New.Europe.With.Michael.Palin.2.Of.7
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00:00I'll see you in the next video.
00:01Bye for now.
00:30Lake Okhrid lies between Albania, which I've just left, and Macedonia, on which I'm setting
00:50foot.
00:52I shall be heading east through Macedonia's eye-catching scenery and onto the border it
00:58shares with Bulgaria, then across Bulgaria into Turkey, and via Istanbul and Ephesus
01:04to Cappadocia on the Anatolian Plateau.
01:19With my friend Dimitar, I'm entering territory where even 4x4s fear to tread, the rocky foothills
01:26of the Rila Mountains in western Bulgaria.
01:32Dimitar is a member of an order called the White Brotherhood, who hold an annual gathering
01:37in the starkly beautiful surroundings of an area they call the Seven Lakes.
01:42I've just seen a lake.
01:46Yeah.
01:47Fantastic.
01:48First lake.
01:49Yeah, that's beautiful.
01:50And this is the first of the Seven Lakes, I think.
01:53That's lovely.
01:54It's been a long day's journey to get to this remote spot, well, as remote as a spot can
02:13be when there's a thousand other people sharing it with you.
02:18This is the camp.
02:19It's like a small city, isn't it?
02:24Oh yeah.
02:25Up there, all those tents perch very precariously.
02:38I didn't sleep much last night.
02:41By the time I nodded off, everyone else was getting up for the sunrise, which is very
02:45important to the White Brotherhood.
02:48The summer solstice is the most auspicious time of year for them, and this lofty mountaintop
02:53is the most auspicious place to witness it.
03:01The White Brotherhood was founded by a Bulgarian called Peter Dunov, on whom the Spirit of
03:06God descended on March 7, 1897.
03:12Non-smoking and vegetarian, it's a curious mix of Christian and Indian mysticism, with
03:18much talk of spiritual energies, which are evidently abundant in these spectacular mountains.
03:42The climax of the day is what they call pan-Eurythmic
03:54dancing.
03:55No bobble hats and anoraks here.
03:57This is the White Brotherhood in all its glory.
04:15What is the aim of what you're doing here today?
04:19What's it really all about?
04:21It's about the peak of the summer.
04:23Today is the peak of the summer.
04:28People are gathering today because it's a celebration for the Brotherhood, since this
04:35day is when you can receive the most of energies from the sun.
04:44We come together, we dance the pan-Eurythmic, we have concerts, and that also makes us feel
04:51more close to each other, more like brothers and sisters.
04:55It's the pan-Eurythmic dancing.
04:56Is that a way of achieving this kind of harmony, this function?
05:02Yes, this is the best tool that we have for achieving the harmony, because it's a union
05:10of three very important things.
05:12Number one, that's the material, the moves.
05:16Number two, this is the words, the mind.
05:20It's words about nature, about love, about harmony, about the spring, the energies.
05:30Also it's the third thing, it's also the heart.
05:33People are also working with their hearts while being in the circle.
05:40It's a union circle, uniting people.
05:42It's the symbol of the sun, and also people are also working on their spiritual level.
05:49It's like a prayer in movement and dance.
05:54Today was an extraordinary event, I mean, were you pleased with the way it went?
05:58Yeah, absolutely.
05:59I think every year it's becoming more and more harmonious.
06:05What happened to the White Brotherhood during the communist period?
06:09During the communist period it was hard for all spiritual work in Bulgaria, because the
06:17only spiritual thing allowed was worshipping the communist ideal, the communist principles.
06:31It was not only the White Brotherhood, also all kinds of religious and spiritual movements
06:37were either forbidden, at times they were persecuted, or they had to hide.
06:54What I like about the White Brotherhood is that they're not dogmatic,
06:58they may be excessively tolerant, but also this great event today, very spectacular,
07:04but a quiet spectacular.
07:06It's not been the blasted noise from PA's and loudspeaker systems that seem to be so important
07:11these days.
07:12The other thing is that they talk a lot about the feel of natural energy in an arena,
07:17and I've never been sure about that, but here in the Rila Mountains,
07:20I think it actually really does exist.
07:34After the elevated harmonies of the White Brotherhood, mundane considerations like
07:39getting off the mountain bring us down to earth with a jolt.
07:44Well, rather a lot of jolts actually.
08:04Sofia is one of Eastern Europe's most intimate and walkable capitals.
08:09There are one or two grand buildings, like the Alexander Nevsky Church,
08:13a memorial to Russians who died helping their fellow Slavs fight the Turks.
08:18But by and large, her leafy streets are on a human scale.
