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Frankincense - one of the gifts given by the 
three wise men to the new born Christ.

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As rare and as precious as gold, 
its smoke was thought to have

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divine powers that directly connected manto his god.

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From its source in Oman, an epic trade route 
was forged across Arabia to the Holy Lands

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where it was shipped throughout the ancient world.

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And along the way, entire civilizations 
emerged from the desert and prospered.

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Now, 5,000 years after the frankincense trade began,

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I'm following in the footsteps of one of 
the great epic trade routes of ancient times.

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My journey starts high in the Dhofar Mountains of Southern Oman.

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For thousands of years, this is where the
finest frankincense came from.

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It was harvested from the highly valuable trees that covered these hilltops.

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Today, Mussalem Al Mari is one of the last people 
who still make a living from the trade.

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This is Boswellia Sacra, better known as the frankincense tree.

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This is how frankincense is produced.

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A shallow cut is made in the bark and 
the frankincense sap starts to bleed. Oh, look, look.

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So this here is frankincense?

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It has a little smell, but not a very strong one.

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Each cut will produce a small handful of frankincense resin.

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A few days later, once it's hardened, 
Mussalem will return to collect it.

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He brings the resin back to dry out in this cave, 
his home for the three months of the harvest season.

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This batch has been drying for a week.

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Quite soft, but it's not as gummy as the stuff 
that I got right from the tree.

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Exactly. They need to be dried for another few days.

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Then we will clean them.

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Look at this.

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It's like diamonds.

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Smell it, Kate.

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It's fantastic isn't it?

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It's beautiful. I want to take some 
frankincense with me, and just like

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the ancient traders did, use some of my 
supply to pay my way en route.

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So Mussalem, if I were to buy 90 kgs 
- because I've got a long journey, I've got 2,000 miles

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to travel, if I were to buy that, what is 
the going rate for our frankincense at this time?

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HE SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE

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He's happy to sell his frankincense for 240 Rials.

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240 Rials for the whole 90 kilos? For the whole 90 kilos, yeah.

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So that's about £300.

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When demand for frankincense was 
at its height, the majority of it went

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to the emperors and upper class citizens of the Roman Empire.

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Back then, the amount I'm buying would've cost 
the same as the average Roman earned in a year.

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We're going to need camels or something!

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The frankincense traders walked the entire length 
of the Arabian Peninsula to the Holy Lands.

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From here, the frankincense was shipped 
to the empires of the ancient world.

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I'm going to attempt to follow that epic trail.

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I've come down from the mountains to where 
the original camel trains started their journey.

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CAMELS GROAN

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There to meet me are the descendents of those first traders 
- the Al-Mahri tribe, with their camels.

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Together we are going to walk towards the Yemeni border

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in the footsteps of the ancient camel caravans.

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So this is my...

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frankincense, and as you can see there's 
an extraordinary scene around me. Shukran.

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Everyone crowds round, demanding to inspect my frankincense.

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I have to take this, I have to take this all the way to...

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It's name is called theHojari.

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Hojari is very good? So I bought well?

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Before we set off, the sister of one 
of the tribesmen asks to see me.

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As is custom, she stands away from the men.

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I take a handful of my frankincense and we trade gifts.

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I see, OK.

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It looks good?

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Before the journey, Riah performs 
a traditional ritual with my frankincense.

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This tribal blessing also has a practical purpose.

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This is the way you keep your clothes smelling fresh?

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OK.

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With the blessingover, we load my cargo.

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The original traders would have packed up to 
1,000 camels per journey, each one with 200 kilos.

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I'm having trouble loading just one.

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So this camel is going to be carrying...

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CAMEL GRUNTS AND SNARLS

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I don't think he really wants to be 
carrying 80 kilos of frankincense!

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It's like going away on a family holiday and packing the car.

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Everyone has their way of packing the car.

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Clearly each one of these guys has 
got their way of tying a knot.

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Good, good.It's good?

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CAMEL SNARLS

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Thisman has just given me his dagger.

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And now...

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Do I need, do I really need a gun?

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So he's going to give me his gun?

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OK. I know nothing, precisely nothing, about guns. Is it loaded?

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It's not loaded?

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Are you sure? Can you show me?

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Show me that it's not loaded.

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OK, that's fine. Thank you. The weapons are just for show.

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Today,most of these men carry no more 
than a mobile phone and car keys.

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So I carry like this?Yes.

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Like that? So this is good?

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So now I have my dagger, I have my gun. 
So I just need my camel.

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This is the camel? So should I take the camel?

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This is my camel here?

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OK, I'm ready.

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We go, go!

92
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I'm following you.

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The camel trains would have been accompanied by up to 60 men,

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who would take charge of the camels and protect the cargo.

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Today we're aiming to walk 12 miles.

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The original caravans would have covered 
twice that distance in the same time.

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When the frankincense was all gathered 
it was taken on caravans like this

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to a central trading point, and from that trading point 
it was then taken by one group of people.

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They were called the Minaeans. They actually 
originated in Yemen, but they would come here

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to the Dhofar region of Oman with their caravans of camels, and would

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collect all the incense and make the extraordinary journey to the port

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of Gaza, 2,000 miles to the north.

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That journey would take roughly 180 to 210 days.

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I've been walking for a couple of hours, and it's hard to conceive...

105
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..having that sort of length of journey ahead of me.

106
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It is ahead of me, but luckily I'm not having to rely 
on my feet and this guy to get me there.

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Our caravan consists of 300 camels, most of them belonging to this man, Albert.

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He's 50 years old, and with two marriages behind him
- both arranged, and both failed - he now

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lives with his camels day and night, and makes 
money from selling their milk and newborn calves.

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HE CALLS OUT

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And although he knows their ways better than anyone, getting

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all 300 of them to move in the same direction is 
difficult enough, even without a camera crew in the way.

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HE SHOUTS

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There's been a mutiny amongst our camels.

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All the young camels that weren't loaded have bolted round the side,

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and there's a lot of shouting going on into mobile phones, 
which is obviously the modern way

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of herding camels.

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And I'm just going to findout what we do now, 
becausewe've obviously all got separated.

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Four-wheel drives soon round them up, but this would've 
been a disaster for the ancient traders.

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Losing control of their camels would've cost them precious time

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and possibly the loss of some of their cargo.

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So our mutiny of camels have been rounded up again,

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and this is a very novel way of getting them up this slope.

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We, the camera crew that's freaked them out in the first place,

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have moved back, but that lorry, 
the truck that they are following

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has got a big tank of water in and the smell of the water is enough

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to pull the camels up the slope.

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How far can a camel travel without drinking?

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One month?

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No problem?

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Albert doesn't need much sustenance either.

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He lives mostly on his camel's milk, which he 
thinks gives him superhuman strength.

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Look at you! Did you have your appendix out?

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And they couldn't do it?

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I wouldn't want to be in a fight with him.

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I think you would win!

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HE SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE

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He could? Ready?

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THEY LAUGH

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You can't! I've got a gun and everything!

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That's it!

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ALL LAUGH

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THEY SING

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I don't feel this is very elegant at all.

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Before I know it, Albert has got me dancing.

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This dance is how the Al-Mahri tribe seal their marriage.

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I think Albert may have chosen me as wife number three.

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Goodness knows what's going to happen!

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How quickly can you get a divorce in Oman?

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The sun is going down, the temperature's dropped dramatically,

151
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and suddenly this just feels like the best place in the world to be.

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Surrounded by all these insane men.

