1
00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,100
'I've been lucky enough
to have visited

2
00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:06,200
'some thrilling places
over the years.'

3
00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,000
Holy smoke!

4
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,480
'Travel is in my blood.

5
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,640
'And I'm delighted
I've been able to take you with me

6
00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,040
'on these journeys.'

7
00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,200
Hang on a second,
hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.

8
00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,800
'What you eventually see on
your screen takes weeks to shoot

9
00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,600
'and months to edit.'

10
00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,600
Look at this!

11
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,800
It's magic.

12
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,200
'We haven't always had the time
to show you everything we film.'

13
00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,320
Stark naked
and swimming like a fish.

14
00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,280
'But we kept
the unshown stories safe.'

15
00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,880
I sort of...
pretty much love these, actually.

16
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,600
'So, I've gone back as far as east
as Japan, all across the world,

17
00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,600
'to Cuba in the west.'

18
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,920
Are you a pirate?
No.

19
00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:50,520
Phew.

20
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,520
'And now I can reveal
this treasure trove.'

21
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,120
On our way to Shi...
LAUGHS

22
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,200
'Also, to show you a little about
how these programmes are made.'

23
00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,080
These rather grand and beautiful
houses are called yelley, they're...

24
00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,240
Ooh!

25
00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,560
'And why I love making them.'

26
00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:09,360
Here's my new nanna.
Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely.

27
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,880
'Welcome, to my Unseen Adventures.'

28
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,720
We'd been trying to go to Iran
for about five years.

29
00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,600
Since the Shah had been deposed
and the new regime came in,

30
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:27,760
nobody went there.

31
00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,680
It was difficult to go there.
Foreigners weren't welcome.

32
00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,360
It's a country
I have longed to visit.

33
00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,800
My grandfather was there 100 years
ago in the Diplomatic Service,

34
00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,480
and he and my grandmother
absolutely adored it.

35
00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,840
And so it was something
that was in our family history.

36
00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,040
Persia was just
somewhere extraordinary.

37
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,920
We'd got everything ready, but
it still took us forever to get in.

38
00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:50,840
We thought,
"This is going to be tough."

39
00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:56,280
The second we crossed over and were
in Iran itself, everything opened.

40
00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,320
All the doors opened.
It was so exciting.

41
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,240
'Iran was formerly Persia.

42
00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,120
'And 500 years before Christ,

43
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,160
'it commanded a huge
and sophisticated empire,

44
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,280
'stretching from eastern Europe
to Pakistan.

45
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,640
'The history of Persia and the
history, in particular, of one man.'

46
00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,560
Cyrus, one of the greatest
human beings that ever lived.

47
00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,000
One of the most extraordinary men,

48
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,480
who is much needed in the world
today because of what he thought.

49
00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:31,640
'I wanted to see his tomb,

50
00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,080
'which I knew was just
a masterpiece of architecture,

51
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,480
'standing alone
in its great desert place.'

52
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,800
'2,500 years ago,
Cyrus created a Bill of Rights

53
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,880
'around a philosophy of tolerance,
compassion and human liberty.

54
00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,480
'Its message was inscribed
onto a clay cylinder.

55
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,520
'And such is its wisdom and virtue
that a replica is kept

56
00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,840
'in the United Nations headquarters
in New York

57
00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,160
'as a reminder to us all.'

58
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,480
The crew had been just filming
monument after monument after ruin,

59
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,840
and I dragged them out of the way
and I said,

60
00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,040
"Please, we have
to see Cyrus' tomb."

61
00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,600
So, a little bit of grumbling.
I know they're grateful to me,

62
00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:15,960
they are often grateful to me
about all kinds of things,

63
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:17,200
but for this in particular,

64
00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,520
they've seen one of the
great monuments of the world.

65
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,280
It was baking!

66
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,640
'It was a very trying day.'

67
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:25,920
I'm not going to be speaking,
because I'm walking.

68
00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,480
Don't yawn, please, Clive, don't.
It's terribly distracting.

69
00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,640
CLIVE: OK, well, can you clean
your glasses, please.

70
00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:31,840
Yeah. I'll do them now.

71
00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:33,800
Is it cos you want to
see yourself in them...

72
00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,600
Yes. ..or because you think
they look like old ladies glasses?

73
00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,160
Do they have food on them,
or something? Bits of potato? God.

74
00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,040
On our way to Shiraz,

75
00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,840
we've stopped to see
this extraordinary monument.

76
00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,600
It's the tomb... no.

77
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,440
'By the time we started filming,
the temperature was over 50 degrees,

78
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,120
'and the tourists
walking on the noisy gravel

79
00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,280
'were playing havoc
with our sound recording.'

80
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,720
Look at the sun behind it.
GRAVEL CRUNCHES BENEATH FEET

81
00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,880
It seems to kind of shine
this strange...

82
00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:05,760
MULTIPLE FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL

83
00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,480
CLIVE: Sorry, can you just
start that one again, Joanna.

84
00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:10,400
It was really...
FOOTSTEPS CRUNCH

85
00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:12,680
..a series of...
I honestly don't...

86
00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,520
I honestly think all our effort.
Is Clive helping there?

87
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,000
CAMERAMAN: 'No.'

88
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,360
LAUGHTER

89
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,280
CLIVE: OK, and, er...

90
00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:22,680
Speed, Joanna.

91
00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,400
You will have to go further than
that, Joanna.

92
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:29,720
Oh, well tell me where...

93
00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,680
'There, our cameraman became
obsessed with a thistle.

94
00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,840
'He wanted to have a thistle
in the front of shot

95
00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:36,320
'and me walking to the back a shot.'

96
00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:37,920
And there wasn't a thistle there.

97
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,360
So, I said, "I don't think
the thistle really matters."

98
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,000
And he said, "No,
I want the thistle."

99
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000
'He was being very artistic.'

100
00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,520
On our way to...
LAUGHTER

101
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,720
CREW LAUGH

102
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,080
Please, can we not
have the thistle.

103
00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,400
It's turning into
a really tense shot, this.

104
00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,840
'It looks great.'

105
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:00,680
'Eventually, we were able
to focus on Cyrus's tomb.'

106
00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,080
'I had long been fascinated
by this man,

107
00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,840
'because he was
extraordinarily respectful

108
00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:08,600
'of the many people he conquered.

109
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,280
'He allowed them
to govern themselves

110
00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:11,760
'and worship as they wished.

111
00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,200
'He ruled, but with a gentle hand.'

112
00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:21,280
He said that all the slaves were
to be freed and allowed to go home.

113
00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:25,280
He said that there should be
absolute equality between religion,

114
00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:27,960
racial distinguishments
and linguistics.

115
00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,360
All of those should be treated
as absolutely equal,

116
00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,280
and he said that every temple that
had been destroyed must be rebuilt.

117
00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,960
A man of such benevolence.
He was adored.

118
00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,520
In fact, the Iranian people
voted him the most famous

119
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:43,880
and lovely Iranian of all time.

120
00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,400
Which didn't go down terribly well
with the present regime,

121
00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,160
but that's a fact.

122
00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:52,720
There's a fabulous speech
in Shakespeare,

123
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,080
which I'm obviously not going
to tell you now - oh, yes, I am.

124
00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,040
It's Portia's speech,
which is the Quality Of Mercy.

125
00:05:58,040 --> 00:05:59,320
And in it she says,

126
00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:05,680
"Earthly power doth then show likest
God's when mercy seasons justice."

127
00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:10,120
She says that the attributes
of all majesty are mercy.

128
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,480
So, the more powerful you are,
the gentler you can be.

129
00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,840
And Persia had this tradition

130
00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,920
of being the iron fist
in a velvet glove.

131
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,840
Treating people gently,
but when it needed to, bam.

132
00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:35,680
'We had a fantastic female fixer
in Iran called Mannas.

133
00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,160
'She was brilliant,
and completely fearless.'

134
00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:40,960
Do you want some
of your lovely aloe vera?

135
00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:42,480
Yes, please. Thank you so much.

136
00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,240
'She's been to jail four times
in Iran,

137
00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,760
'but she still loves her country
and knows everything.

138
00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,760
'As we barrelled across hundreds
of miles of desert

139
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,520
'on our Iranian roadtrip,
she was great company.'

140
00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:57,920
I'm just going to have a go
at letting these flies out.

141
00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,480
Yeah. Disturbing.

142
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:01,880
Flies, go out!

143
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,280
Mine has gone.

144
00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,240
THEY LAUGH

145
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,840
'We were on the way
to the desert city of Yazd

146
00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:13,880
'where I was hoping to see
the Zurkhaneh,

147
00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:19,680
'the strange of an ancient blend of
music, physicality and high morals.

148
00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,560
'Mannas was able to tell me
all about these men.'

