all crippled the economy. 758 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,000 For how long you can struggle? 759 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:19,480 For how long you have to find a way 760 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:22,720 to produce power and to buy clean water? 761 00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:25,520 This is basic in any part of the world. 762 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:28,040 You don't have to worry about 763 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:32,040 electricity or water or the safety of your people. 764 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:38,360 Israelis and Palestinians have endured endless cycles of violence. 765 00:47:40,080 --> 00:47:42,960 Here, militants can fire rockets into Israel, 766 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:47,400 Israel can attack with overwhelming force. 767 00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:51,560 Weeks of conflict here in 2014 between Israel and Palestinians 768 00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,960 left 2,000 civilians dead, 769 00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:57,160 including an estimated 500 children. 770 00:47:57,160 --> 00:47:59,560 18,000 homes were destroyed. 771 00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:05,040 Israel restricts the supply of many building materials 772 00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,120 like cement into Gaza, 773 00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:11,960 Israel says, to prevent Hamas building tunnels for attacks. 774 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,280 But engineering graduate Majd Mashharawi has invented 775 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,920 an ingenious way to help rebuild in Gaza. 776 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:22,000 So, welcome to our factory. Right. 777 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,440 And so what are you doing here? 778 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:26,320 I'm doing building blocks! 779 00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,040 I call it green cake. 780 00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:29,720 "Green cake"? Yes. 781 00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:32,360 And what is green cake? 782 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:34,480 Green cake is... 783 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:37,400 It's a building block, or a brick, 784 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:39,480 made out of ashes mainly. 785 00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:41,960 I figured out that building blocks in Gaza... 786 00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:45,400 They depend 100% on importing the materials from Israel, 787 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:47,640 and it's too much, because, you know, 788 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:50,080 Gaza is under blockade since 2005, 789 00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:54,920 2006, and that means we have to depend 100% on the other side. 790 00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:59,080 So, it's... We have to create our self-sufficient community. 791 00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:01,600 By inventing the world's first building block 792 00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:03,880 made from recycled coal and wood ash, 793 00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:08,320 Majd has avoided using anything restricted by the Israeli blockade. 794 00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:10,640 So, while we've been talking, 795 00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:13,280 your noisy brickmaking machine was working. Yes. 796 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:16,880 But... And I thought we'd be able to get over there to have a look at it 797 00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:19,920 but the guys have just moved it to one side. 798 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:23,000 This is one of the problems for us here, which is electricity. 799 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:26,000 We have just four hours of electricity a day. 800 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:27,280 Four hours? Yes. 801 00:49:27,280 --> 00:49:30,240 So, it makes...even the life harder. 802 00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:35,720 You want two blocks? We'd love to see two blocks, yes. 803 00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:38,560 Is that possible? 804 00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:45,520 So, you've got six minutes of electricity left? 805 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:49,360 Yes. Can you make two blocks in that time? 806 00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:54,320 Can we see? 807 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:56,040 THEY CHATTER IN OWN LANGUAGE 808 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:03,680 OK, here comes the... Yes. OK. 809 00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:08,360 Right, here's a rich mix. Exactly. 810 00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:10,480 For green cake. Yes. 811 00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,160 I love that you call it "green cake". 812 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:15,720 They think it's a cooking project. 813 00:50:19,240 --> 00:50:21,040 It comes out from the side. 814 00:50:27,960 --> 00:50:30,160 They put it down here and then it comes out. 815 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:39,320 What are you laughing about? 816 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:41,760 ALL GIGGLE 817 00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:43,400 It's OK! 818 00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:45,920 We know you just did this to show us. 819 00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:48,680 Everybody's laughing about the state of your brick. 820 00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:53,560 They want to repeat it. Oh, my goodness. OK. 821 00:50:56,040 --> 00:50:58,040 Oh, look, he's proud. 822 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:10,000 He's embarrassed about the state of the bricks that have come. 823 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,440 He saying, "They shouldn't be like this." 824 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:14,840 It was just a quick demonstration. 825 00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:16,320 See? Oh! 826 00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:18,480 APPLAUSE 827 00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:23,960 There we go. 828 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:27,440 Now everyone is happy. Look at the guys up here, as well...! 829 00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:28,920 These are good quality bricks. 830 00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:30,320 You're happy now? 831 00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:36,560 After it dries, it became even nicer. 832 00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:45,160 It's OK. 833 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:46,480 Come on... 834 00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:51,520 What do these bricks mean to you? 835 00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:53,520 It means hope. 836 00:51:53,520 --> 00:51:58,360 Yes, you can't imagine how my life changed after this. 837 00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:01,560 When I got opportunities to stay outside forever, 838 00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:03,960 I cannot live having happy life 839 00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:06,800 while my people are suffering inside. 