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I wish this guy was coming with me, cos I think 
we'd have some adventures. Hey, Albert!

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Everything is good? OK!

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So shall I unload him here? OK.

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After 10 hours, we've covered the 12 miles 
to the tribes' traditional camp site.

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I'm exhausted, but for the men of the 
Al-Mahri tribe the party is just beginning.

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As soon as they arrive it's tradition

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for them to play a game called mafdit, that tests their strength.

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Holding two rocks, they leap as far as they can.

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96-year-old, Mussalem was the reigning champion 
for 40 years, and he's not giving up just yet.

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THEY CHEER

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But Albert's not going to be upstaged for long.

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I cheer from the sidelines with the women.

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The Al Mahri tribe uses dance to tell the story

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of what happened to each of them during their long journey

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and they dance late into the night.

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Tomorrow, I leave Albert and his tribe to 
follow the trail into Yemen, a country

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the Foreign Office lists as one of 
the most dangerous places on earth.

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The Yemeni border is one hour's drive 
from the camp and I'm nervous.

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Nearly 40 years of civil unrest between 
the government and the desert tribes

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has been made worse by the recent discovery of oil and gas.

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Independent travel is not advised and we're 
not even sure we'll be granted visas to enter.

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This is ourfirst really big test, I think,

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this border crossing.

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Yemen has a slightly dodgy reputation at the moment.

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I know this border isn't used too much so 
what they're going to think of a British woman

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with two sticky boiled sweet-like sackfuls of incense, I've no idea.

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Salaam Aleikum...

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Salam.

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Hello, welcome.Thank you very much. Thank you.

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00:16:14,620 --> 00:16:21,220
The original frankincense traders faced 
checkpoints as well. Salaam Aleikum...

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Every time they crossed tribal lines they had to negotiate 
their passage with a payment of frankincense.

184
00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:35,060
It'sfrom Dhofar, Omani frankincense.

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The customs officials don't want any of mine but their

186
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security check is very thorough and they go through everything.

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There you are, you can have a root in there.

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00:16:47,580 --> 00:16:52,260
From here on, I have to travel with a security team.

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00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:57,740
Julian Davies is an ex-British Army major 
who's in charge of our safety.

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00:16:57,780 --> 00:17:03,540
The threat from Al-Qaeda does exist and there's 
a pretty steady tempo of attacks in the country.

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00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:06,980
Now the first thing is, there's a sequence of events

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I want things to follow if we do have an incident or an accident.

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00:17:11,260 --> 00:17:15,740
Julian has left me in no doubt that we're entering dangerous territory.

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00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:21,140
There's only one road to our next stop and it takes us right through

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the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden.

196
00:17:27,820 --> 00:17:34,940
Now what happened in the last Al-Qaeda attack 
was that a tourist convoy was bunched up and they

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00:17:34,980 --> 00:17:39,300
were all caught up in an ambush on the side of a popular tourist route,

198
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not that far from here actually and as the tourist 
convey passed they opened fire with automatic weapons

199
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:50,460
and tragically killed two Belgian tourists and a Yemeni driver.

200
00:17:54,020 --> 00:17:58,100
Surely, the way to travel in this sort of situation

201
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is to try and be relatively low key - that would be my feeling.

202
00:18:02,420 --> 00:18:07,220
But now we've got a police escort. We've got a van with four guys,

203
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with their uniforms on and big guns

204
00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:17,020
and I would say that would make us more of a target,
 but then I'm not a Yemeni policeman.

205
00:18:22,140 --> 00:18:27,580
As we get closer to our destination, signs of life emerge from the desert.

206
00:18:32,300 --> 00:18:39,060
The mud brick houses that line the road could've
 been built yesterday or 1,000 years ago.

207
00:18:44,260 --> 00:18:48,380
Then the world's first city of skyscrapers appears on the horizon.

208
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This is Shibam.

209
00:18:54,900 --> 00:19:01,500
When the first frankincense traders passed through here 
3,000 years ago it was little more than a camp site.

210
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But prosperity brought by their trade built the world's first high-rise city.

211
00:19:11,180 --> 00:19:18,340
Each of its 500 buildings is made from mud, the tallest is 11 storeys high.

212
00:19:18,380 --> 00:19:23,740
In the shade of the city gates is an open air tea shop 
that's rumoured to have been running for 1,000 years.

213
00:19:23,780 --> 00:19:28,900
It's called, unsurprisingly, The Thousand Year Old Tea Shop.

214
00:19:30,460 --> 00:19:33,940
Arabic tea is strong, sweet and delicious...

215
00:19:37,580 --> 00:19:40,140
And this one is spiced with ginger.

216
00:19:40,180 --> 00:19:43,900
It's the sort of thingyour mum would give youwhen you had a cold.

217
00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:50,500
Dominoes is the game of choice to while away the time here.

218
00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:55,900
These men, like most in Shibam, work the farms that surround the city.

219
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They come here to escape the midday sun.

220
00:20:03,980 --> 00:20:07,260
Inas is to be my translator here. Thank you so much.

221
00:20:07,300 --> 00:20:08,780
How are you? How do you feel?

222
00:20:08,820 --> 00:20:12,180
Quite long journey. Quite tired. I understand.

223
00:20:12,220 --> 00:20:14,700
But, this is just a beautiful place.

224
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She's arranged for me to attend the blessing of a newborn child.

225
00:20:18,580 --> 00:20:23,180
It's a huge honour and a wonderful opportunity 
to see inside these incredible buildings.

226
00:20:23,220 --> 00:20:27,300
You know, when you've seen a lot of pictures and you've heard a lot

227
00:20:27,340 --> 00:20:32,700
about a place, it's almost that it's mythical but 
you can't really believe it actually exists.

228
00:20:32,740 --> 00:20:35,940
They really are mud skyscrapers, aren't they?

229
00:20:35,980 --> 00:20:40,340
Salaam Aleikum, I think we should go this way.This way?

230
00:20:40,380 --> 00:20:46,340
Yeah.That lady who just went past us she's completely covered.

231
00:20:46,380 --> 00:20:50,420
You're not and I'm definitely not, is that going to be a problem here?

232
00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:52,260
No, definitely not.

233
00:20:52,300 --> 00:20:58,540
These people still stick to the traditions to wear black, to be all black

234
00:20:58,580 --> 00:21:04,940
because they live in the other cities, 
in the capital, and life there is different.

235
00:21:04,980 --> 00:21:10,060
I can dress this way. The main thing is 
that I'm covering all my skin and my hair.

236
00:21:10,100 --> 00:21:14,900
For you, they expect that you don't 
wear like them because you have

237
00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:20,460
got your own lifestyle, you've got 
your own beliefs, so they don't mind.

238
00:21:20,500 --> 00:21:23,020
But it's not offensive if I'm not covered up?Not at all.

239
00:21:23,060 --> 00:21:27,940
Are we close? Yes, this is actually 
the house, they are waiting for us.

240
00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:32,740
We're meeting the Salem family and, as is custom here,

241
00:21:32,780 --> 00:21:37,180
the entire extended family lives together in the same house.

242
00:21:42,060 --> 00:21:43,860
Look at the hand print on the wall.

243
00:21:45,820 --> 00:21:48,380
Yeah. We need to take off our shoes here.

244
00:21:48,420 --> 00:21:50,500
OK.

245
00:21:50,540 --> 00:21:55,260
The women of the house live behind closed doors and behind the veil.

246
00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:58,060
To be welcomed in is a real privilege.

247
00:22:08,420 --> 00:22:13,540
Afrar is the mother of the child and is 
the one who's going to perform the blessing.