08:26If you want to get around more quickly, there is, as throughout Eastern Europe,
08:31a ubiquitous tram system, which the Communists wisely kept,
08:34and indeed actively encouraged.
08:42Today, in pursuit of a wider cultural context,
08:45I'm turning my back on cathedrals and churches.
09:11This is Aziz, and he must have come as quite a shock to some of his fellow Bulgarians.
09:29In a predominantly conservative and homophobic country,
09:32you couldn't be much more out of line than a gay, gypsy, transvestite.
09:36And as a result, he's wildly popular.
09:50I meet him with Maja, a local film director, as our translator.
09:54Were you encouraged by others around you, your mother, your father, to become a singer?
10:00His mother had some kind of sick ambitions,
10:12thinking that her child should be a megastar.
10:18Something like Elizabeth Taylor and her mother.
10:21But in one moment, because he is a gypsy,
10:36all the doors were closed in front of him.
10:40But that was before.
10:42I mean, you were born and brought up a gypsy.
10:44Do you think the situation has changed for the gypsy community now?
10:51No, actually not.
10:53They are still so dirty and so miserable as they were.
10:57When you were young, were you angry at the way you were treated as a gypsy?
11:05Yes, there were people who obviously did it.
11:07They rejected him because of his race.
11:15His mother took him to film castings.
11:21And nobody took him because of the colour of his skin.
11:25This is not a tan.
11:27It's the colour of the skin.
11:29He was born like that.
11:39Despite his problems, Aziz is one of the lucky ones.
11:43Most gypsies live as close to the edge as the threadbare horses
11:48as they're racing for pin money in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city.
11:54I'm here with local girl, Mira Stuleva.
11:58Bamboo, pretty quickly.
12:04We're enjoying ourselves, even if no one else is.
12:10What's going on?
12:18The shouts and cheers belie uncomfortable facts.
12:2285% of Bulgaria's gypsies are unemployed.
12:26Only 10% of their children are in secondary education.
12:32They live in a part of town dominated by canyons of communist housing blocks,
12:36quietly going to seed.
12:40All these blocks here are totally occupied by gypsies?
12:44Or do they mix them?
12:46No, now they're not mixed.
12:48Actually, this quarter here is full of gypsies.
12:50Did they try to mix them ever?
12:52Yeah, they tried.
12:54There is another quarter in the south of Plovdiv.
12:56And at every first floor, they put gypsies, gypsy families.
13:00And all the other floors were settled with Bulgarian families.
13:05About the big square in the door, you just have a hole.
13:09And behind that, there is a horse.
13:11A horse in the apartment?
13:13Yeah, a horse in the apartment.
13:15And a fire in front of the block.
13:17So this didn't really work so well?
13:19Not at all.
13:21But it's quite a funny and interesting idea.
13:23Do they like living in these blocks?
13:25Or would they rather be living in the countryside?
13:27Actually, if you spend some hours here,
13:29you will see they are just out of the blocks.
13:32They never spend much time in the blocks.
13:34They're just gathering all together in front of the blocks.
13:36Doing music, singing, chatting.
13:38Would other Bulgarians come here very often?
13:40No, actually not.
13:42Hey!
14:02Despite the conditions,
14:04wherever there are gypsies,
14:06there'll be music.
14:08And where there's music, there'll be a party.
14:10I've been invited to sway along
14:12with the local women's institute.
14:16Some of them have come armed.
14:19The gypsies of Plovdiv
14:21are not without friends.
14:23There are groups working hard
14:25to improve conditions
14:27in ghettos like this.
14:29But like gypsies all over Europe,
14:31these people cling tenaciously
14:33to their own way of life.
14:48Plovdiv is the last big city
14:50this side of Turkey.
14:52And outside a local transport cafe,
14:54I hitch a ride
14:56aboard one of the many trucks
14:58heading for the end of Europe.
15:00Oh!
15:02Oh!
15:04Good day.
15:06Good day.
15:08Turkey?
15:10Istanbul.
15:12Istanbul.
15:14That'll do me fine.
15:16Fantastic.
15:40Istanbul Turnoff.
15:42That's a title
15:44for a novel.
15:58It's a long
16:00straight drive down the E80
16:02across a flat featureless plain
16:04that will take me to the border
16:06then on to Edirne and Istanbul
16:08before crossing the Bosphorus
16:10into Asia, to Ephesus
16:12and as far east as Cappadocia.
16:26I ask the driver to drop me at the border
16:28because I want to see as much as I can
16:30of European Turkey
16:32which many people tend to forget about.
16:38Well, this is the Turkish border
16:40which far into Europe, as far as Vienna
16:42at one time, under the Ottoman Empire.
