Where Russian meets Asia lies the Caucasus,
a hidden land of dramatic peaks and ancient cultures.
For centuries, wars and natural barriers
have stopped outsiders passing through.
But now, I want to cross this mighty mountain range all the way to Iran.
Whoo! And this is where the journey begins.
My name is Levison Wood.
It's a cold one today.
I've travelled the length of the Nile...
Can't see a thing now.
..Himalayas...
This is hard core.
..and the Americas.
HE SCREAMS
Now I'm crossing the Caucasus...
Running up here was a bad idea.
..with the help of the locals themselves.
Can we jump on?
This is hitchhiking Georgian style.
Yes.
Starting from the foothills in southern Russia,
I'll track the mountains as they zigzag across five countries
to the shores of the Caspian Sea.
From the dusty peaks of the Northern Badlands
to the fertile valleys of the former Soviet republics,
aiming to finish in the captivating nation of Iran.
Wish me luck.
I'll travel through remote...
Wow.
There's a mummified cat nailed to the wall.
Phew, it's steep!
..volatile...
GUNFIRE
GUN COCKS
I think we'd better leave.
..and spectacular lands.
That's got to be one of the most mind-blowing views.
It puts the Grand Canyon to shame.
And I'll meet people...
He's very friendly with his sheep.
..like no others on Earth.
Assalaamu Alaikum.
What do you reckon? Suit me?
So far...
..I've crossed Europe's wild frontier...
..to make it to the edge of Asia.
Well, this is quite a welcome.
And now I'm on the final push...
I think there's a lot more where that came from.
..through a rarely reported conflict zone...
OK, we're not going that way.
..into Iran...
What an incredible place.
..a seldom seen land, home to fascinating people...
..who I must rely on...
Our minder's still following us.
..to make it...
You can feel the altitude here.
..to the Caspian Sea.
Wow. That is insane.
I'm in country number four on my journey from Russia to Iran.
I made it through on to the Armenian side.
I have to say, it's definitely wild around here.
I'm heading to the end of my journey on the Caspian Sea
through Armenia's remote and stunning landscapes.
Windswept and very quiet, but absolutely beautiful.
It's peaceful here, but 80 miles to my east,
Armenia's locked in a conflict with its neighbour Azerbaijan.
I'm heading straight there,
so I need a guide who knows the region.
You must be Anush. Hello.
I must be the one! Nice to meet you. Hi, I'm Lev.
Hello, Lev. How are you doing? Good, thank you.
How are you doing? Very well, thank you.
VOICEOVER: Anush Babajanyan is a photojournalist
who's reported from Armenia's combat zone
and has the military contacts to get me through it.
You're welcome. Let's go. Let's do this.
The final 1,000 miles of my journey
are leading me through two countries -
Armenia and Iran.
For over 30 years,
Armenia's been fighting its neighbour Azerbaijan
for control over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
My route will take me to the front line
of this little-known European battle ground...
..and then down into Iran, a mystical land
home to deserts, megacities and mountains,
that stand between me and the end of my journey on the Caspian Sea.
Stuck in a sheep traffic jam.
We're in northern Armenia.
Who are these guys? These are the Yazidi farmers.
For Yazidis like these, Armenia is a safe haven.
Many came here 100 years ago
to escape a genocide in neighbouring Turkey.
More recently, they have been persecuted in Iraq by Isis.
Hello. How are you?
Nice to meet you.
Oh, we will walk a little while, yeah.
Juraj is his name. Juraj.
You, what is your name? Juraj and Jora.
Like most Yazidis here, they work as herdsmen.
Do you enjoy this way of life?
Wow. 12 hours.
I suppose it's all well and good for us to look at this
as a romantic way of life,
but I can't imagine it's easy, especially when it's cold,
and you're doing the same thing every day.
Must be tough.
She wants to go, doesn't she?
All right, well, good luck.
Take care, my friend. And have a safe journey.
My guide Anush is leading me on to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Officially, there is been a ceasefire in place
since a four-day war erupted last year,
but I've heard fighting still goes on today.
Nagorno-Karabakh is effectively an off-limits area,
and it's a place that very few foreigners go to.
I should think there's a way down there.
We'll find it. Let's go find it. There has to be.
We're weaving our way through pockets of private farmland.
I think we can get through here.
DOGS BARK
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Ah!
Stay back!
BEEP!
HE EXHALES
OK, we're not going that way.
HE LAUGHS
Let's get back on the road.
Nagorno-Karabakh was claimed by Armenia
before the Russians took over and handed it to Azerbaijan
100 years ago.