149
00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,000
So, this extraordinary
body-building technique,

150
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,760
it's more than just being strong,
isn't it? Exactly.

151
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,680
I'm travelling to the city,
I don't have any...

152
00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,960
I don't know
any person on that city.

153
00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,960
If I found...
I find one of those guys,

154
00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:44,680
their house is open for you
and you can trust on any way.

155
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,440
It's extraordinary. So,
they are honourable people, brave.

156
00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,720
Yeah, trustable.

157
00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,120
Trustable, I love that word,

158
00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,600
So, it's a sort of vow you take
to become part of this brotherhood?

159
00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:57,400
Yeah.
How fantastic.

160
00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,000
'I remember being astonished
at the remoteness of Yazd.

161
00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,040
'It lies at the border
of two of Iran's largest deserts

162
00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,720
'and is one of the oldest cities
on the Earth.

163
00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,520
'When we were here,
we investigated Zoroastrianism,

164
00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:22,360
'a religion that started here
in Persia 3,500 years ago.'

165
00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,520
Zoroaster, the great priest,
whose name also is Zarathushtra.

166
00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,760
Also Sprach Zarathustra, you know
that famous piece which is played...

167
00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,080
MIMICS MUSIC: Dun-dun-dun-baa!

168
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,480
Richard Strauss.
Play it now.

169
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,280
MUSIC PLAYS
That's it.

170
00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,480
That's Zarathustra.

171
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,120
MUSIC: 'Also Sprach Zarathustra'
by Richard Strauss.

172
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,680
'I remember the students playing
charades in the back streets.'

173
00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:51,480
Walt Disney, Walt Disney.

174
00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,120
CLAPPING

175
00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:55,600
'And this time,

176
00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,560
'I can bring you the amazing
spectacle of the Zurkhaneh

177
00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,800
'in one of their musical
training sessions.'

178
00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,360
VOCALISES ZURKHANEH MUSIC

179
00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,040
RHYTHMIC BEAT

180
00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,840
'The men limber up
in a preordained routine.

181
00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,240
'Their every move is co-ordinated by
the rhythmic drumming and chanting

182
00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:30,360
'of Persian poetry
from the Morshed, who sits above.'

183
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,800
This is limbering up
for the next bit,

184
00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,400
which has these
huge wooden dumbbells -

185
00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,080
that's not the right word,
but great wooden things.

186
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:39,920
But it's really lovely,
cos watching it,

187
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,120
I almost thought I could almost
join in. I mean, obviously, not.

188
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,000
Look they've got these things.

189
00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,040
Zurkhaneh is the art of chivalry

190
00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,400
that was originally used
to train Persian warriors.

191
00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,600
RHYTHMIC DRUMMING

192
00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:10,280
There's something happening now
with great jingling... bell.

193
00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,600
BELL RINGS

194
00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,880
'Zurkhaneh is often touted
as the reason why Iran wins

195
00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,960
'international wrestling
and weightlifting events.

196
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,160
HE SINGS

197
00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,120
'The Kabbadeh, a heavy rod of iron
connected to a chain,

198
00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:27,720
'symbolises ancient war bows.

199
00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,120
'Some of them
weigh over 100 lbs.'

200
00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,160
SINGS ZURKHANEH POETRY

201
00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,640
I think I'm going to sneak out now,
I think there's a bit of a break.

202
00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,080
WHISPERS: Goodnight,
boys, goodnight.

203
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,840
Merci. Merci,
thank you very much indeed.

204
00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,760
That was wonderful, thank you.

205
00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:05,680
'For me, 2018 was the year
of the Silk Road.

206
00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:07,960
'We filmed in eight countries
in all,

207
00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,440
'and the second episode brought me
to the shores of the Caspian Sea

208
00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,000
'and the intriguing town
of Baku in Azerbaijan.'

209
00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,480
I've usually heard of the towns
and cities we're going to visit

210
00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:21,720
before we get there.

211
00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,160
I'd never heard of Baku.
I mean, shame on me, but I hadn't.

212
00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,080
The second we'd filmed there,
I only heard of Baku,

213
00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:29,880
Baku was on everybody's lips.

214
00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,800
There was a European Cup final
was there,

215
00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,320
Eurovision Song Contest was there,
everything suddenly was Baku, Baku!

216
00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,360
"Oh, surely, you've been to Baku,
Baku, in Baku."

217
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,240
Well, when we got there,
what was I expecting?

218
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:41,800
It was sensationally modern.

219
00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:43,960
JOANNA GASPS

220
00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,080
Look at this!

221
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:48,600
It's magic.

222
00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,400
'This place reeks of money,

223
00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:55,600
'and the gleaming, modern
architecture that forms the skyline

224
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,840
'is testament to that.

225
00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,760
'Despite my vertigo,
I was dragged up onto the roof

226
00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,240
'of the Rose Petal Building.'

227
00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,160
So, I'm tied on to the roof,
so even if I just go, "Ah,"

228
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,080
like a girlie and fall off,
I'll be attached.

229
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,480
Um, and now we're going up.

230
00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,800
This is a very steep slope,
but we've got a lovely rubber mat.

231
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,080
And I've got a hand to hold, too.

232
00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,720
Oh, my giddy aunt!

233
00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,000
'But there's a whole lot more
to Baku that you didn't get to see

234
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,680
'the first time round.'

235
00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:25,920
Oh, this is just marvellous.

236
00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,360
This part of Baku
is called the White City.

237
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:33,760
It used to be called the Black City

238
00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:35,760
because it was so polluted
and so dark and filthy,

239
00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,040
but now it's been
completely rebuilt

240
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,680
and you can see
they've planted new trees.

241
00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:43,680
Beautiful, and then
you come out from old,

242
00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,040
straight back into new again.

243
00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:53,440
'Baku's ostentatious new buildings
seem to compete with one another

244
00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,200
'to be the most outlandish.'

245
00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,640
Look at that!

246
00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,320
That's the Heydar Aliyev Centre,

247
00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,560
built to commemorate the founding
father of modern-day Azerbaijan.

248
00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:08,560
The architect?
The legendary Zaha Hadid,

249
00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:11,240
and it contains an exhibition
about the great man's life.

250
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,680
And he was a great man. I mean,

251
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,960
even his opponents
think he was a genius.

252
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:20,800
And if you look at this fabulous
building from the sky

253
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,960
it's built on a...
a stylised version

254
00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,640
of Heydar Aliyev's signature.
Amazing!

255
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:35,200
UPBEAT MUSIC

256
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,080
'As we travelled across Azerbaijan,

257
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,760
'I was getting worried about
the lack of shopping opportunities.'

258
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,720
Whenever you're travelling -
actually, wherever you are -

259
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,600
even if you're travelling
in your own country,

260
00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,120
you want to go into a little shop
and buy something.

261
00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,120
I don't know why,
you just long to buy something.

262
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,720
It isn't clothes and things,
it might be something to eat,

263
00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,120
some excuse for that,
or it might be a little memento,

264
00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:01,520
something you want to take home.

265
00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,680
You want to spend money, you just
want to go and buy something.

266
00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:06,400
We'd heard of this,

267
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,600
not a street market
so much as a road market.

268
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,200
So, we get there and we pull up
and, ahh, it looks ravishing!

269
00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,080
Jugs and jars of pickles
and fruits and things.

270
00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,000
And they're not in jars
just fresh things,

271
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,120
you think, "Oh,
we'd better buy plenty of this."

272
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,840
I don't think I've ever seen
vegetable stalls like this.

273
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,720
Hazelnuts and walnuts, and we've got
nectarines and peaches.

274
00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:32,280
But look at those figs, I've never
seen figs that size. Gooseberries.

275
00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,280
Salam, salam, salam.
Salam, darling.

276
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,000
Fresh delicious cherries.

277
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,960
Little, tiny wild raspberries,
thank you.

278
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:40,800
Gholosorkh. Rose water.

279
00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,040
That's rose water. Look at that.

280
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,520
That's something divine.
That's for your heart.

281
00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,520
So, he spotted me,
poor eyesight and a rasping heart,

282
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,520
but look at that, look at those
little flowers in there.

283
00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,640
INDISTINCT CHAT

284
00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:57,760
Darling, I love you,
look I love the teeth as well,

285
00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,320
I love it, look, here's my
new nanny. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

286
00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,120
LAUGHTER

287
00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:03,720
Can you change that for me?
Uh-huh.

288
00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:05,600
There we are.
Is that too big?

289
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,800
So, that was 15,
so, that's quite a lot of money

290
00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,080
for my little pot of jam,
quite a lot,

291
00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,280
but there we are,
I didn't ask, cos that's my fault.

292
00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,080
SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

293
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:18,360
Your mother pick, pick, pick,
pick from here.

294
00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:20,960
Look at that,
how much is this?

295
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,400
REPLIES IN OWN LANGUAGE

296
00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:25,480
25.
OK.