248
00:22:13,580 --> 00:22:19,540
It's an ancient custom, dating back at 
least 2,000 years, far older than Islam.

249
00:22:19,580 --> 00:22:24,740
One of my first duties as a guest in this household is to provide

250
00:22:24,780 --> 00:22:28,580
frankincense for the blessing of a child which is happening today.

251
00:22:28,620 --> 00:22:31,980
We have a little problem though of how to film it because there's

252
00:22:32,020 --> 00:22:36,260
absolutely no men allowed in this room while the blessing goes on.

253
00:22:36,300 --> 00:22:39,100
It's only the women and the children of the household.

254
00:22:39,140 --> 00:22:41,860
So we're just going to set up a camera, the camera crew

255
00:22:41,900 --> 00:22:46,140
have got to clear off and it will just be me and the girls.

256
00:22:51,220 --> 00:22:54,340
Afrar's baby girl, Heba, is six months old.

257
00:22:54,380 --> 00:22:57,260
Most children are blessed at around this age.

258
00:23:00,260 --> 00:23:07,300
She uses the frankincense smoke to cleanse 
and purify the child and to ward away evil spirits.

259
00:23:11,020 --> 00:23:14,940
I wonder whether the frankincense brought by the three wise men

260
00:23:14,980 --> 00:23:18,220
was used this way to bless the baby Jesus.

261
00:23:23,140 --> 00:23:26,540
Half an hour later the blessing is complete.

262
00:23:26,580 --> 00:23:30,740
Every child born in Shibam is welcomed this way.

263
00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:36,260
Now Heba joins them, protected by a tradition 
as old as the frankincense trail.

264
00:23:41,940 --> 00:23:44,980
The calm of the blessing has made it easy to forget that this desert

265
00:23:45,020 --> 00:23:49,940
frontier town stands at the edge of a troubled country.

266
00:23:49,980 --> 00:23:52,380
Are there any problems along this route here,

267
00:23:52,420 --> 00:23:55,420
with local tribes or anything like that?

268
00:23:55,460 --> 00:23:59,140
Before we leave, the police warn Julian of potential danger

269
00:23:59,180 --> 00:24:02,500
along the road to our next stop, the city of Shabwa.

270
00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:09,900
Anything further west is a really strong tribal area 
and the problems between the tribes means that

271
00:24:09,940 --> 00:24:14,500
some of the tribes will kidnap any foreigners 
that go into the area as a bargaining tool.

272
00:24:14,540 --> 00:24:18,060
Anything west of there is a no-go area as far as foreigners are concerned.

273
00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:21,660
Oh, right, that's really disappointing.

274
00:24:23,220 --> 00:24:27,260
So, we're not allowed to go the way of the original traders to Shabwa,

275
00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:31,220
but we can pick up another part of the trail that began with the advent

276
00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:38,180
of sea trade 2,000 years ago, when frankincense 
was shipped to Qana and then carried overland.

277
00:24:38,220 --> 00:24:42,380
This tribal conflict is real, they're not just making it up

278
00:24:42,420 --> 00:24:45,220
but it's not obvious to a foreigner, you can't...

279
00:24:45,260 --> 00:24:50,380
you don't pick it up. There aren't sort of, you know, orders as such

280
00:24:50,420 --> 00:24:55,620
and it's not like you knowwhen you're 
crossing a border into hostile territory.

281
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:58,620
It's sort of insidious, it could come from anywhere.

282
00:24:58,660 --> 00:25:01,620
People keep telling me, there is a risk, there is a risk.

283
00:25:01,660 --> 00:25:06,940
So at the back of your mind it's like 
you're being forced to have a kind of

284
00:25:06,980 --> 00:25:10,820
jumpy feeling that you wouldn't normally have because it doesn't

285
00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:14,540
out there, it doesn't feel like you need to be jumpy. It really doesn't.

286
00:25:20,860 --> 00:25:28,340
So we head off away from the danger zone and 
towards the ancient seaport of Qana, 300 miles away.

287
00:25:29,980 --> 00:25:35,940
Outside it's 47 degrees and there is uninhabited 
desert as far as the eye can see,

288
00:25:35,980 --> 00:25:40,780
but, amazingly, in the middle of nowhere is a road-side cafe.

289
00:25:57,300 --> 00:26:01,300
It's the main meal for us. It's healthier really, it's fresh.

290
00:26:01,340 --> 00:26:04,780
People don't like any food that is not fresh

291
00:26:04,820 --> 00:26:07,380
and cooked at the same time. They would refuse it.

292
00:26:08,940 --> 00:26:10,980
We've been here, I would say,

293
00:26:11,020 --> 00:26:17,300
less than ten minutes and the Yemeni end 
has done rather better than the rest of us.

294
00:26:17,340 --> 00:26:19,020
God these guys eat fast!

295
00:26:20,740 --> 00:26:24,020
I think they want to get back onto the road

296
00:26:24,060 --> 00:26:29,980
which is probably a good thing as we've 
still got many, many hours to travel.

297
00:26:35,380 --> 00:26:41,820
After driving all day we reach the Arabian sea and the port of Qana.

298
00:26:41,860 --> 00:26:46,220
This now empty bay was once a major hub for the frankincense trade.

299
00:26:46,260 --> 00:26:51,340
Up to to 10,000 tonnes of it was shipped here annually from Oman

300
00:26:51,380 --> 00:26:54,220
and an entire city was built around its wealth.

301
00:26:54,260 --> 00:27:00,860
It's amazing to think that well, according to the Roman historian, Pliny,

302
00:27:00,900 --> 00:27:07,220
500BC to 500AD, and that's a long time, that's 1,000 years, this was

303
00:27:07,260 --> 00:27:11,460
one of the most important ports of the Arabian Gulf.

304
00:27:12,340 --> 00:27:18,380
These ruins are all that remain of the fortified 
warehouses that stored the frankincense.

305
00:27:18,420 --> 00:27:23,500
The cargo was so valuable they were built like ancient bank vaults.

306
00:27:23,540 --> 00:27:28,980
This city was rumoured to be so rich that the traders who lived here

307
00:27:29,020 --> 00:27:33,820
in their stone houses,had gold and silveraround their doors, apparently.

308
00:27:33,860 --> 00:27:37,180
Down there, those buildings would have been stuffed to the gunnels

309
00:27:37,220 --> 00:27:42,660
with frankincense and out there not little fishing boats 
but sailing boats and rowing boats that have

310
00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:49,660
come all the way from Dhofar in Oman where I started 
my journey to here carrying their priceless cargo.

311
00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:52,140
Out there,there would have been camel caravans

312
00:27:52,180 --> 00:27:56,620
carrying this frankincense way into the heartland of Yemen.

313
00:28:02,860 --> 00:28:09,660
The next morning I'm following the trail north to find one 
of the great monuments of the frankincense trade.

314
00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:14,900
It's hostile territory and I'm travelling 
with the protection of the Yemeni Army.

315
00:28:14,940 --> 00:28:17,660
It's hard to imagine what would've been going through

316
00:28:17,700 --> 00:28:21,140
the cameleer's heads when they got to this point of the trail.

317
00:28:21,180 --> 00:28:27,220
This landscape is very unforgiving and it's early 
in the morning now and it's already searingly hot.

318
00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:31,140
The sun's just kicking off all this black rock and sand.

319
00:28:34,180 --> 00:28:39,020
As many as 10,000 loaded camels walked along this track each year,

320
00:28:39,060 --> 00:28:42,220
tirelessly trudging 12 hours a day.