Armenia's been trying to get the land back,
and, in 1988, went to war with Azerbaijan to regain control.
Our route is taking us through abandoned towns,
and the last inhabited Armenian village
before the front line in one of Europe's longest-running conflicts.
Total devastation.
VOICEOVER: We've crossed into Nagorno-Karabakh.
20 years ago, this was a thriving spa resort.
It's just been completely destroyed.
Some of the buildings have clearly been hit by artillery shells.
Others have just been blown up.
Some have burned down.
Armenia has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world.
But some, like Anush, have decided to stay.
I was six years old, and our childhood was...
..pretty difficult.
You know, we call it the dark years,
because electricity was limited.
So much resource had to be spent on the war
that water, fuel, everything,
you know, we were running out of everything.
Bread. Yeah.
To get us close to the front line,
Anush has called on the help of an old friend.
Nice to meet you. Hi, how are you?
Levison. Levison. Edward. Edward. Edward. Nice to meet you.
You can call him Eddo.
Well, this is a real treat, this one.
Wish me luck.
Edward lives 30 miles away in Martakert...
..the last town before the front line.
So, you were here during the fighting, during the war?
And were you a soldier during the war?
THUNDER RUMBLES
This has got to be the draughtiest car I've ever been in.
It's all right, you know. It's getting us there.
THUNDER RUMBLES
LEV GROANS
Yeah, this is BLEEP. BLEEP.
You mad bastard!
Despite 30 years of fighting,
there are still 150,000 Armenians like Edward
who refuse to leave here.
This is their house. This is Edward's house.
This one? Yes.
Hello.
Because of the lightning, they don't have electricity.
Seems like it's not the front line you got to worry about here,
it's just the weather.
To keep a foothold here,
the state builds free homes for families who have five or more kids.
So how many children do you have?
SHE TRANSLATES
SHE RESPONDS IN ARMENIAN
Seven. Seven kids. Seven.
What's this? Did you do this? Is this yours?
Both Edward and his wife Susannah were born here in Martakert.
Oh, there we go.
The electricity's come back now the thunderstorm has finished.
And can you hear the fighting from here?
What would happen if Azerbaijan invaded?
Are you ready to fight?
And what about your sons?
Would you be happy for them to join the army?
VOICEOVER: Tomorrow, we hope to visit the front line,
and Edward's daughter Anush has offered to take us
to a vantage point overlooking it.
The last fighting in this region happened just five days ago.
Straight up?
Here we go. I'm being shown up here.
I always breathe like this.
ANUSH SPEAKS ARMENIAN
Definitely, yeah.
Come on, then.
HE PANTS
The next day, Anush has pulled some strings
with the Nagorno-Karabakh military,
and we are on our way to a trench close to the front line.
So we've arrived here at one of the outposts,
and it's quite well established.
This has been here for, what is it now, 25 years, Anush?
More than 25.
Maybe you can explain to me,
you know, why this land is so important to you.
These trenchers haven't moved in 25 years.
It's the same sort of concept, the same mind-set,
that you had in, you know, that killed so many people
in the First World War.
That's the nature of war,
is a lot of the time, you're just sitting around,
waiting for something to happen.
Well, good luck with the rest of your time here.
Stay safe.
Good to meet you.
Over the next two days,
Anush and I leave the conflict zone
to make it to the edge of the Caucasus in Armenia.
We've left Karabakh behind.
We've almost made it.
We've almost crossed another country.
And we're nearly at the Iranian border.
As we climb Mount Khustup,
we are approaching the point where the Caucasus
drops down into the Iranian plateau.
Good effort. Well done, Anush!
Yeah.
It's amazing.
Down there, beneath the clouds, is my next country - Iran.
I'm heading into a completely different world.
I'm on the final leg of my journey to across the Caucasus.
Salaam. Salaam.
After long negotiations with the Iranian Government,
who initially refused to issue me a visa,
they changed their mind and now I'm in.
The Armenian border is just over there.
And, now, I've officially left Europe well behind
and now I'm in the Middle East.
This is a country that's been closed off for so many years.
It really is a miracle to actually get into this place.
For the final 550 miles, I'll head for the salt plains of Urmia,
a once great lake.
I'll pass through the ancient Silk Road trading hub of Tabriz,
before I trek the Valley of the Assassins towards the capital - Tehran.
Heading for my goal of the Caspian Sea.
Should be around here somewhere.
Iran's had a rocky relationship with the West ever since 1979,
when an Islamic revolution ousted the American-backed monarchy.