297
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:27,440
So, that's...
TRADER SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

298
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,800
£10. So, do you know what I mean?

299
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,280
There we are.
Bye-bye.

300
00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,160
Bye-bye. Bye-bye, darlings.
A lot, a lot.

301
00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,520
Darling, I've run out of money,
as you can see,

302
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:41,800
I've used all my money up.

303
00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,000
That was quite expensive.

304
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,040
£10 for a pot of something.
Well, they were collected by hand,

305
00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,600
her mother collected them by hand
from up here,

306
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,760
"Pick, pick, pick, pick, pick."

307
00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,080
'I was completely ripped off.'

308
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,120
I think I paid about £15
for a pot of jam.

309
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:00,800
I didn't mind.

310
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:02,920
Look my face, did I mind?

311
00:16:13,070 --> 00:16:16,030
JOANNA LUMLEY: 'From gleaming
Azerbaijan, we travelled west

312
00:16:16,030 --> 00:16:17,270
'to the ex-Russian

313
00:16:17,270 --> 00:16:20,430
'and now fiercely-independent
country of Georgia.'

314
00:16:21,750 --> 00:16:24,950
When people say to me,
"Which country that you visited

315
00:16:24,950 --> 00:16:27,190
"would you advise
our family to go to?"

316
00:16:27,190 --> 00:16:29,390
I pretty much always
now say Georgia.

317
00:16:29,390 --> 00:16:32,110
It is simply spectacular.

318
00:16:32,110 --> 00:16:35,030
It's got the coast,
it's got Batumi on the Black Sea,

319
00:16:35,030 --> 00:16:37,430
it's got the great
Caucasus Mountains,

320
00:16:37,430 --> 00:16:40,270
but above all,
it's an extremely brave

321
00:16:40,270 --> 00:16:42,950
and fine and independent
little country.

322
00:16:42,950 --> 00:16:44,750
It's got its own language,

323
00:16:44,750 --> 00:16:47,030
you haven't a hope in hell
of learning it,

324
00:16:47,030 --> 00:16:49,750
because it's got its own alphabet,
you can't read it.

325
00:16:49,750 --> 00:16:51,430
It's got delicious food,

326
00:16:51,430 --> 00:16:54,910
it is the oldest wine-making region
in the whole world,

327
00:16:54,910 --> 00:16:57,670
it's been making wine
for 8,000 years.

328
00:16:57,670 --> 00:17:01,390
Every part of it
is simply wonderful.

329
00:17:03,350 --> 00:17:06,870
'The Caucasus Mountains
form an imposing geographic border

330
00:17:06,870 --> 00:17:09,230
'with Georgia's
northern neighbour, Russia.

331
00:17:10,310 --> 00:17:12,350
'It's beautiful up there,

332
00:17:12,350 --> 00:17:15,390
'but it's not just the scenery
that takes your breath away.'

333
00:17:15,390 --> 00:17:17,630
These roads
are absolutely hair-raising.

334
00:17:17,630 --> 00:17:19,870
I mean, it's a brilliant
piece of engineering.

335
00:17:19,870 --> 00:17:22,350
But actually they're
just winding round, hair-pin bends,

336
00:17:22,350 --> 00:17:26,230
sheer drops, and sometimes
you've got the wandering cows...

337
00:17:26,230 --> 00:17:29,590
SING-SONG VOICE: ..so it's all
quite hazardous!

338
00:17:29,590 --> 00:17:31,910
It is thrilling.
If I could stop looking at the road

339
00:17:31,910 --> 00:17:33,790
I would be very, very thrilled.

340
00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:36,430
It is so perilous here.

341
00:17:36,430 --> 00:17:40,270
Little bits of wire stopping you
falling huge distances into a valley

342
00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:43,910
and probably saying,
"Goodnight, nurse" at the end of it.

343
00:17:43,910 --> 00:17:46,030
FROM CAR: Whoops.

344
00:17:52,990 --> 00:17:56,190
'Georgians grow an immense
amount of fresh vegetables.

345
00:17:56,190 --> 00:17:58,710
'And if you go there, I assure you,

346
00:17:58,710 --> 00:18:01,550
'you'll become a fan
of their delicious cuisine.'

347
00:18:02,990 --> 00:18:05,590
'Don't let anything put you off.'

348
00:18:05,590 --> 00:18:09,390
When you look at this,
this is a light Georgian lunch,

349
00:18:09,390 --> 00:18:11,590
it's got this stuff
called khachapuri,

350
00:18:11,590 --> 00:18:13,910
which is kind of cheesy,
bready, potato-y stuff,

351
00:18:13,910 --> 00:18:16,230
delicious salad, gherkins,
couldn't be nicer,

352
00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:20,230
but I have the strangest feeling
that I'm being overlooked.

353
00:18:22,510 --> 00:18:24,110
Joseph Stalin.

354
00:18:24,110 --> 00:18:27,070
Well, Joseph Stalin
was born in Georgia.

355
00:18:27,070 --> 00:18:30,150
He was born in Gori in 1879.

356
00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:32,910
When Lenin died in 1924,

357
00:18:32,910 --> 00:18:34,950
Joe Stalin took over
the reins of power,

358
00:18:34,950 --> 00:18:38,110
and he remained in power
until 1953, when he died.

359
00:18:39,510 --> 00:18:42,470
During his, well, reign of terror,

360
00:18:42,470 --> 00:18:46,790
millions of Russians were killed,
some say as many as ten million.

361
00:18:46,790 --> 00:18:49,950
He persecuted them,
he executed them,

362
00:18:49,950 --> 00:18:51,830
there were famines,
there were purges,

363
00:18:51,830 --> 00:18:54,230
it was a simply terrible time.

364
00:18:54,230 --> 00:18:56,390
And although the young
now condemn him,

365
00:18:56,390 --> 00:18:58,390
hate the thought of his history,

366
00:18:58,390 --> 00:19:02,150
the old people have
a sense of nostalgia for Uncle Joe.

367
00:19:02,150 --> 00:19:04,350
When he was young,
he looked like a rock star.

368
00:19:04,350 --> 00:19:06,510
When he was old,
with his big moustache

369
00:19:06,510 --> 00:19:08,150
and his fine Georgian face,

370
00:19:08,150 --> 00:19:09,670
he looked very impressive.

371
00:19:09,670 --> 00:19:13,990
And, so, the kind of
mists of memory have clouded over,

372
00:19:13,990 --> 00:19:15,830
the rose pink clouds of memory

373
00:19:15,830 --> 00:19:18,390
made him seem like
a genial old uncle

374
00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:21,350
instead of one of the worst
murderers of the 20th century,

375
00:19:21,350 --> 00:19:23,030
or indeed of all time.

376
00:19:24,310 --> 00:19:27,390
Anyway, the waterfall is falling,
and it's cool and delicious

377
00:19:27,390 --> 00:19:32,230
and I've got khachapuri to dig into,
and life is sweet.

378
00:19:32,230 --> 00:19:34,390
And Stalin's gone.

379
00:19:42,070 --> 00:19:45,190
'The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi.

380
00:19:45,190 --> 00:19:46,670
'This city seems to have an old,

381
00:19:46,670 --> 00:19:49,590
'wise and sophisticated style
about it.

382
00:19:49,590 --> 00:19:52,190
'I was completely smitten.'

383
00:19:54,150 --> 00:19:57,670
I fell in love with Tbilisi
the second I arrived,

384
00:19:57,670 --> 00:20:01,870
it's built on hills, it's
a spa city, it's very beautiful,

385
00:20:01,870 --> 00:20:04,070
its architecture is quite wonderful,

386
00:20:04,070 --> 00:20:06,550
a lot of it is crumbling away,
and it's kind of poor,

387
00:20:06,550 --> 00:20:09,630
it's been a bit neglected,
but it is simply sensational.

388
00:20:12,830 --> 00:20:14,070
During the 18th century,

389
00:20:14,070 --> 00:20:18,390
Tbilisi was known as the Southern
Jewel in the Russian Empire's crown

390
00:20:18,390 --> 00:20:23,270
because of its immense
civilisation and culture

391
00:20:23,270 --> 00:20:26,190
and architectural beauty.

392
00:20:26,190 --> 00:20:31,030
It's just so stunning,
but sadly now a bit shabby,

393
00:20:31,030 --> 00:20:32,950
because during the Soviet era,

394
00:20:32,950 --> 00:20:35,110
a lot of these houses
were subdivided,

395
00:20:35,110 --> 00:20:36,670
as they are in all great cities,

396
00:20:36,670 --> 00:20:38,870
and a lot of them
have simply fallen down.

397
00:20:38,870 --> 00:20:41,710
A lot of them being tacked together
with bits of old tin.