321
00:28:42,260 --> 00:28:47,180
Our lead vehicle barely makes it to mid-morning before its tyre punctures.

322
00:28:48,860 --> 00:28:51,620
It's gone completely now.

323
00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:57,500
We come to a complete stop, three miles away 
from the landmark I've come to see.

324
00:28:57,540 --> 00:29:01,500
Basically what's happening is that

325
00:29:01,540 --> 00:29:07,340
the drivers of our vehicles don't want to go any further up this Wadi

326
00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:09,740
because they're worried about their cars.

327
00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:17,140
Maybe one hour.One hour, yes, I know, that's why we have to start.

328
00:29:17,180 --> 00:29:20,100
With no alternative, we have to walk.

329
00:29:26,500 --> 00:29:31,980
This barely discernable path is 2,000 years old

330
00:29:32,020 --> 00:29:35,980
and it was the principal route that every single caravan took

331
00:29:36,020 --> 00:29:41,940
and the reason that we know that they definitely took this route

332
00:29:41,980 --> 00:29:46,860
is because the tribe in Shabwa was so powerful...

333
00:29:48,420 --> 00:29:52,700
..that it took tax from every single caravan

334
00:29:52,740 --> 00:29:57,300
and the way they did that was that they built this astonishing gate

335
00:29:57,340 --> 00:30:02,260
across this Wadi and every caravan was filtered down here

336
00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:06,300
and through this gate and if they didn't, if they thought,

337
00:30:06,340 --> 00:30:09,780
"Ha-ha, we could be sneaky" because there must be lots of ways

338
00:30:09,820 --> 00:30:12,980
across this mountain, they could be punished,

339
00:30:13,020 --> 00:30:16,700
and it wasn't just any old punishment, it was death.

340
00:30:24,780 --> 00:30:28,020
This ancient gate is a reminder of a forgotten civilization

341
00:30:28,060 --> 00:30:31,620
which became rich on the frankincense trade.

342
00:30:31,660 --> 00:30:35,980
For close to 1,000 years the tribes who controlled this region

343
00:30:36,020 --> 00:30:39,620
claimed a quarter of all the goods that passed through here.

344
00:30:39,660 --> 00:30:43,060
Generations of frankincense traders had to pay up

345
00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:46,460
before they could continue their journey north.

346
00:30:48,860 --> 00:30:51,340
But the ongoing tribal conflict

347
00:30:51,380 --> 00:30:55,660
means I can't follow their path towards Saudi Arabia.

348
00:30:55,700 --> 00:31:00,020
Instead I have to skirt around the edge of the danger zone to Aden,

349
00:31:00,060 --> 00:31:03,260
Yemen's modern capital of the frankincense trade.

350
00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:10,860
Seven hours later,

351
00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:14,700
the volcanic skyline of Aden appears on the horizon.

352
00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:17,940
Its port is the oldest and deepest in Arabia

353
00:31:17,980 --> 00:31:22,100
and the city is built in the crater of an extinct volcano.

354
00:31:25,580 --> 00:31:29,900
Its strategic position made it a target for the British empire,

355
00:31:29,940 --> 00:31:34,300
which ruled here from 1839 to 1967.

356
00:31:37,820 --> 00:31:42,580
I'm joining Sheikh Tariq, a lawyer, who remembers those colonial days.

357
00:31:42,620 --> 00:31:46,820
Did Aden feel quite British during the British era?

358
00:31:46,860 --> 00:31:49,660
Oh, yes, yes, certainly very much so.

359
00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:55,020
So did you have things like red post boxes?All around.

360
00:31:55,060 --> 00:31:59,180
Really?Imagine in the early '50s

361
00:31:59,220 --> 00:32:04,140
brand new buildings, five to six storeys,

362
00:32:04,180 --> 00:32:10,220
all of these 80 to 90% were occupied by the British families.

363
00:32:12,060 --> 00:32:15,820
Although Aden was a British colony for 128 years,

364
00:32:15,860 --> 00:32:19,500
there's little left of any colonial influence.

365
00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:21,500
Except, of course, for a statue

366
00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:25,100
of the most commemorated British monarch in history.

367
00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:30,780
I cant believe there's still a statue of Queen Victoria in Aden.

368
00:32:30,820 --> 00:32:34,620
After the socialists came in,

369
00:32:34,660 --> 00:32:39,260
after the independence, then this was removed.

370
00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:43,940
Since then the British government continued to ask for it.

371
00:32:43,980 --> 00:32:46,140
Oh, really they wanted it back?

372
00:32:46,180 --> 00:32:51,300
They said, "We want it, if you don't want it 
where is our Queen Victoria's statue?

373
00:32:51,340 --> 00:32:54,300
We want it back. We will take it back. We want it."

374
00:32:54,340 --> 00:32:59,420
And it was not given to them until the Duke of York came here

375
00:32:59,460 --> 00:33:04,180
and when he said that Queen Victoria was his great grandmother

376
00:33:04,220 --> 00:33:07,220
they felt so shy and sentimental about it

377
00:33:07,260 --> 00:33:12,380
that they got it out somewhere, she was cleaned up and then put here.

378
00:33:12,420 --> 00:33:16,980
And there she is, in all her slightly rotund glory.

379
00:33:17,020 --> 00:33:20,180
But would most people living in Aden today, I mean,

380
00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:23,860
do they think it slightly strange to have a British Queen?

381
00:33:23,900 --> 00:33:27,940
Some of them feel strange about it,

382
00:33:27,980 --> 00:33:29,700
but it's being tolerated.

383
00:33:29,740 --> 00:33:33,940
The people of Aden have had to tolerate not only the British,

384
00:33:33,980 --> 00:33:37,460
but the Russian's and the Portuguese who also ruled here.

385
00:33:37,500 --> 00:33:40,380
Now its colonial days are long gone,

386
00:33:40,420 --> 00:33:43,780
but the ports prosperity remains and it's become the hub

387
00:33:43,820 --> 00:33:47,260
from which frankincense is shipped across the globe.

388
00:33:47,300 --> 00:33:51,620
I've come to the warehouse of one of the world's biggest traders.

389
00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:54,740
This is main warehouse district of Aden

390
00:33:54,780 --> 00:33:58,500
and I'm hoping that I can find someone

391
00:33:58,540 --> 00:34:03,060
who can tell me a bit about this frankincense.

392
00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:07,020
Look at this place,

393
00:34:07,060 --> 00:34:10,980
it's definitely selling aromatics.

394
00:34:11,020 --> 00:34:13,300
It's amazing.

395
00:34:13,340 --> 00:34:14,820
This way, OK.

396
00:34:18,740 --> 00:34:24,700
Gosh, I feel like I've gone back about 200 years in time.

397
00:34:24,740 --> 00:34:26,260
This is amazing.

398
00:34:26,300 --> 00:34:28,180
As-Salamu Alaykum.

399
00:34:28,220 --> 00:34:31,180
Sarfaraz was born an incense trader.

400
00:34:31,220 --> 00:34:35,900
Four generations of his family have operated out of this warehouse.

401
00:34:35,940 --> 00:34:38,260
The smoke of the resin he sells

402
00:34:38,300 --> 00:34:42,420
will rise in temples and churches all over the world.

403
00:34:42,460 --> 00:34:48,380
My, my little sack is feeling very insignificant all of a sudden.