Salaam.
Today, Iran is looking to rebuild bridges with the outside world.
The first thing I need to do is go and find my next guide
and there's a local adventurer called Reza, who,
I'm told, is just the man for the job.
Levison. Hi, there, Reza? Nice to meet you.
How's it going? Welcome to Iran.
Iranian Reza Pakravan is an explorer who knows this country inside out.
He thinks the best place to look for our first lift...
..is the local estate agent.
I am no speak English.
LAUGHTER
Clearly, estate agents around here are pretty versatile.
Despite opening up to outsiders,
Iran's government insist we have a minder shadowing us the whole way -
but he's extremely camera shy.
Salaam. How are you?
Jump on the back.
Our estate agent friends have fixed us up
with one of Iran's famous reinforced pick-up trucks.
Perfect.
Which is reassuring, as this country has the fourth highest rate
of road deaths in the world.
This will be a comfy ride. LAUGHTER
We're heading deep into the rural heartlands of Iran
with our new friend in tow.
He's keeping an eye on us.
We are approaching the place the Iranians call the City of Water.
Is this us? Yeah, let's get out.
Right, so I think we're here.
Lake Urmia used to be one of the largest bodies
of saltwater in the entire world,
but now it's largely just salt.
It's amazing.
This is the remains of Lake Urmia
and, out there, you can't even see any water.
There's just this endless plain.
Ever since the revolution in 1979,
Iran has faced sanctions that have forced it
to grow most of its own food.
I was expecting some kind of water here, but not like this.
Dams have diverted water to feed local farms.
Surreal, isn't it?
And now, Lake Urmia is a tenth of its original size.
The port, all of these piers...
..these abandoned structures...
..all been left to rot.
The lake used to be a huge tourist destination.
Let's see what these guys are up to.
Nowadays, people come here for its free natural resources...
Salaam.
..like Hameed and his family.
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
So you're taking this home?
He's local.
Wow.
Well, good luck with your salt collecting.
Nice to meet you. Thank you.
This looks like hard work.
HE LAUGHS
It's 530 miles from Lake Urmia to the Caspian Sea.
I think that will take a while.
But today...
..we're heading 50 miles to the metropolis of Tabriz.
We've got Steve McQueen here.
Which one are you going to go with?
Well, I usually go with the older one because they've lived longer.
Right, then, let's go.
This part of northern Iran is home to five million people
and most work as farmers, producing grapes, almonds and garlic.
Many goods pass through Tabriz and its famous bazaars.
Thank you very much.
This city was one of the largest trading centres on the Silk Road...
..and at its heart is supposedly the largest covered market in the world.
So this is the famous bazaar in Tabriz,
it's one of the oldest covered markets.
It's got something in the region of seven kilometres' worth of...
all full of shops and sellers.
They sell everything - spices, herbs, clothes, carpets.
And it's Iran's unique Persian carpets that I'm after.
This is kind of what I had in mind.
Salaam. Salaam.
Hello.
Mr Zadeh's shop has been in his family
for generations and I sense he is looking forward
to doing some business.
Lev. And your name?
Mr Lev. Mr Lev. LAUGHTER
OK. Do you get many American tourists coming here?
LAUGHTER
Thank you.
I'm going to maybe buy a couple.
The ones on the sort of... The smaller ones.
Nah, you've got to do better than this.
How about a special deal?
If I buy one of these small ones...
I literally can't get a word in edgeways.
He hasn't stopped talking for...45 minutes solid now.
I think, for all of them, let's to 900. 900.
I've got silence for the first time.
950. 950? Deal.
LAUGHTER
Thanks very much.
Thank you very much.
I leave with four rugs and a much lighter wallet.
I can't believe it. We're out of here.
I'm absolutely exhausted.
Salaam. How are you?
Over the next 300 miles,
we travel south through the arid Iranian plateau
to the foothills of the Alborz mountains.
Thank you very much.
Somewhere up in those hills is a place called Alamut Castle...
..and that is famous for being the headquarters
of an ancient sect called the Assassins.
The castle is perched on a sheer 200-metre cliff face.
Our minder leaves us to tackle it on our own.
Historically, there were various trails that led up to it,
but we're taking the direct route...
Looks like were going to get wet feet.
..straight up a gorge.
HE GROANS
Oh!
I think there's a lot more where that came from.
HE SHOUTS
It's a BLEEP crab.
There's no way they came this way, is there? Let's be honest.
Oh, for BLEEP sake. Another BLEEP waterfall.
HE GROANS
Woo! Woo!