398
00:20:42,950 --> 00:20:45,110
But some people
are making a valiant effort

399
00:20:45,110 --> 00:20:47,990
to keep them alive and intact.

400
00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:54,710
'The Kipshidzes' fantastic home
was built in 1897,

401
00:20:54,710 --> 00:20:57,990
'and it's been in the family
ever since.

402
00:20:57,990 --> 00:21:02,390
'Last time, we had had a tour
of their incredible house,

403
00:21:02,390 --> 00:21:05,070
'but now time we can
also stop for some tea

404
00:21:05,070 --> 00:21:08,510
'and share some
old family photographs.'

405
00:21:08,510 --> 00:21:12,430
And this is my grandfather
and my grandmother.

406
00:21:12,430 --> 00:21:14,750
Beautiful photograph.

407
00:21:14,750 --> 00:21:16,910
So, this was a grand family
in Tbilisi.

408
00:21:16,910 --> 00:21:18,550
Yes, their name was Nikoloz.

409
00:21:18,550 --> 00:21:20,510
Look how handsome,
look at that handsome boy.

410
00:21:20,510 --> 00:21:22,150
Yeah, he's very good-looking.

411
00:21:22,150 --> 00:21:24,390
And how he loved black and white.

412
00:21:24,390 --> 00:21:26,270
Look at him.
That's a fantastic picture.

413
00:21:26,270 --> 00:21:28,470
He knows how to pose it.
He does, doesn't he?

414
00:21:28,470 --> 00:21:32,310
'Katarina's grandfather
was a doctor, and in 1951,

415
00:21:32,310 --> 00:21:35,510
'he found himself attending
to Georgia's most infamous son.'

416
00:21:37,430 --> 00:21:40,950
'Stalin's paranoia was such
that he ordered the arrest

417
00:21:40,950 --> 00:21:45,150
'and torture of hundreds of doctors,
accusing them of poisoning him.'

418
00:21:47,230 --> 00:21:49,630
'A great many of the doctors
were killed.

419
00:21:49,630 --> 00:21:53,150
'But luckily, Katarina's grandfather
was not amongst them.

420
00:21:53,150 --> 00:21:56,150
'In fact, he helped save the lives
of three other medical men

421
00:21:56,150 --> 00:21:58,750
'who had been forced
to treat the dictator.'

422
00:22:00,830 --> 00:22:02,550
And here he is,
reading a paper,

423
00:22:02,550 --> 00:22:06,630
and it looks as though he's on this
very balcony here, is that right?

424
00:22:06,630 --> 00:22:08,070
Yes.
It's exactly the same,

425
00:22:08,070 --> 00:22:10,510
it hasn't changed at all, has it?
No, it hasn't.

426
00:22:10,510 --> 00:22:13,110
It is so beautiful,
it really, really is.

427
00:22:13,110 --> 00:22:15,390
I've never fallen in love
with a city

428
00:22:15,390 --> 00:22:17,550
as fast as Tbilisi.
I adore it.

429
00:22:26,070 --> 00:22:28,390
'I'd been to Turkey before,

430
00:22:28,390 --> 00:22:30,590
'but on our 2018
Silk Road travels,

431
00:22:30,590 --> 00:22:32,910
'we explored some
of the lesser-known parts

432
00:22:32,910 --> 00:22:34,750
'of this breath-taking country.

433
00:22:36,670 --> 00:22:39,670
'Spending time with
the semi-nomadic Hensen people

434
00:22:39,670 --> 00:22:43,990
'in the eastern highlands
was a particular joy.

435
00:22:43,990 --> 00:22:47,750
'And such stunning landscapes
to travel through.'

436
00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:50,950
'In central Turkey,
we explored some of

437
00:22:50,950 --> 00:22:53,790
'the long-neglected
13th-century churches.

438
00:22:53,790 --> 00:22:59,270
'Vandalised over the centuries
and used as animal keeps,

439
00:22:59,270 --> 00:23:02,390
'they were a far cry from
the spectacular renovated churches

440
00:23:02,390 --> 00:23:03,870
'around Cappadocia.'

441
00:23:05,070 --> 00:23:09,990
This is majestic,
absolutely every inch of it painted.

442
00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:16,550
'Cappadocia is extraordinary.

443
00:23:16,550 --> 00:23:19,630
'It looks like a mass of ant hills
with holes in them.'

444
00:23:19,630 --> 00:23:21,230
I'd seen photographs,
of course,

445
00:23:21,230 --> 00:23:23,710
but I had no idea what it
would be like to be there

446
00:23:23,710 --> 00:23:27,910
in these sort of ancient villages
which are built into the hillside.

447
00:23:27,910 --> 00:23:29,150
Very beautiful.

448
00:23:29,150 --> 00:23:32,310
However, practically all the
photographs I'd seen of Cappadocia

449
00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:35,990
in these extraordinary places
had balloons over them.

450
00:23:35,990 --> 00:23:38,230
Nothing wrong with that,
but I didn't want to do it.

451
00:23:38,230 --> 00:23:39,790
All that night I put a hex on it,

452
00:23:39,790 --> 00:23:41,990
I said, "Don't let me
go up in the balloon".

453
00:23:41,990 --> 00:23:43,550
And the next morning,
it was grey

454
00:23:43,550 --> 00:23:45,550
and there was
a very strong wind blowing,

455
00:23:45,550 --> 00:23:47,710
and they said, "Sorry,
no balloons going up today."

456
00:23:47,710 --> 00:23:49,070
MOUTHS: Yes!

457
00:23:49,070 --> 00:23:53,670
If you want things changed,
world events changed, come to me.

458
00:24:01,690 --> 00:24:05,970
'In Cappadocia, the accommodation
was well above standard,

459
00:24:05,970 --> 00:24:08,650
'but several feet below ground.'

460
00:24:10,210 --> 00:24:12,090
Come and look at this.
It's fantastic.

461
00:24:12,090 --> 00:24:15,850
'In Cappadocia, we stayed in a hotel
which was built into the hillside,

462
00:24:15,850 --> 00:24:20,090
'and to sleep in a room which is
hollowed out into the rock'

463
00:24:20,090 --> 00:24:22,610
and you know that people have
lived there for thousands of years

464
00:24:22,610 --> 00:24:24,610
is very exciting,
it's very different.

465
00:24:24,610 --> 00:24:26,930
You have different dreams,
and it's thrilling.

466
00:24:26,930 --> 00:24:28,450
You can't really
go to sleep at night

467
00:24:28,450 --> 00:24:31,250
for looking
at these strange, porous walls

468
00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:33,610
and imagining
who was there before you.

469
00:24:36,450 --> 00:24:39,850
CALL TO PRAYER

470
00:24:41,210 --> 00:24:43,890
'It was fascinating
to meet Asli Ozbay,

471
00:24:43,890 --> 00:24:47,610
'one of the architects
who's been redeveloping the area

472
00:24:47,610 --> 00:24:50,250
'and making astonishing discovering
along the way.'

473
00:24:51,770 --> 00:24:54,410
The guy who actually
erected this place came here,

474
00:24:54,410 --> 00:24:58,210
he bought a building,
he started to restorate it.

475
00:24:58,210 --> 00:25:02,810
But they discovered
a huge space underneath the road,

476
00:25:02,810 --> 00:25:05,850
which turned out
to be the main church

477
00:25:05,850 --> 00:25:09,370
of the Byzantine underground city.
It was a huge surprise.

478
00:25:09,370 --> 00:25:12,730
Then he started buying
the surrounding lots,

479
00:25:12,730 --> 00:25:16,370
and here we are,
still discovering for 22 years,

480
00:25:16,370 --> 00:25:20,010
trying to reconstruct
the old demolished village

481
00:25:20,010 --> 00:25:21,890
in Cappadocia.

482
00:25:21,890 --> 00:25:24,290
Many of which...
Because my beautiful bedroom here

483
00:25:24,290 --> 00:25:25,930
goes back right into the wall.

484
00:25:25,930 --> 00:25:28,690
This is going into the old
cave dwellings that people had?

485
00:25:28,690 --> 00:25:32,130
Yes. The cave dwellings
are the oldest part.

486
00:25:32,130 --> 00:25:34,450
We definitely know
that Romans were here,

487
00:25:34,450 --> 00:25:38,650
so we're talking about...
2,000 years old. ..2,000 years old.

488
00:25:38,650 --> 00:25:41,850
They make terraces on the slopes,

489
00:25:41,850 --> 00:25:44,930
so those terraces
become their gardens.

490
00:25:44,930 --> 00:25:48,930
And they discovered pigeon droppings
as fertilisers,

491
00:25:48,930 --> 00:25:51,570
to have their gardens
in front of their houses.

492
00:25:51,570 --> 00:25:53,250
So they took great care
of the pigeons,

493
00:25:53,250 --> 00:25:55,930
cos they realised how valuable
the guano, the dropping, was.