16:44The empire's now long gone
16:46but modern Turkey still wants
16:48to be part of Europe.
16:54I take a taxi
16:56into the nearest big town,
16:58Edirne.
17:00Hello. Edirne. Ah, bust.
17:04There's nothing very beautiful
17:06to see at first.
17:08A fine swept frontier
17:10and another interminable line of traffic.
17:16Well, people say, you know,
17:18ask what the connection is between
17:20Turkey and the rest of Europe.
17:22Well, I mean, just look at all these trucks
17:24for the answer.
17:26There's certainly no evidence
17:28that Turkey is an underdeveloped nation.
17:30Quite the contrary.
17:32It's the growing strength of the Turkish economy
17:34and the size of the place that worries people.
17:36If Turkey joins the European Union
17:38it won't be as a small country
17:40glad of the security
17:42but as a giant
17:44with a population bigger than any other member state.
17:48I'm beginning to wonder
17:50if I've made the right decision
17:52to stop off at Edirne.
17:56But a 15th century stone bridge
17:58leading into town is just the first
18:00of a series of wonderful revelations.
18:06Behind the mundane facade
18:08of a busy modern city
18:10lies an impressive history.
18:12My guide, Selen Korkut,
18:14born and brought up in Edirne
18:16is keen to show it off.
18:28I'm glad to have met you.
18:30Otherwise I think I would have just
18:32gone through Edirne
18:34and straight to Istanbul.
18:36That would be a shame
18:38because this city is full of so much culture and history
18:40and the landscape is beautiful.
18:44The collection of buildings
18:46is just extraordinary.
18:48And three very important mosques
18:50in a walking distance
18:52and lots of bridges and rivers.
18:54The man largely responsible
18:56for the glories of Edirne
18:58is Mimar Sinan
19:00whose work, more than any other,
19:02is the height and magnificence
19:04of the Ottoman Empire.
19:06The Ottomans, a dynasty from eastern Turkey,
19:08made Edirne their capital
19:10before they took Constantinople.
19:12And it was here, in 1569,
19:14that Sinan, in his 80s,
19:16created what many consider
19:18his finest work.
19:22The Selimiye Mosque
19:24is arguably Europe's most glorious example
19:26of Islamic architecture.
19:28Wow.
19:30That is such a colossal,
19:32colossal space, isn't it?
19:34It's almost sort of dizzying
19:36because there's nothing in the centre.
19:38It's all supported around the side.
19:40Yes.
19:42When Sinan built this,
19:44he was quite an old man, wasn't he?
19:46He was 85 years old.
19:48But this is why it's his masterpiece.
19:50We're very happy that he had a long, fruitful life.
19:52That's why we have over, like,
19:54400 art pieces from him.
19:56Is this considered to be one of his best?
19:58This is the masterpiece of Sinan.
20:00Yes, because he achieved everything he was aiming.
20:02He was, like,
20:04trying to make the minarets perfect,
20:06the dome as big as he wished.
20:08But our tour of the splendours of Edirne
20:10is not yet over.
20:12OK, Michael. That was good.
20:14Now where?
20:16Now I want to take you on a traditional sightseeing trip.
20:18Oh!
20:20Yeah, with the scaries. I hope you like it.
20:22I see, the real... Yes.
20:24Look at the horses.
20:26Modern way to get about.
20:28Doesn't mean we're getting married or anything, does it?
20:30No, no, no.
20:32If you want.
20:36Lovely, isn't it?
20:44This is the municipality building
20:46and this is the founder of the republic, Atatürk.
20:48Atatürk, yes.
20:50It's a very new republic.
20:52He wanted to keep up with his ideas
20:54and not to forget
20:56so that religion and status
20:58kept separate so that we are a modern
21:00country.
21:02He started the republic in the 1920s
21:04after the end of the Ottoman Empire.
21:06The end of the Ottoman Empire.
21:08It was the First World War
21:10and we were defeated.
21:12So this part of Edirne
21:14was taken over by Greeks
21:16and then Atatürk
21:18just put up a big war
21:20and tried getting back
21:22all the land and then quickly
21:24had to
21:26make the republic.
21:28What else did he do that was particularly significant?
21:30He did so many things.
21:32For example, for us,
21:34Atatürk is important as a woman
21:36because we had the same rights as men.
21:46Where are we going now?
21:48This is a surprise for you.
21:50There is a little local wrestling,
21:52oil wrestling, right by the river.
21:54It has a beautiful view.
21:56Oil wrestling?
21:58It's a very traditional Turkish sport.