Come on, mate.
Got it, got it, got it.
LAUGHTER
Oh, BLEEP.
That's impossible.
Dead end, that is. I think we're done.
We tried. I think we're going to have to go the long way round.
A thousand years ago,
this was one of the most feared and inaccessible citadels in the world.
It's taken another 45 minutes to...
to get up after the waterfall,
but there it is, right on the top of the cliff.
The Assassins were a persecuted Muslim sect
that would launch attacks against their political enemies from here.
There it is.
There's the gate into the Assassins' headquarters.
Oh... Oh, man.
HE BREATHES HEAVILY
Salaam. Salaam.
Well, there we go.
After a pretty gruelling four-hour climb, we've made it.
So...we've come all the way to the top of the castle and...
looks like our government escort-slash-minder
has beaten us to it.
He obviously knew the short cut
and it looks like he's been watching us the whole time.
I'm in the Islamic Republic of Iran...
Morning. Good morning.
'..on my journey across the Caucasus...'
How was last night?
Did you sleep well? Terrible.
Mosquitoes everywhere.
'..with my guide, Reza...'
They ate me alive.
'..and my minder never far behind.'
We have 175 miles left to go.
Right, next stop - Tehran.
From the Valley of the Assassins,
we travel 100 miles to the edge of Tehran,
the gleaming symbol of modern Iran that's nestled amongst
the magnificent Alborz mountains which we must cross to reach
the Caspian Sea and the end of my journey.
Taxi!
Salam.
Entering Tehran,
murals remind you of the country's turbulent past and recent struggles
with the West.
There's a lot of people here, isn't there?
I didn't realise that it was so kind of manic.
Thank you.
We are dropped off at the former American embassy.
1979.
I mean, that was when the United States embassy got mobbed by
a big gang of students which was basically cheered on by the mullahs
and the Ayatollah. That was the main gate they sort of broke through.
The students were protesting at America's support of the Iranian monarch,
who they thought was corrupt,
and they took the embassy staff hostage for 444 days.
Since that day, the relationship between Iran and America,
it just went down the drain and it's been really bitter.
Clearly, tensions are still high.
Ever since, the building has been occupied by the Iranian government
and the Americans never came back.
What shocks me is when you see posters like this and the obvious
sort of hatred towards each other's governments, but you
can't reconcile that against, you know,
the people cos the people here are incredibly friendly.
What do you think of all this? It just makes me sad, that's it.
It's weird, really weird seeing such hatred on the posters.
Another interesting thing is that our minder's still
following us. Everywhere we go, he's there, watching our every move.
As we head further into town, our minder sticks close by.
Despite a progressive government,
the regime are still wary of the views of foreign journalists.
Perhaps he's here to keep us OUT of trouble.
This is Valiasr Street,
one of Tehran's largest commercial centres and home to hundreds of
traders. Looks like they're haggling over something over there.
Oh, they trade dollars.
That's a foreign exchange market. This is a foreign exchange, is it?
Iran's economy runs on its huge oil and gas reserves,
but volatile oil prices mean an erratic local currency.
So there's a black market in more stable US dollars.
What's he saying? He said don't show it.
OK, let's leave before we get in trouble.
After pounding Tehran's streets all day...
Salam.
How are you? Very well, how are you? Good?
..I'm ready to put my feet up.
But Reza has other ideas.
Have you ever been to a traditional powerhouse before?
No.
It dates back to... Funnily enough!
Yeah. It's the longest-running form of exercise in the world.
Really? It dates back to the Persian empire.
Reza has brought me to a Zurkhaneh...
..the home of strength training,
and I've been invited to take part.
Since 500BC,
Persian warriors have prepared for battle using this ancient form
of martial arts.
Shh, you didn't see that.
The warriors worked on agility,
balance and strength across 14 different disciplines.
And it's still practised by young and old today.
Is it over yet?
Let's hope we're building up to the grand finale now.
We've got to do a spin.
Spinning was how Persian swordsman would attack when surrounded
by an enemy.
It's one of the most crucial elements to master.
Which I'm told can take a little time.
This is just a brutal workout.
It's like yoga, CrossFit, powerlifting
and a bit of zumba all thrown in.
Is good.
Yeah? What did he say? Look after yourself. OK, thank you.
That was really good fun. I was quite enjoying it by the end.
I don't think my arms are going to work for another week,
but that was good, yeah.
Reza's taking me to downtown Tehran.
Street scenes like this were unthinkable ten years ago
when a more conservative regime ruled.
Iran's officially booze-free so grabbing a drink after work
means it's fruit juice around here.