494
00:25:55,930 --> 00:25:59,050
The air was covered with pigeons
once.

495
00:25:59,050 --> 00:26:01,810
They were like clouds.
There were thousands of pigeons.

496
00:26:03,050 --> 00:26:05,250
Asli, it's been such a privilege
staying here.

497
00:26:05,250 --> 00:26:08,730
It's lovely to have had a glimpse
into how life must have been.

498
00:26:08,730 --> 00:26:10,490
Thank you.
Thank you so much.

499
00:26:10,490 --> 00:26:13,730
It's my pleasure. Thank YOU.
We've just loved it.

500
00:26:19,650 --> 00:26:22,570
'Time to leave Cappadocia
on the midnight train.

501
00:26:24,290 --> 00:26:27,130
'I just love long train journeys,

502
00:26:27,130 --> 00:26:29,530
'although they can lose
some of their romance.'

503
00:26:29,530 --> 00:26:31,930
TRAIN HORN BLARES

504
00:26:36,370 --> 00:26:40,050
Here we are. I'll just be in here.

505
00:26:40,050 --> 00:26:41,730
Reading.

506
00:26:41,730 --> 00:26:43,810
Eating.

507
00:26:43,810 --> 00:26:46,530
Actually, I should think
there's a restaurant car.

508
00:26:46,530 --> 00:26:51,770
But not now, because now
is about 1:45 in the morning.

509
00:26:51,770 --> 00:26:53,450
This train was supposed to be...

510
00:26:53,450 --> 00:26:55,410
This was supposed to be
a midnight train,

511
00:26:55,410 --> 00:26:57,290
or 12:30 train,

512
00:26:57,290 --> 00:26:59,490
then it was going to be
a 1:30 train,

513
00:26:59,490 --> 00:27:01,410
and now I think it's...
CLEARS HER THROAT

514
00:27:01,410 --> 00:27:03,130
..quite a bit later than that.

515
00:27:03,130 --> 00:27:05,050
But as I don't wear a watch,
I don't really mind.

516
00:27:05,050 --> 00:27:07,450
It's just the middle, middle,
middle of the night.

517
00:27:07,450 --> 00:27:10,610
This is the crew,
loading everything up.

518
00:27:10,610 --> 00:27:12,650
But Olly, Will and I
do nothing at all

519
00:27:12,650 --> 00:27:15,330
because we carry cameras
and pretend we're working.

520
00:27:15,330 --> 00:27:18,010
And so the poor, staggering crew...

521
00:27:18,010 --> 00:27:21,170
Here comes Steph,
bringing all the rest of my stuff,

522
00:27:21,170 --> 00:27:23,890
which I was too idle
to bring myself.

523
00:27:23,890 --> 00:27:25,850
The reason I've got all these things

524
00:27:25,850 --> 00:27:27,810
is that in all those,
I've put my shoes,

525
00:27:27,810 --> 00:27:29,850
all these are all the clothes
I have to wear.

526
00:27:29,850 --> 00:27:32,810
All that's all the sort of makeup
and hair washing kit

527
00:27:32,810 --> 00:27:35,490
and everything like that.
Ooh, we're off.

528
00:27:44,970 --> 00:27:47,210
Look at that. Isn't it divine?

529
00:27:47,210 --> 00:27:50,770
There's something so exciting about
travelling by train at night-time.

530
00:27:53,450 --> 00:27:55,810
When we were little
and leaving Malaysia,

531
00:27:55,810 --> 00:27:58,010
Malaya as it was then,
for the last time,

532
00:27:58,010 --> 00:28:00,610
my sister and I
got dressed in pyjamas

533
00:28:00,610 --> 00:28:03,450
and we went
to Kuala Lumpur train station

534
00:28:03,450 --> 00:28:06,850
and got on the train,
the midnight train.

535
00:28:06,850 --> 00:28:08,770
There's a huge excitement
about the train

536
00:28:08,770 --> 00:28:11,730
inexorably going along,
hooting as it goes...

537
00:28:12,970 --> 00:28:16,210
..charging through the night.
It knows exactly what's up,

538
00:28:16,210 --> 00:28:18,970
and you're tucked up
and fast asleep.

539
00:28:21,490 --> 00:28:23,090
Goodnight.

540
00:28:29,930 --> 00:28:32,210
Yeah?
OK, that's gorgeous. OK, lovely.

541
00:28:32,210 --> 00:28:34,610
Yeah?
Quiet, everyone.

542
00:28:38,330 --> 00:28:41,450
'We arrived
in the world's most beautiful city

543
00:28:41,450 --> 00:28:43,610
'to see
where the Silk Road started.

544
00:28:45,650 --> 00:28:47,890
'Santa Maria della Salute

545
00:28:47,890 --> 00:28:50,410
'stands at the entrance
to the Grand Canal.'

546
00:28:56,570 --> 00:28:59,090
Will, if you just say,
when the church is looking good,

547
00:28:59,090 --> 00:29:01,690
will you say "Joanna"?
And then I'll be looking at her

548
00:29:01,690 --> 00:29:03,530
and then I'll turn.
Perfect. Will do.

549
00:29:05,490 --> 00:29:07,010
Joanna.

550
00:29:09,770 --> 00:29:12,450
Was that "Joanna"?
Yeah, Joanna.

551
00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:15,770
Henry James called it
"a grand lady

552
00:29:15,770 --> 00:29:18,010
"on the threshold of her salon,"

553
00:29:18,010 --> 00:29:21,450
but its creation
was for a deathly serious reason.

554
00:29:21,450 --> 00:29:24,770
This beautiful church
was built as a thanksgiving

555
00:29:24,770 --> 00:29:28,090
for deliverance of
the city of Venice from the plague.

556
00:29:29,810 --> 00:29:32,810
'Art, food and philosophy
travelled down the Silk Road,

557
00:29:32,810 --> 00:29:35,450
'but also rats, fleas and contagion,

558
00:29:35,450 --> 00:29:38,850
'turning Venice
into a plague hotspot.'

559
00:29:38,850 --> 00:29:41,290
For over 300 years,

560
00:29:41,290 --> 00:29:44,330
the bubonic plague
swept across the world.

561
00:29:44,330 --> 00:29:47,370
It roared along
the routes of the Silk Road,

562
00:29:47,370 --> 00:29:49,850
killing millions in its wake.

563
00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:52,930
China lost
two thirds of its population,

564
00:29:52,930 --> 00:29:57,330
Europe a third, and Venice
was particularly hard-hit.

565
00:29:57,330 --> 00:30:00,210
And this lovely basilica
was built to give thanks to God

566
00:30:00,210 --> 00:30:02,730
for those who managed
to survive the awful ordeal.

567
00:30:02,730 --> 00:30:05,970
So, here she stands,
the Santa Maria della Salute,

568
00:30:05,970 --> 00:30:08,130
which means
"St Mary of good health",

569
00:30:08,130 --> 00:30:10,330
facing seawards, to protect the city

570
00:30:10,330 --> 00:30:14,490
from any further outbreaks
of this deadly disease.

571
00:30:19,330 --> 00:30:21,530
It's extraordinary.
That was the bubonic plague.

572
00:30:21,530 --> 00:30:24,650
They were saying thanks
that they had remained alive

573
00:30:24,650 --> 00:30:27,370
and to try to keep
the terrible disease

574
00:30:27,370 --> 00:30:29,650
away from their beautiful city.

575
00:30:29,650 --> 00:30:31,850
And now we're
in the middle of a pandemic

576
00:30:31,850 --> 00:30:34,290
which has spread across
the entire world.

577
00:30:34,290 --> 00:30:36,690
Who could've foreseen it?

578
00:30:36,690 --> 00:30:39,890
'We showed you the outside
of the church before,

579
00:30:39,890 --> 00:30:41,850
'but not the fabulous interior.

580
00:30:41,850 --> 00:30:45,730
'Now, in 2020,
Santa Maria della Salute

581
00:30:45,730 --> 00:30:48,010
'has taken on
a much greater relevance.'

582
00:30:49,210 --> 00:30:50,930
'Inside this glorious building

583
00:30:50,930 --> 00:30:54,730
'are some stunning paintings
by Titian and Tintoretto.

584
00:30:55,890 --> 00:30:59,130
'Art like this had never been
seen before in Europe.

585
00:30:59,130 --> 00:31:01,810
'Exciting new pigments
were transforming painting

586
00:31:01,810 --> 00:31:04,130
'and starting a renaissance.

587
00:31:04,130 --> 00:31:07,130
'Exotic colours
made from crushed insects

588
00:31:07,130 --> 00:31:10,290
'and lapis lazuli from Afghanistan,

589
00:31:10,290 --> 00:31:12,610
'all products
arriving here from the East

590
00:31:12,610 --> 00:31:14,810
'via the Silk Road.