22:00It dates back to like 640 years
22:02of history
22:04and wrestlers are called
22:06pehlivan.
22:08Pehlivan.
22:18The prospect of grown men
22:20and young boys wrestling while covered
22:22from head to foot in olive oil
22:24may raise a few smiles in the cricket
22:26playing countries, but here in Turkey
22:28it's a very serious business.
22:32As the drum and pipe band gets
22:34everyone in the mood, the olive oil
22:36is liberally dispensed.
22:38It's important to get the oil everywhere,
22:40both over and under
22:42the black buffalo hide pants
22:44which all the wrestlers are allowed to wear.
23:08The youngsters
23:10are particularly keen.
23:12They know that if they're any good,
23:14there's money to be made in the oil business.
23:22As the band up the tempo and the grappling
23:24begins, Selen fills me in
23:26on the rules of the game.
23:28A bout is deemed to be over
23:30when one of the pair is flat on his back,
23:32belly to heaven.
23:34The pants can be used to get a grip,
23:36but wedding tackle is
23:38strictly out of bounds.
23:48The referees, ever vigilant,
23:50keep a careful lookout for any slippery
23:52behaviour, or rather
23:54non-slippery behaviour.
24:00The Pehlivan are all
24:02professionals, and in the height of the season
24:04do really well.
24:06What could get you arrested at Wembley
24:08can make you a fortune in Turkey.
24:18Discovering Edirne has been a delightful
24:20surprise, the sort of thing that gives
24:22travelling a good name.
24:26But now it's time to
24:28see more of this country that straddles
24:30Europe and Asia.
24:34As Edirne slips away,
24:36the local train takes me on towards
24:38Istanbul.
24:44It's not the most glamorous way to approach
24:46one of the great cities of the world,
24:48but there is a touch of gold at the end
24:50of the rainbow.
25:04Our Istanbul terminal
25:06is the very same one that was built in
25:081883 for the world-renowned
25:10train that connected Turkey with the rest
25:12of Europe, the Orient Express.
25:22The famous old train doesn't come here anymore,
25:24but ghosts of the old days
25:26still linger at Sakeci Station.
25:34Ah!
25:36There's something about arriving at Istanbul.
25:38It's just one of the great destinations
25:40of the world. You know when you've come here
25:42as a place of consequence.
25:44Probably been at the heart of human affairs
25:46this city longer than any other.
25:48And, of course, it's the end of Europe.
25:50Well, for now, at any rate.
25:58The Bosphorus, touching Asia and Europe,
26:00connecting Russia with the Mediterranean,
26:02binds Istanbul together.
26:04Wherever you are, it's always there.
26:10I meet Rafi Portokal,
26:12an art dealer who recently brought a big
26:14Picasso exhibition here.
26:16He reminds me that Turkey's connections
26:18with Europe are nothing new.
26:20Don't forget that Istanbul
26:22was the capital
26:24of Eastern Rome.
26:26Ah, when it was Constantinople.
26:28Yes, yes, right.
26:30And today,
26:32people
26:34and the art area
26:36also, we feel that
26:38we are in Europe.
26:40We are doing exhibition
26:42in Istanbul.
26:44And do you think the success
26:46of your Picasso exhibition
26:48is an example of things changing
26:50on a wider scale in Turkey?
26:52Yes, especially
26:54in the last 20 years.
26:56We are starting
26:58to change
27:00very quickly,
27:02so easily
27:04to the Western way.
27:06Do you feel frustrated at all
27:08at the attitudes of certain
27:10European countries towards
27:12Turkish membership?
27:16If you want to become
27:18even a simple,
27:20for a simple club member,
27:22you have to accept
27:24the main rules.
27:26And what we did
27:28to become a member
27:30of the European Union,
27:34but if
27:36the club starts
27:38to create every moment
27:40different rules,
27:42you don't feel
27:44comfortable at that point.
27:48I think if Turkey joined,
27:50you feel it would be a good thing
27:52between sort of a bridge between East and West.
27:54Exactly.
27:56More so than
27:58any other country, really.
28:02Judging from the young Turks
28:04I see pouring in and out
28:06of the Sabancı Museum,
28:08there's no lack of curiosity
28:10about things European.
28:16So, of course, it's a two-way process,
28:18isn't it?
28:20You're not just talking about
28:22being interested in the East
28:24through Turkey.
28:26Exactly, because
28:28where we are here
28:30right now, the Red Salon,
28:32is a very good place to explain this
28:34question.
28:36We have a silver
28:38brassiere here,
28:40and then we have a painting,
28:42it's an anonymous painting,
28:44but we think that it's made
28:46by a French artist
28:48beginning of the 20th century.