840 00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:09,120 You've had the chance to leave Gaza 841 00:52:09,120 --> 00:52:12,200 and live somewhere else. Yes. And you've chosen to stay? 842 00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:14,600 Yes, and it was very hard decision for me. 843 00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:18,680 People around me said, "You're crazy if you want to go back." 844 00:52:18,680 --> 00:52:22,960 But I left for the reason to help my people, so I have to come back. 845 00:52:22,960 --> 00:52:24,960 And the green cake, it's not just hope for me, 846 00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:27,640 it's hope for many, many, many people 847 00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:30,440 in the same faculty of engineering who feel that, 848 00:52:30,440 --> 00:52:32,080 yes, we can make it one day. 849 00:52:32,080 --> 00:52:34,440 Your dream will come true one day. 850 00:52:34,440 --> 00:52:35,920 And this is the idea. 851 00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:40,040 Majd's invention is helping to rebuild Gaza 852 00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,480 and create vital jobs. 853 00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:45,600 But the blockade here has devastated Gaza's economy. 854 00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:52,200 Gaza now has among the highest unemployment rates in the world, 855 00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:56,040 and it's believed most of its people survive on less than $2 a day. 856 00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:03,800 This is the Gaza harbour. 857 00:53:03,800 --> 00:53:06,000 There are the fisherman ports. 858 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:08,440 There are a lot of boats, aren't there? There are. 859 00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:09,880 They're mostly in harbour. 860 00:53:09,880 --> 00:53:11,720 THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS 861 00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:26,520 Gaza is an ancient Mediterranean port. 862 00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:28,280 For centuries, people here 863 00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:30,800 have depended on what the sea can provide. 864 00:53:30,800 --> 00:53:34,040 But today, Gaza's fishing industry is in crisis. 865 00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:37,000 It's thought less than half of Gaza's fishermen 866 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:40,000 are still putting out to sea. 867 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:43,480 Across the Mediterranean, fish numbers are in steep decline. 868 00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:46,560 Here, fishermen face additional challenges. 869 00:53:46,560 --> 00:53:51,480 You can see it stretching behind us. It's already a big old chunk of net. 870 00:53:51,800 --> 00:53:54,200 Interesting to see what they get. 871 00:53:56,960 --> 00:53:59,600 I can hear something in the air. 872 00:54:00,640 --> 00:54:03,360 What the hell is that? Israeli drone. 873 00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:08,400 What, like a Predator? Yes. It's day and night. 874 00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:12,400 It's all day and night, it's buzzing above our heads. 875 00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:13,840 Yeah. 876 00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:17,400 A missile-armed drone flies day and night around? 877 00:54:17,400 --> 00:54:18,880 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 878 00:54:18,880 --> 00:54:21,080 There's one, two, and a third one 879 00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:23,360 I can't quite see at the moment. 880 00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:25,040 But there's definitely three 881 00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:28,600 up above our heads, just circling ominously. 882 00:54:28,600 --> 00:54:31,920 It's really very intimidating. 883 00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:34,320 And just frightening, frankly. 884 00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:37,720 Look, for young people in Gaza, 885 00:54:37,720 --> 00:54:40,160 the only thing they know about the Israelis 886 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:43,160 is that they are the occupier, who came in tanks 887 00:54:43,160 --> 00:54:45,040 and aeroplanes and bombed Gaza. 888 00:54:46,720 --> 00:54:49,840 You don't sound very hopeful for the future. 889 00:54:49,840 --> 00:54:52,640 The economic situation is hard. 890 00:54:52,640 --> 00:54:55,080 And people are losing hope. 891 00:54:55,080 --> 00:54:59,360 They don't have jobs, they don't have money, they don't have... 892 00:54:59,360 --> 00:55:04,000 The poverty is very high, the unemployment is more than 60%. 893 00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:06,440 There's going to be an explosion, I think. 894 00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:09,120 But where, I don't know. When, I don't know. 895 00:55:09,120 --> 00:55:12,640 But the possible of war, I think it's 50%. 896 00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:16,040 50/50. 897 00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:18,360 THEY SING IN ARABIC 898 00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:28,760 Rajab, are you pulling in fish for your family? 899 00:55:51,160 --> 00:55:56,000 You just pulled absolutely nothing out. 900 00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,480 This part of the Mediterranean is completely empty. 901 00:56:36,240 --> 00:56:39,280 What does the future hold for you? Can you carry on fishing? 902 00:56:39,280 --> 00:56:40,880 Can you carry on like this? 903 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:11,400 We weren't able to verify Rajab's account of the incident. 904 00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:14,040 The Israeli Navy says it always fires warning shots 905 00:57:14,040 --> 00:57:16,320 before opening fire on fishing boats 906 00:57:16,320 --> 00:57:20,080 that cross out of their authorised fishing area of the Mediterranean. 907 00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:30,240 The situation here is utterly shocking, 908 00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:31,840 and maddening. 909 00:57:34,960 --> 00:57:39,360 So much about the Arab-Israeli conflict is about picking a side, 910 00:57:39,360 --> 00:57:41,440 and, personally, I refuse to. 911 00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:43,920 My heart breaks for the suffering 912 00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:46,720 of the Jewish people throughout history. 913 00:57:46,720 --> 00:57:50,240 My heart breaks for the suffering of the Palestinians. 914 00:57:50,240 --> 00:57:55,280 So many opportunities for real, lasting peace 915 00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:58,040 have been lost here. 916 00:57:58,040 --> 00:58:01,880 And we see two sides that seem, in many ways, 917 00:58:01,880 --> 00:58:05,640 to be moving further apart, not closer together. 918 00:58:12,920 --> 00:58:15,800 On the next leg of my journey around the Mediterranean, 919 00:58:15,800 --> 00:58:19,360 I'll meet the sisters taking a stand against the Sicilian Mafia... 920 00:58:22,480 --> 00:58:25,120 ..and the last survivors of a vanishing culture. 921 00:58:25,120 --> 00:58:29,480 Look at this! The whole thing's moving. Well done, mate.