591
00:31:14,810 --> 00:31:18,570
'Titian was commissioned
to paint this work of St Mark,

592
00:31:18,570 --> 00:31:20,410
'Patron Saint of Venice,

593
00:31:20,410 --> 00:31:22,890
'so people
could come and give thanks

594
00:31:22,890 --> 00:31:24,650
'for their salvation
from the pestilence.'

595
00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:28,610
'But even Titian didn't escape,

596
00:31:28,610 --> 00:31:34,210
'and in the end,
he died from the plague in 1576.'

597
00:31:37,690 --> 00:31:41,570
'And there's another lovely church
that we didn't have time to fit in

598
00:31:41,570 --> 00:31:43,730
'the first time around.
It's not big,

599
00:31:43,730 --> 00:31:45,570
'and it's not easy to find.

600
00:31:45,570 --> 00:31:49,170
'The Chiesa
di Santa Maria del Giglio.'

601
00:31:49,170 --> 00:31:51,530
Oh, little narrow alleyway.
Look at that.

602
00:31:51,530 --> 00:31:52,730
Only as wide as this.

603
00:31:54,730 --> 00:31:57,530
Bit of a whiff here.
They always say a bit of a smell.

604
00:31:57,530 --> 00:32:02,330
You want that. You don't want
to have just a non-smelling Venice.

605
00:32:02,330 --> 00:32:07,530
Santa Maria del Giglio,
and I don't know where it is.

606
00:32:07,530 --> 00:32:09,770
But it must be somewhere near.

607
00:32:09,770 --> 00:32:11,770
SHE GASPS

608
00:32:11,770 --> 00:32:16,570
Oh, look! This surely has to be it.

609
00:32:16,570 --> 00:32:18,170
Look at that!

610
00:32:20,810 --> 00:32:23,010
The strangest thing
about this church -

611
00:32:23,010 --> 00:32:26,570
it hasn't got anything to do
with religion on the front of it.

612
00:32:26,570 --> 00:32:28,530
There's no Santa Maria here.

613
00:32:28,530 --> 00:32:30,850
There are maps,
beautiful boats here.

614
00:32:30,850 --> 00:32:33,610
These are merchants. This isn't...

615
00:32:33,610 --> 00:32:35,410
Look at these maps here.

616
00:32:35,410 --> 00:32:39,210
'It's all down to this
rather grand Venetian gentleman,

617
00:32:39,210 --> 00:32:41,010
'Antonio Barbaro.'

618
00:32:41,010 --> 00:32:44,730
He was a hugely successful trader,
great, rich merchant,

619
00:32:44,730 --> 00:32:48,090
merchant of Venice,
and he wanted to be remembered

620
00:32:48,090 --> 00:32:50,930
and he wanted to kind of
slightly re-write history.

621
00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:53,490
So all his ancestors are here.
Look, he's done as a Roman Emperor.

622
00:32:53,490 --> 00:32:55,170
The Barbaros through the ages.

623
00:32:55,170 --> 00:32:56,530
SHE GASPS

624
00:32:56,530 --> 00:32:58,730
I wonder if there's a way
I can get...

625
00:32:58,730 --> 00:33:04,050
get to see this
so I'm not absolutely inside out.

626
00:33:04,050 --> 00:33:05,450
Oh, this looks promising.

627
00:33:05,450 --> 00:33:07,650
Hotel Bel Sito.

628
00:33:14,290 --> 00:33:16,090
SHE GASPS

629
00:33:16,090 --> 00:33:19,810
Well, look at this!

630
00:33:19,810 --> 00:33:23,250
Marinus Barbaro, Carolus Barbaro,

631
00:33:23,250 --> 00:33:25,050
Francesco Barbaro.

632
00:33:25,050 --> 00:33:28,650
And up here,
the great Antonio Barbaro himself

633
00:33:28,650 --> 00:33:31,570
with something
quite strange on his head.

634
00:33:33,250 --> 00:33:37,490
Quite strange. Even for
a Venetian hat, that's strange.

635
00:33:37,490 --> 00:33:39,690
Can you imagine
the conceit of saying,

636
00:33:39,690 --> 00:33:41,490
"When I'm dead,
I'm going to leave enough money

637
00:33:41,490 --> 00:33:44,250
"so that you can depict
on the front of the church

638
00:33:44,250 --> 00:33:47,050
"all the power and glory
that I achieved,

639
00:33:47,050 --> 00:33:49,890
"not only for myself,
but for Venice"?

640
00:33:49,890 --> 00:33:51,690
Would we do that ourselves?

641
00:33:53,330 --> 00:33:54,890
Possibly.

642
00:33:56,090 --> 00:34:00,410
'Our Silk Road journey has
come to a glorious end in Venice.

643
00:34:01,890 --> 00:34:06,650
'But next, a sizzling adventure
that I've saved for last.'

644
00:34:24,110 --> 00:34:27,750
'We went to Haiti in 2019
for the Hidden Caribbean series,

645
00:34:27,750 --> 00:34:29,310
'and it had quite an effect on me.'

646
00:34:29,310 --> 00:34:31,030
There's a skull up there.

647
00:34:32,750 --> 00:34:34,270
Hello.

648
00:34:34,270 --> 00:34:36,550
'I've travelled a lot
in the developing world,

649
00:34:36,550 --> 00:34:38,270
'but Haiti seems to have had

650
00:34:38,270 --> 00:34:40,470
'more than its fair share
of troubles.

651
00:34:40,470 --> 00:34:42,830
'The country
is rich in natural beauty

652
00:34:42,830 --> 00:34:45,990
'and has such potential,
but the reality is

653
00:34:45,990 --> 00:34:47,670
'that it's in a shocking state.'

654
00:34:47,670 --> 00:34:50,150
Look at this fabulous bay.

655
00:34:50,150 --> 00:34:53,270
It breaks your heart
to see so much plastic.

656
00:34:53,270 --> 00:34:55,870
'Back in the 18th century,

657
00:34:55,870 --> 00:34:58,350
'Haiti was at the centre
of the pirate world,

658
00:34:58,350 --> 00:35:00,590
'and we thought
it would be an excellent idea

659
00:35:00,590 --> 00:35:03,790
'to do a seafaring opening
to introduce Haiti

660
00:35:03,790 --> 00:35:06,430
'and a well-known Welsh pirate

661
00:35:06,430 --> 00:35:08,590
'who used to frequent the waters
around Ile-a-Vache.'

662
00:35:11,030 --> 00:35:14,030
That's looking great, Jo.
We could have a practice now.

663
00:35:14,030 --> 00:35:15,390
OK.

664
00:35:15,390 --> 00:35:16,910
But, I mean, when?

665
00:35:16,910 --> 00:35:19,470
Right, now, now, now. Now, Jo, now.

666
00:35:19,470 --> 00:35:21,070
That's incredibly difficult.

667
00:35:21,070 --> 00:35:22,430
This...

668
00:35:22,430 --> 00:35:23,990
BOAT CREAKS

669
00:35:23,990 --> 00:35:26,310
This whole island
was once the stronghold...

670
00:35:28,670 --> 00:35:30,830
Now, I hate boats.
That's the truth of it.

671
00:35:30,830 --> 00:35:32,150
'So I said, "Can we not do this?" '

672
00:35:32,150 --> 00:35:35,030
Hang on, I can't see anything.
I can't get my feet round.

673
00:35:35,030 --> 00:35:38,590
And our director,
marvellous man in many ways...

674
00:35:38,590 --> 00:35:40,270
We've got to stay in front of her.

675
00:35:40,270 --> 00:35:42,990
..said, "No, no, I've researched it

676
00:35:42,990 --> 00:35:44,950
"and it's going to be
flat as a pancake.

677
00:35:44,950 --> 00:35:46,830
"You'll just come
dipping through the isthmus

678
00:35:46,830 --> 00:35:48,470
"on this lovely clear water."

679
00:35:48,470 --> 00:35:50,070
'Well, when we got there that day,

680
00:35:50,070 --> 00:35:52,390
'the water was very rough,
very naughty,

681
00:35:52,390 --> 00:35:55,030
'very, very choppy. The boat...'

682
00:35:55,030 --> 00:35:57,230
If you can imagine,
this is the boat, sideways on.

683
00:35:57,230 --> 00:35:59,670
It had nothing in the middle of it,
it had nothing across it.

684
00:35:59,670 --> 00:36:01,110
'It had no floor.'

685
00:36:01,110 --> 00:36:03,350
Joanna, one more.

686
00:36:03,350 --> 00:36:05,230
They were filming
in a boat over there, going,

687
00:36:05,230 --> 00:36:07,190
"Do this, do that!"
I was going, "I can't hear."

688
00:36:07,190 --> 00:36:09,990
I kept slipping down into the boat
and trying to get up again.