404
00:34:48,420 --> 00:34:52,820
Sarfaraz employs a team of professional incense graders,

405
00:34:52,860 --> 00:34:57,580
who sort through the frankincense and take out all the impurities.

406
00:34:57,620 --> 00:35:00,860
Like diamonds,each lump of resin

407
00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:04,220
is graded according to its clarity and weight.

408
00:35:04,260 --> 00:35:08,620
This warehouse is absolutely packed to the roof with sacks.

409
00:35:08,660 --> 00:35:11,620
It's clearly still a thriving business.

410
00:35:11,660 --> 00:35:15,740
This is actually used in a variety of uses,

411
00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:18,180
one of it is for household burning.OK.

412
00:35:18,220 --> 00:35:23,140
and it's also used in medicine and perfumes also.

413
00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:29,220
Extracts from the frankincense shipped from here,

414
00:35:29,260 --> 00:35:33,500
will be used to make some of the worlds best known perfume brands.

415
00:35:36,180 --> 00:35:39,660
OK, well I'm slightly embarrassed now to show you

416
00:35:39,700 --> 00:35:43,940
my pathetic little store of frankincense compared to yours,

417
00:35:43,980 --> 00:35:50,020
um, but I'd love to know what you think of it.

418
00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:01,940
Where would this be on the scale of good to bad?

419
00:36:01,980 --> 00:36:09,180
Well, this is of the highest side of a very good one.

420
00:36:09,220 --> 00:36:11,140
Absolute, er, you know...

421
00:36:11,180 --> 00:36:14,380
Top, top quality.Top, top quality. This is top of the range.

422
00:36:14,420 --> 00:36:16,900
Top of the range? Yes, this is top of the range.

423
00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:21,380
Sarfaraz said he'd be able to sell my frankincense

424
00:36:21,420 --> 00:36:24,460
for four times the amount I bought it for in Oman.

425
00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:28,260
3000 years on, frankincense still has the power

426
00:36:28,300 --> 00:36:31,660
to generate wealth in this ancient port.

427
00:36:34,460 --> 00:36:36,980
The next day, I couldn't resist going to see

428
00:36:37,020 --> 00:36:39,700
one of the world's craziest sporting events.

429
00:36:39,740 --> 00:36:44,060
It's taking place in a village just off the road north of Aden.

430
00:36:44,100 --> 00:36:46,020
I catch a lift with a local.

431
00:36:51,740 --> 00:36:54,420
What I'm about to witness is camel jumping...

432
00:36:54,460 --> 00:36:58,980
Not camels jumping, but men jumping camels.

433
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:06,740
Unsurprisingly, the men of the Zaranique tribe

434
00:37:06,780 --> 00:37:10,780
are the only people in the world who practice this sport.

435
00:37:10,820 --> 00:37:14,580
The camels are lined up into position, ready for the big event.

436
00:37:14,620 --> 00:37:20,980
So this is obviously how you prepare to jump over a camel.

437
00:37:21,020 --> 00:37:25,220
Or if the rumour is true, several camels.

438
00:37:28,900 --> 00:37:33,100
To give you an idea of height... I'm about 5'9"

439
00:37:33,140 --> 00:37:37,620
and this camel has got to be over two metres in height.

440
00:37:39,980 --> 00:37:42,700
MELODIC FLUTE MUSIC

441
00:37:42,740 --> 00:37:44,980
Camel jumping is a rite of passage

442
00:37:45,020 --> 00:37:47,500
for the young men of the Zaranique tribe.

443
00:37:47,540 --> 00:37:50,420
They claim they don't use weapons in battle,

444
00:37:50,460 --> 00:37:53,380
they rely instead on their famed stamina and strength

445
00:37:53,420 --> 00:37:54,820
to overcome their enemies.

446
00:37:54,860 --> 00:38:00,940
Camel jumping is a way of honing and proving that physical prowess.

447
00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:05,300
These are today's competitors.

448
00:38:05,340 --> 00:38:06,540
The rules are simple.

449
00:38:06,580 --> 00:38:09,900
The man who jumps cleanly over the most camels is the winner.

450
00:38:11,780 --> 00:38:15,420
There's obviously a real pride in this

451
00:38:15,460 --> 00:38:18,020
and everyone's just, kind of, gathering around

452
00:38:18,060 --> 00:38:20,980
and trickling in from the villages.

453
00:38:28,540 --> 00:38:31,580
With the camels firmly held in place by their tails,

454
00:38:31,620 --> 00:38:33,580
the competition starts.

455
00:38:46,460 --> 00:38:48,060
The favourite, Ahmed,

456
00:38:48,100 --> 00:38:51,140
makes the warm up two camel jump look easy.

457
00:38:53,580 --> 00:38:56,580
But this is just the start and Mohammed,

458
00:38:56,620 --> 00:38:59,020
the smallest of all the competitors,

459
00:38:59,060 --> 00:39:01,860
isn't going to let lack of stature be a handicap.

460
00:39:01,900 --> 00:39:03,380
You can hardly bear to watch!

461
00:39:08,980 --> 00:39:12,660
Three camels prove a hump too far for some.

462
00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:19,060
It's not funny.

463
00:39:19,100 --> 00:39:21,020
That must really hurt!

464
00:39:25,180 --> 00:39:27,060
And then it's four camels

465
00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:29,700
and just two men left in the running.

466
00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:44,500
Oh, someone's jumping now, someone's jumping now. That's four camels.

467
00:39:48,460 --> 00:39:50,820
This just seems madness.

468
00:39:50,860 --> 00:39:54,460
I mean, some of the guys are barely clearing four camels.

469
00:39:58,380 --> 00:40:00,740
Five camels has got to be too many, surely.

470
00:40:00,780 --> 00:40:04,700
Without delay, Ahmed charges in full steam ahead.

471
00:40:12,220 --> 00:40:13,900
Now the favourite is out,

472
00:40:13,940 --> 00:40:17,300
16-year-old, Mohammed, is the last one left.

473
00:40:19,620 --> 00:40:21,820
Tribal respect is won with these jumps.

474
00:40:21,860 --> 00:40:24,740
If he makes this, he'll be considered a warrior.

475
00:40:30,740 --> 00:40:32,740
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

476
00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:35,140
And in the end there can be only one champion.

477
00:40:35,180 --> 00:40:40,620
Mohammed's prize is the admiration of the entire tribe.

478
00:40:40,660 --> 00:40:42,580
Where is he? Here he is.

479
00:40:42,620 --> 00:40:46,700
Shall we give him a clap?

480
00:40:46,740 --> 00:40:49,860
You did really good, really well.

481
00:40:51,980 --> 00:40:55,580
I'm leaving the Zaranique tribe and the desert plains

482
00:40:55,620 --> 00:40:57,740
to cross the Haraz mountain range,

483
00:40:57,780 --> 00:41:01,180
the home of the highest peaks in the Arabian Peninsula.

484
00:41:03,460 --> 00:41:09,020
3,000 metres above sea level, it's a different world up here.

485
00:41:09,060 --> 00:41:12,300
95% of Yemen's land is desert,

486
00:41:12,340 --> 00:41:16,900
so these rich, green valleys are treasured for agriculture.

487
00:41:16,940 --> 00:41:19,980
Terraces, cut into the steep cliffs,

488
00:41:20,020 --> 00:41:23,060
use every corner of its fertile land.

489
00:41:30,460 --> 00:41:32,860
High above them, at the top of the Haraz Ridge,

490
00:41:32,900 --> 00:41:35,940
medieval fortresses stand guard.

491
00:41:35,980 --> 00:41:40,020
Their towers were built from the granite cliffs they rest on.