What is this, orange or...?
Oh, you don't like it?
What's your day job?
Do you have a job here?
Teacher, yeah.
Despite some progress,
just 15% of women are employed in Iran, like Samira.
Did you meet here in Tehran? You don't remember!
How do you not remember?
For the first time, we met each other in the bathroom.
In the what? Bathroom.
In the bathroom? Yes.
Oh, right!
There we go.
After that, I fell in love at first sight.
You fell in love at first sight!
There we go.
Thank you.
Looks like I'm going to have a go.
Samira and Hassan are part of a biker gang and they've offered us
a lift back to the hotel.
I wasn't expecting this in Tehran!
I have 45 miles to go to the end of my journey from Russia to Iran,
with my guide Reza.
How far you want to make me walk?
Well, until a car picks us up, I suppose.
And if not? Then we keep walking.
BLEEP.
We've left the capital Tehran.
Our minder's up ahead in a car,
and will watch from afar over the last two days.
We're aiming for the Caspian Sea...
It's so hot.
..in 35 degree heat.
Looks like these people have just given up.
Gone for a snooze at the side of the road.
Today, our target is the mountain village of Baraghan,
high in the Alborz Mountains.
This majestic range rises to 5,600 metres,
and is the last hurdle we must cross to make it to the end.
We're going to try and hitch a lift with this guy.
Yeah? Let's do it! In we get.
How are you?
What's your name?
Hadi. Nice to meet you.
Which part of Iran are you from?
Oh, Chalos. So you're from the Caspian?
That's where we're heading to now.
Is this the top speed? 10km an hour!
I think it's probably quicker walking.
Hadi's part of a project to build a tunnel through the mountain,
linking Tehran to the Caspian Sea.
Thank you very much.
It's still not finished, so there's no short cut for us.
That was a good little lift,
although now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere.
The Alborz is home to a unique microclimate,
where some unlikely communities thrive.
Maybe we can buy some honey.
The pollen found up here
helps produce honey that's said to taste like flowers.
and it attracts some intrepid beekeepers, like Hidash.
Oh, he lives here. Ah, OK. This is your house?
Let's get in. He has invited us in. OK.
Thank you very much. So this is where you live.
And do you live here on your own?
So this is the ultimate bachelor life.
Honey's big business for Iran.
It produces 80,000 tonnes of the stuff each year.
So I guess he eats honey every day, then, right?
You've had enough of eating honey?
So do you have a house as well, or is this where you live all the time,
all the year?
How do you know all the bees are inside?
Do you not lose any?
Thank you very much.
With 30 quid of Hidash's liquid gold, we set off.
There are two hours left of daylight,
and we still have ten miles and 1,000 metres to climb
to reach Baraghan.
Well, it's been all day on the road...
..heading up into the Alborz, and I have to say, it's worth it.
Wait till you see this view.
Wow, that is insane.
That's the valley we've just come from,
and all of those mountains there that stretch out to the east,
that's the Alborz.
Three hours later, we finally make it to Baraghan.
It's already dark, so we need to find somewhere to spend the night.
Maybe a local mosque.
Yeah. I mean, is that quite normal? Can you just crash in a mosque?
It's not very normal, but, you know, we are in a remote place.
Fortunately, a local is around to let us in.
Thank you.
Brilliant. Fantastic.
Well, pick a corner.
I hope to get some decent sleep,
because tomorrow's going to be a big push up and over the final mountain.
And then all the way down to the Caspian Sea,
so we've got a long day ahead of us.
So I think it's time we get some sleep.
At 1am, we finally get our heads down.
LOUD CALL TO PRAYER
Well, I can't see that many people came to pray!
Probably pressed snooze!
Ten minutes.
This is it. The final push.
The sun's almost up.
We have just ten miles to go to the Caspian Sea.
I can feel the altitude here.
Yeah!
Just in time for sunrise as well.
You can barely make it out, but just down there, below the clouds...
..that's what I've been aiming for all these months.
That's the Caspian Sea.
All right, Reza?
Shall we get on with this? Yeah, let's finish this off.
Right, let's go.
Woohoo!
I've travelled 2,600 miles
from Europe into Asia.
The Caucasus is home to some of the most stunning landscapes on Earth.
It's been the battleground of empires and religions for centuries.
And some parts remain locked in conflict.
But its people are some of the most generous and welcoming
I've ever met.
We've made it, mate!
Wooo!
Nice one, man. There's only one thing for it. Let's go!
Woooo!
Subtitles by Ericsson