689
00:36:09,990 --> 00:36:12,910
Trying to hang on
with my old person's hands

690
00:36:12,910 --> 00:36:14,390
and gripping onto the side.

691
00:36:14,390 --> 00:36:16,310
It was absolutely terrifying.

692
00:36:16,310 --> 00:36:17,990
It was terrifying.

693
00:36:17,990 --> 00:36:20,070
I was black and blue. I was injured.

694
00:36:20,070 --> 00:36:22,030
I broke bones.
Well, some of that isn't true,

695
00:36:22,030 --> 00:36:23,870
but anyway, I was very afraid.

696
00:36:23,870 --> 00:36:26,670
And it was terribly,
terribly funny, too.

697
00:36:26,670 --> 00:36:28,550
Have another go, Joanna!

698
00:36:28,550 --> 00:36:31,870
And there was a Welshman
called Captain Henry Morgan.

699
00:36:33,470 --> 00:36:35,270
Some of you
may have heard that name.

700
00:36:35,270 --> 00:36:37,790
It comes on
the bottle of a famous rum,

701
00:36:37,790 --> 00:36:40,630
and he chose this island.

702
00:36:44,710 --> 00:36:46,310
This whole island
was once a stronghold

703
00:36:46,310 --> 00:36:49,030
for the English privateers,
or pirates,

704
00:36:49,030 --> 00:36:51,270
who established themselves here

705
00:36:51,270 --> 00:36:56,110
especially to torment and harass
the French and Spanish

706
00:36:56,110 --> 00:36:58,150
who occupied the main island.

707
00:36:58,150 --> 00:37:00,470
I wouldn't mind going back soon.

708
00:37:02,510 --> 00:37:04,710
'There are all sorts
of myths and legends

709
00:37:04,710 --> 00:37:09,150
'about where Captain Morgan's
flagship HMS Oxford sank.

710
00:37:09,150 --> 00:37:12,470
'We got hold of Gilbert,
a local diver and ship-owner,

711
00:37:12,470 --> 00:37:16,030
'who claims to have located
the ship's last resting place.'

712
00:37:17,830 --> 00:37:21,870
This is Port Morgan. Is this
where Henry Morgan's boat sank?

713
00:37:21,870 --> 00:37:23,830
Is this where HMS Oxford is?

714
00:37:23,830 --> 00:37:25,150
No.
No?

715
00:37:25,150 --> 00:37:27,270
The Oxford is on the other side.
Because he...

716
00:37:28,910 --> 00:37:31,070
Come on, Gilbert.
I'm not gonna... Come on, Gilbert!

717
00:37:31,070 --> 00:37:33,430
I'm not gonna be 100% sure,

718
00:37:33,430 --> 00:37:36,870
but what I can tell you, in 2004,
after a storm,

719
00:37:36,870 --> 00:37:40,790
I went diving and we discovered
big pieces of timber

720
00:37:40,790 --> 00:37:42,950
buried under the sea.

721
00:37:42,950 --> 00:37:44,950
At the tip of the timber,

722
00:37:44,950 --> 00:37:47,870
we found burning woods.
SHE GASPS

723
00:37:47,870 --> 00:37:51,830
I think the Oxford was the only ship
that blew up...

724
00:37:51,830 --> 00:37:54,550
And burnt.
..and burnt in Ile-a-Vache.

725
00:37:55,830 --> 00:37:57,630
That might be it.

726
00:37:57,630 --> 00:38:00,150
Gilbert, I... I want you to be...

727
00:38:00,150 --> 00:38:02,350
Are you a pirate?
No.

728
00:38:02,350 --> 00:38:06,590
You know...
Please be a Haitian pirate. No.

729
00:38:06,590 --> 00:38:09,070
What is your description
of a pirate?

730
00:38:09,070 --> 00:38:11,510
Well, first of all,
you have to have an eye patch.

731
00:38:11,510 --> 00:38:13,190
No, I don't have an eye patch.

732
00:38:13,190 --> 00:38:14,470
THEY CHUCKLE

733
00:38:14,470 --> 00:38:17,150
You have to wear earrings like mine.
I don't have.

734
00:38:17,150 --> 00:38:18,430
SHE LAUGHS

735
00:38:18,430 --> 00:38:20,350
And you have to have
a bandana round your head.

736
00:38:20,350 --> 00:38:22,230
I don't have, which I don't have.

737
00:38:22,230 --> 00:38:24,430
I'm so disappointed.

738
00:38:24,430 --> 00:38:26,830
THEY LAUGH

739
00:38:26,830 --> 00:38:29,030
'Haiti's close neighbour, Cuba,

740
00:38:29,030 --> 00:38:31,310
'has been on my radar
for a long time,

741
00:38:31,310 --> 00:38:34,470
'and I was hell-bent
on convincing everyone concerned

742
00:38:34,470 --> 00:38:37,990
'that it would be
a fabulous place to visit.'

743
00:38:37,990 --> 00:38:41,750
When we make these programmes,
we have to go to the bosses at ITV

744
00:38:41,750 --> 00:38:43,110
and say why we want to go there.

745
00:38:43,110 --> 00:38:45,750
And I was so determined
to get to Cuba, that I...

746
00:38:45,750 --> 00:38:47,710
I... Well, I sort of took leave
of my senses.

747
00:38:47,710 --> 00:38:50,590
I said, "Don't you remember
that fabulous Barry Manilow song,

748
00:38:50,590 --> 00:38:54,670
"Copacabana?
The hottest spot north of Havana."

749
00:38:54,670 --> 00:38:57,750
# The hottest spot
North of Havana. #

750
00:38:57,750 --> 00:38:59,790
I said, "We'll be there.
We can get Barry Manilow.

751
00:38:59,790 --> 00:39:01,350
"He'll come down.
I've met him before.

752
00:39:01,350 --> 00:39:03,590
"He'll come racing down there.
We'll have a great time,

753
00:39:03,590 --> 00:39:06,750
"bit of bants with Barry." And it
was only later that I found out

754
00:39:06,750 --> 00:39:12,070
that the Copacabana was in fact a
nightclub in Manhattan in New York.

755
00:39:12,070 --> 00:39:14,110
But, anyway, they said yes.

756
00:39:14,110 --> 00:39:16,950
So I think it was worth it,
don't you?

757
00:39:16,950 --> 00:39:21,230
'Music and dance seem to
run in the blood of all Cubans,

758
00:39:21,230 --> 00:39:23,430
'and we covered
one revolutionary story

759
00:39:23,430 --> 00:39:26,110
'that encapsulates that perfectly.

760
00:39:27,870 --> 00:39:31,710
'Come with me to the leafy suburbs
of northern Havana.'

761
00:39:31,710 --> 00:39:34,150
Look at the scale of this.

762
00:39:34,150 --> 00:39:36,950
In 1961, this was a country club.

763
00:39:36,950 --> 00:39:39,550
Golf courses, the clubhouse.

764
00:39:39,550 --> 00:39:41,230
But at the beginning
of the revolution,

765
00:39:41,230 --> 00:39:43,630
all the rich people who used it
had to leave the country.

766
00:39:43,630 --> 00:39:46,790
They were exiled, they fled,
they were banished.

767
00:39:46,790 --> 00:39:51,070
'In a bizarre photo opportunity
intended as a dig at the West,

768
00:39:51,070 --> 00:39:54,590
'Cuba's new leaders,
Che Guevara and Fidel Castro,

769
00:39:54,590 --> 00:39:56,790
'posed playing golf.

770
00:39:56,790 --> 00:39:59,670
'As symbols
of the bourgeoisie lifestyle,

771
00:39:59,670 --> 00:40:02,270
'most golf courses in Cuba
were ploughed up

772
00:40:02,270 --> 00:40:04,510
'to provide farmland.

773
00:40:04,510 --> 00:40:08,190
'But Che and Fidel
had lofty ambitions for this one.'

774
00:40:09,830 --> 00:40:12,910
They hatched up
this extraordinary dream

775
00:40:12,910 --> 00:40:15,710
of a utopian centre of culture.

776
00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:19,670
For the arts, for music,
for modern dance, for ballet,

777
00:40:19,670 --> 00:40:22,190
for dramatic art, for sculpture.

778
00:40:22,190 --> 00:40:25,190
And they would get
the best architects in the world

779
00:40:25,190 --> 00:40:27,870
and they would build it here,
and it would be free.

780
00:40:27,870 --> 00:40:30,990
It was the Communist dream
that everybody should be equal,

781
00:40:30,990 --> 00:40:34,190
everybody would have a chance
at high culture.

782
00:40:36,190 --> 00:40:39,150
And it was never finished,
it was never completed.

783
00:40:39,150 --> 00:40:40,830
And now, it's just left.

784
00:40:40,830 --> 00:40:43,870
It's protected, but it's just...