28:50Western ladies being sort of
28:52brought tea and coffee by
28:54Turkish girls.
28:56It's a very good place
28:58to ask this question.
29:00So do you think it will happen
29:02in your lifetime, this
29:04Turkish membership? You do?
29:06Yes, I'm sure that.
29:08Well, you're a young man,
29:10so that's a pretty safe answer.
29:12Let's say 60 years old.
29:14For me, it's very different.
29:20Istanbul
29:32Istanbul is a place of drama,
29:34not just for arrival, but departure.
29:36I mean, you can't get much more sensational
29:38than going on one of the world's very few
29:40intercontinental ferries.
29:42Europe to Asia.
29:46For about 50p.
29:50On the Asian shore,
29:52I'm to glimpse a more exotic side
29:54of Turkey.
30:06Tanielli
30:08is not just one of the country's most accomplished
30:10belly dancers, she's also a
30:12canny businesswoman, taking her
30:14product away from sweaty,
30:16folkloric evenings for tourists,
30:18turning it into a cool, global brand.
30:30She has studios in Florida
30:32and Australia, has taught moves
30:34to Madonna, and I'm here at her
30:36dance academy to see how she does it.
30:38It's a tough assignment,
30:40which rather unexpectedly
30:42becomes a lot tougher.
30:44I need to see your belly.
30:46All right.
30:48I have to see your sexy belly.
30:50I have my sexy belly.
30:52Now you have to do,
30:54as she comes, come here.
30:56Yes.
30:58I won't be able to do this, I just know
31:00I'm sort of culturally and physically...
31:06When you do the belly dance,
31:08it works, breathe in and take your muscle in.
31:12And now you breathe out.
31:16See, she makes it roll nicely.
31:18No, no, no, it's not roll yet.
31:20It's the base step.
31:24Then you have to work with the muscle
31:26like this, because we
31:28had stomach here and here,
31:30two different muscles.
31:32Then we start to move from
31:34here and breathe in
31:36and out, but then
31:38the belly roll, you have
31:40to hold your breath here first.
31:42You cannot do it.
31:44Not just at the moment.
31:46I'm very nervous.
31:48I might have a heart attack.
31:50No, no, I'll work on it
31:52and come back in five years.
31:54Five years?
31:56Five minutes if you like.
31:58I can do it when you're not watching.
32:00That's why I'm telling you that...
32:04That is anything at all
32:06or just rather rude?
32:08I think...
32:10That's not a belly roll.
32:12That's a pelvic thrust.
32:18No, it is. That's what I was taught
32:20in Alexander technique.
32:24So any Turkish girl should be able to belly dance
32:26because you're sort of born to it.
32:28Yes, exactly, because
32:30you know, really,
32:32the tango is not from my country
32:34and vice is not from
32:36my country.
32:38You know, for new generation and new age,
32:40we know how to do tango.
32:42We love to Latin dance
32:44and you know,
32:46even Indian hip-hop, R&B,
32:48but belly dance
32:50is from
32:52our blood.
32:54You know, it's like
32:56people ask me sometimes, when did you start?
32:58I don't remember. I think I started
33:00when I was in my mother's tummy.
33:02Yes.
33:04This dance is like a medicine.
33:06It's like a meditation
33:08but when you have stress,
33:10when you feel
33:12uncomfortable about something.
33:14But you've made it internationally.
33:16I mean, you've got your clubs all over the world.
33:18How have you been able to export it?
33:20Dance, it means
33:22love. Dance, it means peace
33:24and you know,
33:26in the dance, there is no fight.
33:28So,
33:30you know,
33:32my advice from me to them
33:34is good to
33:36dance a little bit.
33:38Do men belly dance?
33:40Could you teach George Bush to belly dance?
33:42George Bush to belly dance?
33:44How I will start?
33:46You know, this is like Mission Impossible.
33:48He'd ask for a big fee to start with.
34:06So, hang on.
34:08That's two steps to the left.
34:10Two to the right.
34:12One step forward.
34:14One step back.
34:16Turn to the right.
34:18Turn to the left.
34:20Spin and circle.
34:22Yeah, yeah.
34:24I think I've got it.
34:36Yeah!
34:52After all that excitement,
34:54I take my evening meal at a mehane,
34:56a simple local restaurant
34:58where I can sit quietly and recover
35:00over a mezze and a glass of raki.
35:03But they have ways of dealing with people
35:05who want to sit quietly.
35:11May I sit?
35:14Within seconds,
35:16my meal turns into a concert.
35:32I am your lover.