492
00:41:40,060 --> 00:41:42,860
Today, people visit them for their magnificent views,

493
00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:47,380
but once, they defended the nation's capital.

494
00:41:47,420 --> 00:41:49,700
Cradled in the heart of the Yemeni highlands

495
00:41:49,740 --> 00:41:52,900
is the ancient, beautiful city of Sana'a.

496
00:42:00,220 --> 00:42:02,420
It's known as Shem city,

497
00:42:02,460 --> 00:42:05,460
after the son of Noah, who, according to legend,

498
00:42:05,500 --> 00:42:07,860
built it on the highest ground he could find

499
00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:10,740
after the waters of the great flood had subsided.

500
00:42:21,660 --> 00:42:26,900
It's a UNESCO world heritage site and like a living museum.

501
00:42:26,940 --> 00:42:30,380
At the heart of the old city is the spice market,

502
00:42:30,420 --> 00:42:34,140
where goods have been bought and sold for thousands of years.

503
00:42:36,900 --> 00:42:39,620
It's not good quality though.

504
00:42:39,660 --> 00:42:45,060
Smell it. Fiver.No, no, this isn't what I'm looking for.

505
00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:48,700
Do you know the white frankincense, like Omani?

506
00:42:48,740 --> 00:42:50,260
Yes, yes.

507
00:42:51,940 --> 00:42:53,180
Like this.

508
00:42:53,220 --> 00:42:55,060
Ah, that's looking a little better.

509
00:42:55,100 --> 00:42:59,780
Carbon, number one. This is number one, is it?Yes.

510
00:42:59,820 --> 00:43:02,260
Excuse me, stop rubbing it.

511
00:43:02,300 --> 00:43:03,780
You're such a bully.

512
00:43:03,820 --> 00:43:06,060
This frankincense works very good.

513
00:43:06,100 --> 00:43:09,180
For this, Madame, good! Yes!

514
00:43:09,220 --> 00:43:12,100
What are you saying? I don't smell that bad.

515
00:43:12,140 --> 00:43:15,300
Do you use this at home?Yes.

516
00:43:15,340 --> 00:43:16,460
Yeah? For what?

517
00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:17,820
House.

518
00:43:17,860 --> 00:43:19,300
For Kadisa?

519
00:43:19,340 --> 00:43:21,820
For against insects? Buz-z-z-z-z-z-z!

520
00:43:21,860 --> 00:43:22,860
Brilliant.

521
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:24,140
Buz-z-z-z-z, no! Gone.

522
00:43:30,780 --> 00:43:33,380
On Sana'a's streets many women are veiled.

523
00:43:33,420 --> 00:43:35,460
So far, I haven't worn one,

524
00:43:35,500 --> 00:43:38,620
but tomorrow I leave for a Saudi Arabia,

525
00:43:38,660 --> 00:43:42,260
a country so shut off from the out side world,

526
00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:45,940
I've no idea what to expect or what I'll have to wear.

527
00:43:45,980 --> 00:43:50,460
But Inas is helping me prepare for every possibility.

528
00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:54,860
I'm just worried about how I should behave, you know?

529
00:43:54,900 --> 00:43:58,020
Yemen feels very easy and I think Saudi is going to be,

530
00:43:58,060 --> 00:44:00,860
I don't know, do I, sort of, walk with my head down.

531
00:44:00,900 --> 00:44:04,380
There's a stereo type that we don't accept others as they are,

532
00:44:04,420 --> 00:44:06,500
and we want them to be just like us.Yeah.

533
00:44:06,540 --> 00:44:09,780
That's not true in all Arab countries, not just Saudi Arabia.

534
00:44:09,820 --> 00:44:11,900
They accept you as you are.OK.

535
00:44:11,940 --> 00:44:15,540
Are you wearing, kind of, jeans and a t-shirt under that?

536
00:44:15,580 --> 00:44:19,100
I'm wearing the same thing you're wearing, just underneath it.

537
00:44:19,140 --> 00:44:21,780
So, it is almost like a, kind of... an overcoat.

538
00:44:21,820 --> 00:44:26,700
Exactly. Even in Arabic it's the same translation for overcoat.

539
00:44:26,740 --> 00:44:29,260
Oh, is it? Balto means overcoat?Yes.

540
00:44:29,300 --> 00:44:30,740
Ah-ha, OK.

541
00:44:30,780 --> 00:44:33,660
Let's cross the street. It's that one.

542
00:44:33,700 --> 00:44:36,060
It's got a whole sign for them and everything!

543
00:44:37,020 --> 00:44:38,300
CAR HORN TOOTS

544
00:44:40,300 --> 00:44:45,220
So, Inas is taking me to one Sanaa's best known shops for baltos.

545
00:44:49,100 --> 00:44:50,660
What do you suggest for Saudi?

546
00:44:50,700 --> 00:44:52,700
Do you think I should go quite simple?

547
00:44:52,740 --> 00:44:56,860
No, no, no.Flashy?They love flashy, more decoration.Really?

548
00:44:56,900 --> 00:44:59,220
SHE SPEAKS IN ARABIC

549
00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:07,700
That's quite elegant. Look at that. What do you think?

550
00:45:07,740 --> 00:45:10,180
This is the longest. The longest one they have.

551
00:45:10,220 --> 00:45:13,060
If it doesn't fit we have to change the store.OK.

552
00:45:13,100 --> 00:45:15,220
I hope it fits because it looks elegant.

553
00:45:15,260 --> 00:45:17,340
Let's try it.

554
00:45:17,380 --> 00:45:20,060
Better quality, the fabric is better.

555
00:45:20,100 --> 00:45:21,700
Oh, yeah this is long.

556
00:45:24,380 --> 00:45:29,500
What do you think? Yeah? It's good? OK, so...

557
00:45:29,540 --> 00:45:33,700
And here is the scarf, which is the same.

558
00:45:33,740 --> 00:45:35,820
Oh, yeah. OK.Have a seat.

559
00:45:38,700 --> 00:45:42,580
So that you wouldn't look funny in the store.

560
00:45:42,620 --> 00:45:46,780
You're going to have to give me intensive lessons on how to do this.

561
00:45:46,820 --> 00:45:51,980
Tonight?Yeah, I can barely put on a warm muffler scarf.

562
00:45:52,020 --> 00:45:53,700
Do I look like mother Theresa?

563
00:45:55,940 --> 00:45:58,620
If I'm putting make up and I'm going to a wedding,

564
00:45:58,660 --> 00:46:02,660
I have to wear this thing! So please 
experience my suffering...sometimes.

565
00:46:02,700 --> 00:46:06,020
I am experiencing... This too weird.

566
00:46:06,060 --> 00:46:11,620
And can you breathe?No. You look like a Sanaran lady.

567
00:46:11,660 --> 00:46:14,980
Do I look like I'm looking out of a pillar box?

568
00:46:16,820 --> 00:46:18,340
And what about this bit?

569
00:46:18,380 --> 00:46:21,140
When do you have to cover up all of yourself?

570
00:46:21,180 --> 00:46:24,860
If you're putting lots of eye shadow.

571
00:46:24,900 --> 00:46:28,100
Because, you know in Arab countries we put on a lot of make up.

572
00:46:28,140 --> 00:46:31,300
So can I just ask an incredibly obvious question?

573
00:46:31,340 --> 00:46:35,420
Why not just wander around with no makeup on looking like...?

574
00:46:35,460 --> 00:46:38,860
I'm doing this! That's why I'm not wearing a veil.