785
00:40:43,870 --> 00:40:46,070
It's like a half-finished dream.

786
00:40:48,590 --> 00:40:50,790
'This place
may not have come to fruition,

787
00:40:50,790 --> 00:40:53,670
'but the Cuban dream
of taking underprivileged kids

788
00:40:53,670 --> 00:40:56,150
'into the world of ballet
is a continuing success.'

789
00:40:58,350 --> 00:41:03,590
'Carlos Acosta was born in Havana
in 1973 into a very poor family.

790
00:41:03,590 --> 00:41:05,270
'He was an overactive child,

791
00:41:05,270 --> 00:41:07,510
'and his father sent him
to ballet lessons

792
00:41:07,510 --> 00:41:11,150
'because of the discipline,
and they were free.

793
00:41:11,150 --> 00:41:13,790
'A product of
the Cuban National Ballet School,

794
00:41:13,790 --> 00:41:15,270
'his talent saw him rise

795
00:41:15,270 --> 00:41:18,190
'to become one of the most
acclaimed dancers of his time.'

796
00:41:18,190 --> 00:41:21,550
MINKUS' ORCHESTRAL SCORE

797
00:41:23,470 --> 00:41:27,470
'This is a 2014 performance
of the Royal Ballet's Don Quixote,

798
00:41:27,470 --> 00:41:30,230
'where Carlos is dancing the finale
of Act One.'

799
00:41:30,230 --> 00:41:31,550
ORCHESTRAL FLOURISH

800
00:41:32,830 --> 00:41:34,270
ORCHESTRAL FLOURISH

801
00:41:34,270 --> 00:41:36,910
APPLAUSE

802
00:41:36,910 --> 00:41:40,630
'He currently runs a world-famous
ballet company based in Havana

803
00:41:40,630 --> 00:41:42,670
'that bears his name.

804
00:41:42,670 --> 00:41:44,870
'He's also established
a dance academy

805
00:41:44,870 --> 00:41:47,070
'that offers a three-year course

806
00:41:47,070 --> 00:41:51,110
'in a particularly Cuban mixture
of contemporary and classical ballet

807
00:41:51,110 --> 00:41:53,750
'for some talented teenagers.

808
00:41:53,750 --> 00:41:56,790
'Like so many of us,
I did ballet when I was a child.

809
00:41:56,790 --> 00:42:00,070
'I only did it
up to the age of about... 11,

810
00:42:00,070 --> 00:42:01,350
'but I loved it.'

811
00:42:01,350 --> 00:42:03,550
Did I want to be a ballet dancer?
I don't know.

812
00:42:03,550 --> 00:42:05,470
But I wanted to be able
to dance properly.

813
00:42:05,470 --> 00:42:07,790
There's something
about seeing dancers

814
00:42:07,790 --> 00:42:10,230
that is just... heavenly.

815
00:42:10,230 --> 00:42:14,270
I think they're magical.
I can never stop watching dancing.

816
00:42:14,270 --> 00:42:16,830
I gave it up. I wish I hadn't.

817
00:42:16,830 --> 00:42:18,990
Listen, anybody watching
who's younger than me,

818
00:42:18,990 --> 00:42:21,190
don't give it up. Keep going.

819
00:42:21,190 --> 00:42:25,150
Even if you're old, dance a bit.
Dance a bit.

820
00:42:26,670 --> 00:42:28,590
'On the day that we visited,

821
00:42:28,590 --> 00:42:32,230
'it was busy with young hopefuls
awaiting their auditions.

822
00:42:32,230 --> 00:42:36,710
'Only a lucky 24 gain entry
into the academy each year.'

823
00:42:38,670 --> 00:42:40,870
I can remember auditioning.
The horror of it at the end

824
00:42:40,870 --> 00:42:43,470
is when you're told,
"Thank you very much",

825
00:42:43,470 --> 00:42:45,310
and you know
by the fall of their voice,

826
00:42:45,310 --> 00:42:47,430
they don't want you back again.

827
00:42:50,750 --> 00:42:54,390
'Inside, the second year students
were limbering up.'

828
00:42:54,390 --> 00:42:57,150
Just notice how dancers walk.

829
00:42:57,150 --> 00:42:59,990
You can't tell if somebody's
a composer or a writer.

830
00:42:59,990 --> 00:43:02,190
You can't tell
if somebody's a painter

831
00:43:02,190 --> 00:43:05,790
if you just see them walking in
the street. You can tell a dancer.

832
00:43:05,790 --> 00:43:07,750
It never leaves them.
Look at the way they stand -

833
00:43:07,750 --> 00:43:10,030
the grace, the upright stance.
None of that.

834
00:43:10,030 --> 00:43:11,870
None of that.

835
00:43:11,870 --> 00:43:16,270
Even when relaxing,
they're like cats.

836
00:43:16,270 --> 00:43:18,070
And it looks so effortless.

837
00:43:18,070 --> 00:43:20,550
They fly, they float.

838
00:43:20,550 --> 00:43:22,670
It's awesome. I love it.

839
00:43:24,070 --> 00:43:27,070
You don't just get it by
being flexible or feeling like it.

840
00:43:27,070 --> 00:43:29,030
Slog, slog, slog.

841
00:43:29,030 --> 00:43:32,510
I adore it. I adore the disciplines
of ballet.

842
00:43:32,510 --> 00:43:36,430
La lutte c'est la vie,
"struggle is life".

843
00:43:36,430 --> 00:43:39,550
That's the smart French for you.

844
00:43:39,550 --> 00:43:42,910
'Who knows if we've got
another Carlos Acosta

845
00:43:42,910 --> 00:43:44,710
'emerging from his own academy?

846
00:43:46,710 --> 00:43:50,110
'But these two rising stars
are in the right place

847
00:43:50,110 --> 00:43:51,670
'to benefit from his experience.'

848
00:43:51,670 --> 00:43:55,510
Does Carlos Acosta come here
to the school?

849
00:43:55,510 --> 00:43:56,750
Si.
Si? Si. Si.

850
00:43:56,750 --> 00:43:58,350
Is he friendly?

851
00:43:58,350 --> 00:43:59,710
Yeah, super.
Muy.

852
00:44:03,910 --> 00:44:06,070
In performance, in dance,

853
00:44:06,070 --> 00:44:08,670
acting is very important.

854
00:44:14,550 --> 00:44:16,310
Yeah.

855
00:44:37,030 --> 00:44:40,750
Ballet is very important in Cuba.
Si.

856
00:44:46,070 --> 00:44:47,670
I shall look forward
to seeing both of you

857
00:44:47,670 --> 00:44:50,030
in theatres across the world.

858
00:44:50,030 --> 00:44:52,230
I shall be watching.

859
00:44:52,230 --> 00:44:54,790
I shall have your names
written down. Leandro...

860
00:44:54,790 --> 00:44:57,230
Fernandez.
Leandro Fernandez.

861
00:44:57,230 --> 00:44:58,670
You have difficult name.

862
00:44:58,670 --> 00:45:00,910
Amisaday.
Amisaday.

863
00:45:00,910 --> 00:45:03,030
Rodriguez.
Rodriguez.

864
00:45:04,510 --> 00:45:06,310
Gracias. Muchas gracias.
Thank you so much.

865
00:45:06,310 --> 00:45:07,550
Thanks.
Thanks.

866
00:45:07,550 --> 00:45:09,350
And good luck for the performance.
Yes.

867
00:45:11,030 --> 00:45:13,350
'The reason we do these programmes

868
00:45:13,350 --> 00:45:16,030
'and the reason
why I love travelling so much is,'

869
00:45:16,030 --> 00:45:17,670
above all, the people we meet.

870
00:45:17,670 --> 00:45:20,830
The places are sensational,
but in every country,

871
00:45:20,830 --> 00:45:24,550
the people we meet
is what remains with me.

872
00:45:24,550 --> 00:45:27,270
And the further afield you go,
the more extraordinary it is

873
00:45:27,270 --> 00:45:28,750
to find that we're all the same.

874
00:45:28,750 --> 00:45:31,270
We have the same aspirations,

875
00:45:31,270 --> 00:45:33,790
the same longing to dance,
to eat good food,

876
00:45:33,790 --> 00:45:36,470
to bring our children up well.

877
00:45:36,470 --> 00:45:38,670
And this has given me
an opportunity of looking through

878
00:45:38,670 --> 00:45:40,350
some of the places we've been to,

879
00:45:40,350 --> 00:45:43,150
right from the Far East,
right to ending up here in Cuba.

880
00:45:43,150 --> 00:45:46,550
So thrilling and so exciting.

881
00:45:46,550 --> 00:45:48,710
So, thank you for seeing
my Unseen Adventures

882
00:45:48,710 --> 00:45:51,950
and now what memories we share.

883
00:45:51,950 --> 00:45:54,910
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