35:38My soul is on your way.
35:42Let's get out of your sins
35:44and on my way.
35:46Let's get out of your sins
35:48and on my way.
35:50You are a poet.
35:52I am a poetess.
35:54Take my heart
35:56from the iron.
35:58Take my heart
36:00from the iron.
36:08Very good.
36:10Cheval, who has serenaded me so beautifully,
36:12explains.
36:14What was it about,
36:16apart from your very passionate singing
36:18and all that beautiful playing,
36:20what was going on?
36:22Here is mehane.
36:24Mehane means, actually,
36:26exactly...
36:28I should have to
36:30translate. It means
36:32old-fashioned Turkish word
36:34is drink.
36:36And hane is the
36:38home, house, like a drink house.
36:40But it's not that
36:42kind of simple word.
36:44Mehane is
36:46more poetic word
36:48in Turkish.
36:50This kind of music is coming from Ottoman Empire.
36:54It's half academic,
36:56half of the street.
37:02People express
37:04their feelings with
37:06this kind of music.
37:08So the idea, really, of a place like this
37:10is to open up?
37:12If we see someone
37:14drink alone, like you,
37:16and we
37:18have more compassion,
37:22after two rakı,
37:24and with this
37:26kind of music, it's time to
37:28open your heart and
37:30express your feelings,
37:32your sadness.
37:34It takes a lot more than
37:36two drinks to unlock the Englishman.
37:38Are you sure?
37:40Let's try it.
37:54Throughout its
37:56long history as a Greek, Roman
37:58and Ottoman city,
38:00Istanbul has managed to combine both
38:02an Eastern and Western temperament,
38:04which has made it unique.
38:06But Istanbul isn't Turkey.
38:08If I want to understand this country better,
38:10I must move on.
38:14Under the stern gaze of Kemal Atatürk,
38:16founder of the Republic,
38:18a procession is taking place
38:20to mark an extraordinary event.
38:22The 25th Camel Wrestling
38:24Festival.
38:30The event is held
38:32in an arena in Ephesus,
38:34built on top of two and a half thousand
38:36years of history.
38:3820,000 people, mostly male,
38:40gather together to enjoy rakı
38:42and kebabs, whilst wallowing
38:44in nostalgia for the creature that once
38:46played such a central part in
38:48rural life.
38:50In modern Turkey,
38:52apart from these showpiece occasions,
38:54the camel is virtually redundant.
39:16These are specially bred,
39:18highly trained Iranian camels,
39:20kept hungry and randy
39:22to ensure that bad temper will make
39:24for a better bout. Frothing at the mouth
39:26like angry colonels, they try everything
39:28to pin their opponents' heads to the ground.
39:32Tell me a good trick, you see that
39:34camel play.
39:36To hold the other's head
39:38under both
39:40front legs.
39:42Oh, hold the head under the front legs.
39:44Oh really?
39:46Very dangerous for the other one
39:48and also very good
39:50for the one who can do this.
39:52So that's like a sort of headlock
39:54that's getting rid of the wrestling.
39:56You can't get them out.
40:00My friend Yusuf assures me
40:02that the camels feel no pain.
40:04Though not being a camel himself,
40:06there's an element of speculation here.
40:08Certainly looks bloody
40:10uncomfortable to me.
40:16They're encouraging the more
40:18aggressive side of the camel's
40:20behaviour.
40:22Although one or two out there
40:24obviously don't want to fight.
40:26They're really happy just having a little cuddle.
40:28Are they gay camels?
40:30There are some
40:32gay camels.
40:34Yes.
40:38So expensive is it to run a good fighting camel
40:40that as soon as victory is achieved
40:42the contestants are instantly
40:44pulled apart.
40:46Changing tack
40:48slightly, do you think that
40:50people here today
40:52are mostly in favour of Turkey being in the
40:54European Union or not?
40:56Yeah, hard to say.
40:58You know, I know and I believe
41:00many Turkish people,
41:02majority of the Turkish people
41:04wants to belong,
41:06be part of the European Union.
41:08But
41:10these political
41:12things
41:14seems like
41:16new difficulties
41:18being created by
41:20the European community.
41:22Maybe it's our fault too.
41:24We must
41:28explain ourselves,
41:30express our feelings
41:32better.
41:34I think we should get some camel wrestling
41:36at Wembley Stadium, that's the first step.
41:38Alright.
41:42The winner is
41:44the winner.
41:54Well, we've come to the end of the
41:56Turkey that we know, but the vast majority
41:58of this country lies out to the east
42:00where the camels came from
42:02and where we're going to.