575
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:40,500
But you look beautiful.

576
00:46:40,540 --> 00:46:45,300
Oh, oooh! Oh, I don't know, Inas,

577
00:46:45,340 --> 00:46:47,740
really have I got to take this with me?

578
00:46:49,300 --> 00:46:50,780
Just in case.

579
00:46:52,580 --> 00:46:55,460
I'm making myself weep.

580
00:46:59,060 --> 00:47:02,340
If it wasn't so uncomfortable it would be really funny.

581
00:47:02,380 --> 00:47:04,620
I can't believe what you women go through.

582
00:47:06,500 --> 00:47:09,300
It's just a minor discomfort and I know it's something

583
00:47:09,340 --> 00:47:12,820
that millions of other women go through every day,

584
00:47:12,860 --> 00:47:16,420
but HAVING to dress in a certain way has really hit a nerve.

585
00:47:16,460 --> 00:47:19,860
That whole balto experience this afternoon with Inas was...

586
00:47:21,420 --> 00:47:23,580
..I mean it was funny,

587
00:47:23,620 --> 00:47:25,500
but at the same time...

588
00:47:27,060 --> 00:47:30,420
..all my tears weren't entirely hysterical laughter.

589
00:47:30,460 --> 00:47:34,180
You suddenly realise how lucky you are as a woman

590
00:47:34,220 --> 00:47:37,660
living in the west, and not having to dress like that.

591
00:47:38,980 --> 00:47:46,180
And now I've got to go to a country which is famous for...

592
00:47:46,220 --> 00:47:48,580
..having very little rights for women.

593
00:47:50,140 --> 00:47:55,380
So I'm feeling a little bit, kind of, mixed at the moment.

594
00:48:02,300 --> 00:48:04,700
The next morning, with my veil in my bag,

595
00:48:04,740 --> 00:48:06,860
I have to take a plane to Saudi Arabia

596
00:48:06,900 --> 00:48:10,340
because tribal warfare has closed the border with Yemen.

597
00:48:10,380 --> 00:48:14,380
I'll be arriving in possibly the most enigmatic country in the world

598
00:48:14,420 --> 00:48:16,700
in just over three hours.

599
00:48:16,740 --> 00:48:20,940
If the border wasn't closed I could follow the original route

600
00:48:20,980 --> 00:48:26,140
due north from Yemen and up the west side of Saudi Arabia.

601
00:48:26,180 --> 00:48:29,300
But now I have to fly to the capital, Riyadh,

602
00:48:29,340 --> 00:48:31,540
before I can rejoin the trail.

603
00:48:38,100 --> 00:48:42,060
Saudi Arabia is a kingdom of contrasts and contradictions.

604
00:48:45,260 --> 00:48:48,020
Here, devout faith and extreme wealth

605
00:48:48,060 --> 00:48:50,580
haveto find a way to co-exist.

606
00:48:51,580 --> 00:48:55,020
The latest luxury cars cruise the streets,

607
00:48:55,060 --> 00:48:58,900
but women are forbidden from driving them.

608
00:49:02,060 --> 00:49:05,300
There seems nothing unusual about the airport

609
00:49:05,340 --> 00:49:09,180
until I realise there are no women to be seen, anywhere.

610
00:49:11,820 --> 00:49:14,220
Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed

611
00:49:14,260 --> 00:49:16,460
to go outside their houses alone.

612
00:49:16,500 --> 00:49:19,500
They must either be accompanied by another woman,

613
00:49:19,540 --> 00:49:21,780
or an approved male member of their family.

614
00:49:21,820 --> 00:49:24,460
I too must have a male chaperone.

615
00:49:24,500 --> 00:49:26,260
Hello, are you Mr Dawi?

616
00:49:26,300 --> 00:49:28,500
Yes, how are you?As-Salamu Alaykum.

617
00:49:28,540 --> 00:49:30,540
Wa Alaykum As-Salam. How are you?

618
00:49:30,580 --> 00:49:34,260
Very good, I'd a very good flight. It was good, thank you, very much.

619
00:49:34,300 --> 00:49:36,300
Do I need to cover my head?

620
00:49:38,340 --> 00:49:40,340
OK, I'm not very good at this yet.

621
00:49:40,380 --> 00:49:41,740
I need one of yours.

622
00:49:41,780 --> 00:49:45,180
You see the men's ones are much easier to handle.

623
00:49:45,220 --> 00:49:47,820
OK, like that? Is OK? Yeah.Fine. All right.

624
00:49:48,940 --> 00:49:52,420
I've no idea what the rules are, but Dawi doesn't seem concerned,

625
00:49:52,460 --> 00:49:56,820
despite my rather unusual luggage.

626
00:49:56,860 --> 00:50:00,220
This one is very heavy...Yes. ..and very smelly.

627
00:50:02,780 --> 00:50:04,260
Thank you.

628
00:50:04,300 --> 00:50:06,060
You're welcome.

629
00:50:06,100 --> 00:50:09,020
Now, presumably, I can't sit in the front seat?

630
00:50:12,460 --> 00:50:16,140
Right! That's fair enough.

631
00:50:17,940 --> 00:50:21,420
Since the beginning of Islam, 1700 years ago,

632
00:50:21,460 --> 00:50:26,020
Saudi Arabia has been largely closed off to the non-Muslim world.

633
00:50:26,060 --> 00:50:28,660
New government policies have only recently

634
00:50:28,700 --> 00:50:32,180
started giving visas to carefully controlled tour groups.

635
00:50:32,220 --> 00:50:36,020
All we hear about are the bad things,

636
00:50:36,060 --> 00:50:40,260
the very strict rules and regulations.

637
00:50:40,300 --> 00:50:45,620
That women are not allowed to drive, that they're not allowed to work,

638
00:50:45,660 --> 00:50:49,260
that they have to travel in the back of the car not the front.

639
00:50:52,180 --> 00:50:55,140
I don't have to be, but it would be nice to have the choice.

640
00:50:59,580 --> 00:51:00,660
You think?Yes.

641
00:51:00,700 --> 00:51:03,340
Do you think I'm going to see a very different Saudi

642
00:51:03,380 --> 00:51:04,780
in the next two weeks?

643
00:51:10,300 --> 00:51:16,460
Do you think a lot of people don't come because, like me,

644
00:51:16,500 --> 00:51:19,140
they're worried that, particularly as a woman,

645
00:51:19,180 --> 00:51:21,900
all you're going to do is cause offence

646
00:51:21,940 --> 00:51:24,620
and you can't go anywhere, you have to be shut away.

647
00:51:24,660 --> 00:51:26,140
Is that true?

648
00:51:31,780 --> 00:51:34,900
Can we do that now? Can we go to one now and have a look,

649
00:51:34,940 --> 00:51:38,740
because I'm afraid I'm still doubting you at this point.

650
00:51:45,060 --> 00:51:46,780
Only three hours from Yemen,

651
00:51:46,820 --> 00:51:49,220
but suddenly I feel I'm back in the West.

652
00:51:49,260 --> 00:51:53,220
Riyadh's shopping centres are depressingly similar

653
00:51:53,260 --> 00:51:54,460
to those back home.

654
00:51:57,940 --> 00:52:02,060
Many of the shops here are recognisable brands.

655
00:52:02,100 --> 00:52:04,500
A lot of these shops are very familiar to me,

656
00:52:04,540 --> 00:52:05,860
I'm really surprised.

657
00:52:05,900 --> 00:52:09,300
These are all shops you'd see on any British high street.