42:12Camel Wrestling
42:42In the heart of Anatolia,
42:44or Asia Minor as it was known,
42:46is this hauntingly beautiful
42:48area called Cappadocia.
42:50Created by the
42:52aftermath of a massive volcanic eruption,
42:54the sea of lava
42:56solidified into a soft rock called
42:58Tufa, which has been sculpted
43:00into these unique shapes by wind,
43:02rain and snow.
43:12Music
43:20This is the town of Goreme
43:22and I'm off to meet a couple who've turned
43:24one of these wonderfully odd structures
43:26called Fairy Chimneys
43:28into a very unusual guesthouse.
43:34Half expecting
43:36to find hobbits,
43:38I instead find myself taking a glass of tea
43:40with a German academic called Anders
43:42and his Turkish wife Gulcan.
43:44How did you
43:46end up living in a
43:48cave in the middle of Turkey?
43:50Well,
43:52it's a kind of funny story actually
43:54but I'm an anthropologist
43:56and during my studies
43:58I came to this area as a tourist actually
44:00and I found out it's a very interesting area
44:02because first of all
44:04the funny dwellings,
44:06all these troglodyte caves everywhere
44:08and the nice landscape
44:10and so I thought it might be a nice scene for a thesis
44:12and so I
44:14started doing a field research
44:16in the area
44:18and well, many years later
44:20I came back. Gulcan,
44:22what did people think around here
44:24about a German moving into
44:26one of these caves
44:28and everyone else was leaving?
44:30They get surprised
44:32and they're stating why he's living here
44:34how he's doing
44:36He's the secret agent
44:38of the seven James Bond
44:40or something
44:50Here, this house
44:52almost 30, I mean
44:5440 years nobody didn't live before
44:56because it was empty
44:58the whole broken houses
45:00and when I was a little child
45:02when I came to my grandparents
45:04if I get annoyed with my brother
45:06they always say
45:08you have to be ok
45:10just stop
45:12and otherwise
45:14we are going to put you in the ghost house
45:16because we call this area ghost house
45:18You call these ghost houses?
45:20What kind of ghosts?
45:22You know, there are two different kinds of ghosts
45:24there are these nice ones, the fairies
45:26they call it the fairies
45:28and these are the good ghosts
45:30and there are the bad ones
45:32the bad spirits which are kind of gathering
45:34in the green waters
45:36where they say that
45:38they take you in the water
45:40and they pull you into the water and drown you
45:42and they give some kind of bad energy
45:44and people are still part of that folk belief
45:46that they think they are
45:48I believe, you know, I mean it's not true
45:50but I just guess
45:58You go first?
46:00Ok
46:04It's nice today
46:06Ok
46:12A bit perilous this
46:14don't have railings
46:16Yeah, it's still in progress
46:20It's a sporting
46:22But the good thing there is a pond down there
46:24so if it's not frozen
46:26you just fall in that
46:30The caves have provided refuge
46:32for many, none more so than the early Christians
46:34who came here fleeing from persecution
46:36They built an estimated
46:381,000 rock churches in Cappadocia
46:40It's an area where you have lots of churches
46:42from different periods
46:44you know, very close together
46:46What was this, early Christianity?
46:48Well, it's a very important area
46:50It's a very important area
46:52It's a very important area
46:54It's a very important area
46:56It's a very important area
46:58It's a very important area
47:00especially over here, you have lots of different churches
47:02from different times, you know
47:04In early Christianity it was the area
47:06where also the Trinity
47:08was kind of, let's say, invented
47:10you know, with Father God and Holy Spirit
47:12Really?
47:14And so it was all kind of
47:16developed over here and then later on
47:18became part of that Orthodox
47:20part in Christianity
47:22So how long were the
47:24Christians here for?
47:26How long were these sort of working churches?
47:28Well, you know, it starts
47:30in the 6th century and it would last
47:32till the 12th, 13th century
47:34even the time when the Ottomans were well
47:36the Seljuks at that time already invaded Turkey
47:42Anders tells me that human habitation
47:44goes back way beyond the early years
47:46of Christianity
47:48People were living here
47:50you know
47:52from Neolithic times on
47:54onwards, you know
47:56They had some trading contacts to Mesopotamia
47:58where they were trading
48:00this volcanic glass, you know, the obsidian
48:02which they used for
48:04for cutting the harvest in Mesopotamia
48:06So that's how
48:08it started
48:10It wouldn't be the Silk Route but it would be going across it
48:12Yeah, it was a very early trade line
48:14And then afterwards, you know
48:16more and more people settled down in the area
48:18It's rather fertile
48:24In some of the churches
48:26there are wall paintings in stunning condition
48:28protected over the centuries
48:30from direct sunlight
48:32though sadly not from the hand of man
48:34And the faces scratched out
48:36was that
48:38yes, you've got the eyes, the mouth
48:40they just scratched the faces out
48:42was that a deliberate policy at some time?
48:44Right, later on when the Turks came
48:46they were afraid of the evil eye, you know
48:48and so for that reason mostly they scratched out the faces
48:50and especially the eyes of these
48:52Ah, right
48:54Because they kept some
48:56flock and some animals in the caves
48:58and they didn't want to
49:00They thought the eyes somehow sort of had some
49:02Exactly
49:06Okay, would you like to learn
49:08for your future?
49:10I have a friend of mine, she's just living over here
49:12Gulcan is more interested in the future
49:14than the past
49:16She wants me to meet a neighbour
49:18who can read fortunes from looking in a cup of coffee
49:20Oh dear
49:22I never know whether it's a good thing to know
49:24about what's going to happen
49:26She says bad things and good things
49:28and everything she says
49:32Does your neighbour
49:34read your fortune?
49:36Yes, sometimes
49:38Yeah, good things and bad things
49:40You seem quite a happy sort of person
49:42Oh yes, yes
49:44News is good for you
49:46Yes, yes, I'm always interested
49:48if she says something nice
49:50but also if she says something bad
49:52of course I get really upset
49:56And then turn it upside down
49:58There we go
50:00And down there
50:02Let it wait for a while
50:04Then it becomes
50:06cold here
50:08and it means ready
50:10Oh I see, so it takes time for them to dry out
50:12So it's against Islamic law
50:14Yeah
50:16I mean for Islamic things
50:18I mean these things
50:20I am really not a really good Muslim person
50:22and I am really
50:24I'm not really a religious person
50:26but I mean these kind of things
50:28is for Muslim people
50:30they say never ever do it
50:32They don't accept
50:34such things, they say sin
50:36Only God knows
50:38Yeah, but especially
50:40I mean also sometimes men also
50:42they are very very interested in such things
50:44Maybe 80 or 90%
50:46as women is much more interesting than men
50:48That's interesting
50:50Yes, I like it very much
50:56Ah ok, you will meet a rich lady
50:58here and then she is
51:00she will make you tight here
51:02and you don't want to go
51:06That's interesting
51:08It's really interesting, you know there is a new love
51:10for you
51:12Yes
51:14You will get very good news
51:16You will be happy and you will jump
51:18like a kangaroo design
51:20You will be very happy
51:22Is this to do with meeting the lady
51:24or is this quite a separate thing
51:32Maybe
51:34or not
51:42Oh that's really interesting
51:46You are going to meet this rich lady
51:48in the internet chat
51:50like a teenager design
51:54I can't work in chat rooms
51:58It's on richlady.com
52:06Caves and internet chat rooms
52:08It's most confusing
52:12It certainly stops you from making any
52:14glib judgements about big cities
52:16and rural backwaters
52:22It feels strange, unfamiliar
52:24and very foreign out here in Asian Turkey
52:26Yet there is much we have in common
52:28Our Christian heritage survived here
52:30Sons of Anatolian farmers
52:32are abandoning their fields
52:34to run hotels for us
52:36As the young move to modern houses
52:38anthropologists save their old ones
52:40Separating east and west
52:42is a futile preoccupation
52:44The future is cooperation
52:46I know
52:48I saw it in the coffee cup
53:10I saw it in the coffee cup
53:36Much history has been played out
53:38in this hard and mountainous land
53:40And as political and economic change
53:42reverberates through the region
53:44it could well see its time come again
53:48If Turkey is successful
53:50in joining the European Union
53:52and many think she will be
53:54then the new Europe will include
53:56not just wild and wonderful landscape like this
53:58but a whole set of new neighbours
54:00including Syria
54:02Iraq
54:04and Iran
54:08and the Middle East
54:10and the Middle East
54:12and the Middle East
54:14and the Middle East
54:16and the Middle East
54:18and the Middle East
54:20and the Middle East
54:22and the Middle East
54:24and the Middle East
54:26and the Middle East
54:28and the Middle East
54:30and the Middle East
54:32and the Middle East
54:34and the Middle East
54:36and the Middle East
54:38and the Middle East
54:40and the Middle East
54:42and the Middle East
54:44and the Middle East
54:46and the Middle East
54:48and the Middle East
54:50and the Middle East
54:52and the Middle East
54:54and the Middle East
54:56and the Middle East
54:58and the Middle East
55:00and the Middle East
55:02and the Middle East