658
00:52:10,860 --> 00:52:13,180
There arehigh heeled shoes,

659
00:52:13,220 --> 00:52:17,580
there are short skirts there are low cut things...

660
00:52:17,620 --> 00:52:22,940
And some women here don't cover up 
so much, it feels more relaxed here.

661
00:52:25,740 --> 00:52:29,500
Relaxed it may be, but women still need to be accompanied

662
00:52:29,540 --> 00:52:31,660
and still have to wear the abaya

663
00:52:31,700 --> 00:52:34,540
what ever they choose to wear underneath.

664
00:52:34,580 --> 00:52:38,140
But at least I get a chance to meet and talk

665
00:52:38,180 --> 00:52:41,220
with Saudi women here face to face.

666
00:52:41,260 --> 00:52:46,060
I don't understand because you all wear these abaya...

667
00:52:46,100 --> 00:52:48,580
But can you wear anything you like underneath?

668
00:52:48,620 --> 00:52:51,420
Yeah.Anything?Yeah. Anything? Short skirts?

669
00:52:51,460 --> 00:52:52,860
Jeans, t-shirts, it's OK.

670
00:52:52,900 --> 00:52:55,460
Really?It's anyone's choice. It's choice.

671
00:52:55,500 --> 00:52:57,980
And your parents don't mind?No.

672
00:52:58,020 --> 00:53:00,700
They don't say you can't go out looking like that?

673
00:53:00,740 --> 00:53:04,380
There's people open in Saudi Arabia and there's closed people.

674
00:53:04,420 --> 00:53:09,020
OK, so some families are more free 
and other families are more strict.

675
00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:16,540
From the moment I arrived, I've been in no doubt

676
00:53:16,580 --> 00:53:21,260
that Islam defines life in Saudi Arabia.

677
00:53:21,300 --> 00:53:28,020
And the call to prayer makes this immediately obvious to outsiders.

678
00:53:28,060 --> 00:53:30,340
Unlike anywhere else I've been,

679
00:53:30,380 --> 00:53:34,220
every single shop closes for prayer five times a day,

680
00:53:34,260 --> 00:53:39,460
and I'm told this happens like clockwork every day of the year.

681
00:53:42,700 --> 00:53:46,180
It's just coming up to ten to five and the call to prayer has sounded.

682
00:53:46,220 --> 00:53:49,820
And as you can see, all the shops in this little mall have suddenly

683
00:53:49,860 --> 00:53:54,300
closed down and the people are just melting away before my very eyes...

684
00:53:56,980 --> 00:53:59,580
Although this is a fast changing society

685
00:53:59,620 --> 00:54:03,900
and although I've been able to walk around without covering my head,

686
00:54:03,940 --> 00:54:07,140
conservative Islam has an inescapable hold here.

687
00:54:07,180 --> 00:54:11,940
Islamic religious law, known as Sharia law, IS the law.

688
00:54:11,980 --> 00:54:14,460
Just a few blocks from the shopping area

689
00:54:14,500 --> 00:54:17,300
is Riyadh's religious centre, Safa Square.

690
00:54:17,340 --> 00:54:22,340
Safa in Arabic means, sort of, 'highly polished, gleaming white'

691
00:54:22,380 --> 00:54:24,860
and it's here in this square that,

692
00:54:24,900 --> 00:54:29,740
perhaps, that name takes on a very, sort of, symbolic status,

693
00:54:29,780 --> 00:54:35,060
because this is where Saudi Arabia tries to make its society,

694
00:54:35,100 --> 00:54:38,340
I don't know, more unblemished, highly polished.

695
00:54:38,380 --> 00:54:40,180
But they do their cleaning up

696
00:54:40,220 --> 00:54:43,180
in a particularly brutal way to us in the west,

697
00:54:43,220 --> 00:54:46,260
because the punishment for crimes like murder,

698
00:54:46,300 --> 00:54:48,380
rape and drug smuggling is death,

699
00:54:48,420 --> 00:54:51,500
and they way they put people to death is to behead them.

700
00:54:57,300 --> 00:55:00,020
The square is overlooked by the headquarters

701
00:55:00,060 --> 00:55:02,860
of the religious police, known as the Muttawa.

702
00:55:02,900 --> 00:55:05,780
Doctor Abdullah is a senior member of the Muttawa

703
00:55:05,820 --> 00:55:09,100
and, amazingly, agreed to be interviewed.

704
00:55:09,140 --> 00:55:11,900
I wanted to ask you about the square here,

705
00:55:11,940 --> 00:55:14,620
and the fact that this is the square where

706
00:55:14,660 --> 00:55:16,940
the publicexecutions take place

707
00:55:16,980 --> 00:55:19,980
for people who have done terrible crimes...

708
00:55:20,020 --> 00:55:26,100
but to us, it still feels terribly brutal to behead somebody in public.

709
00:55:39,700 --> 00:55:42,700
When an execution takes place

710
00:55:42,740 --> 00:55:45,900
can you describe the scene, what happens?

711
00:56:00,140 --> 00:56:02,180
Do you prepare them in any way?

712
00:56:02,220 --> 00:56:03,940
Do they have a pain killer?

713
00:56:03,980 --> 00:56:07,980
Or is it just, you kneel down, are their hands tied?

714
00:56:25,180 --> 00:56:27,660
Oh, really? So it's not automatic any more?

715
00:56:47,460 --> 00:56:50,420
CALL TO PRAYER

716
00:56:55,500 --> 00:56:58,060
So far, it's felt as if that call to prayer

717
00:56:58,100 --> 00:57:00,660
has been the only constant on my journey.

718
00:57:03,020 --> 00:57:06,940
But when the traders first walked through what's now Saudi territory,

719
00:57:06,980 --> 00:57:09,420
Islam didn't exist and instead of religion,

720
00:57:09,460 --> 00:57:13,460
it was the frankincense route that linked the desert tribes of Arabia.

721
00:57:18,660 --> 00:57:22,740
Now the most enigmatic and powerful Arabian nation lies ahead of me.

722
00:57:26,300 --> 00:57:31,220
In the next programme, I explore the unseen worlds of Saudi Arabia.

723
00:57:31,260 --> 00:57:33,340
And meet a Prince who's head for business

724
00:57:33,380 --> 00:57:35,580
has made him one of the richest men on earth.

725
00:57:35,620 --> 00:57:39,140
Are you constantly looking for new companies to invest in?

726
00:57:39,180 --> 00:57:40,460
Yes, I just did right now.

727
00:57:40,500 --> 00:57:41,860
I'm in a bond film.

728
00:57:41,900 --> 00:57:46,020
I cross unexpected and astonishing landscapes.

729
00:57:47,980 --> 00:57:50,900
I'm a little bit nervous.Me too!

730
00:57:50,940 --> 00:57:53,780
SHE SCREAMS

731
00:57:53,820 --> 00:57:55,220
You're mad!

732
00:57:56,540 --> 00:57:58,740
In the pristine waters of the Red Sea

733
00:57:58,780 --> 00:58:01,220
I dive an untouched shipwreck.

734
00:58:01,260 --> 00:58:03,300
On the city streets,

735
00:58:03,340 --> 00:58:07,020
I meet a generation that's fuelled by the wealth of oil.

736
00:58:11,260 --> 00:58:15,380
And I explore the ruins of an ancient empire that once flourished

737
00:58:15,420 --> 00:58:18,580
on the profits of the frankincense trade.

738
00:58:40,940 --> 00:58:43,380
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd