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Coming up next, The Travel Show.

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Coming up on this week's Travel Show, I go way back

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in time, here in Turkey.

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Join me as I go underground to explore a vast hidden city.

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Wow!

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And get to see some amazing meditation in motion up close.

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And we also head to Italy, to talk to the Mayor who wants

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to take meat off the menu in her town.

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Sumptuous.

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Really, really nice.

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Now, Italy is a country perhaps best-known for its history

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and its food, and Apennine Mount region sees itself as the nation's

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and its food, and the Piedmont region sees itself as the nation's

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home of gastrononmy, but now the Mayor of Turin wants

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to start a revolution in the city's restaurants.

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We sent Rajan to find out why.

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Quattro Spaghetti!

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Some historical cities never lose their grandeur,

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even in mid-winter.

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The elegant royal city of Turin and, yes, those really

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are the Alps behind me.

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Now, this city is famous for its cars, its cuisine

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and its role in the creation of the Italian nation, but now it's

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staking a claim as being the capital of vegetarianism.

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That's the dream of Turin's new Mayor, the 31-year-old

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Chiara Appendino, who swept into power last summer

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on an anti-establishment ticket.

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Food is not just a matter of eating, it's a matter of being,

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having knowledge on what you eat, how you eat it, where you eat it

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and also about the story of what you're eating.

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It's a matter of health.

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It's a matter of respecting the environment.

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So when we talk about vegetarianism, we're talking about what it means

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to have a food policy and what it means to having knowledge

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of what you're eating.

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Are you a vegetarian?

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No, I'm not.

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Among the proposals are...

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A vegetarian map for tourists.

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One meat free-day a week and teaching children about animal

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welfare and ecology.

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But this is the land of vitello tonnato, veal with tuna sauce.

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Brasato al barolo, beef braised in local wine.

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Spaghetti bolognese and beef steak, so how will the Mayor's plans go

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down in a city that's not just blue blooded in its history,

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but traditionally red blooded with its cuisine?

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In surveys, 10% of Italians regard themselves as veggie

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and only 1% vegan.

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This is Porta Palazzo, the largest open market in Europe

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and if you want to get a sense of how much people in this

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city love their food, just look around here.

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This may be an industrial town, but Turin is also surrounded

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by really good soil for vegetables and fruit.

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It just goes on forever, just stall after stall

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after of vegetables and fruit.

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I think that the tradition of Italian cooking -

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and especially the Turin cooking - is not vegetarian, so it's a good

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thing to eat vegetables, but not all the vegetables,

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also meat is important.

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As a non-meat eater myself, I'm curious as to how

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realistic the proposals are.

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According to the Mayor's office, there are already at least 30 vegan

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and vegetarian restaurants, like this one, in Turin,

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but she wants many more.

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How creative do you have to be to make vegan and vegetarian food?

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For the kind of cuisine we make here, we want to propose something

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new, something different, and then we starting a lot

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about different kinds of ingredients or technique.

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A lot of dishes inside the Italian culture are vegan,

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but people don't know.

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People eat spaghetti and tomatoes and think

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about spaghetti and tomatoes, but it's vegan based,

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do you know what I mean?

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So it's natural in Italian food?

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Yes, it's really easy.

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This soup is a cream made with potatoes...

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Luca got into veganism, he told me, through the punk

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scene when he was young.

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This is vegan parmesan.

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He feels Turin is ahead of the game on eating trends.

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Then we have to carve the truffle.

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Oops!

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It's not easy, I know.

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It's not easy.

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One of the most famous and the first vegan festival

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in Italy was in Turin, like the first Gay

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Pride was in Turin.

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I think it's like a really European and open-minded city.

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Sumptuous.

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Really, really nice.

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Not surprisingly for those whose livelihoods depend

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on the meat industry, the idea of a vegetarian city

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is preposterous and donkey's might fly, as the saying goes here.

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Buon giorno, Piercarlo.

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Buon giorno, buon giorno.

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Piercarlo's grandfather started this business in 1928,

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meat is sourced from five farms in the prestigious Alba area

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and its pride and joy is the beef of a local breed of cow,

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called the Fassone.

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Piercarlo says many local people rely on the meat trade for work

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and jobs could be at risk.

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The fact is though, this is a region that has also always celebrated

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the diversity of its food, its deep links to the soil

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and its refined tastes and aromas.

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The bella vita, in fact.

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To be fair, it wouldn't be the first time that this

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city has led the world in changing its eating habits.

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The now world-famous slow food, which movement celebrates healthy

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eating and promotes good food products started

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in this very region.

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It's safe to say that meat will not be disappearing for most menus

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in Turin for the foreseeable future, but the new Mayor's administration,

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for all the talk of ending political gimmickry,

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has shown itself to be very skilful at seizing the agenda.

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By using the veggie angle, Turin has also been able to shout

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from the rooftops about its other unique assets and raised its tourist

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profile in the process.

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Talk about having your cake and eat it!

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Umm, wow!

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Wow!

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Still to come on this week's Travel Show.

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I hit the road here in Turkey and join the archeologists

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who are unearthing a fascinating part of the country's past.

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And also get to see an amazing display of movement

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and meditation up close.

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The Travel Show, your essential guide wherever you're heading.

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Now, Turkey is a country maybe best-known to travellers

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for its sun and sea holidays, but as a bridge between Europe

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and Asia, the country also has a fascinating history,

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as I'm about to discover.

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I'm travelling to the centre of the country, Nevsehir in Cappadocia.

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Millions of years ago, the region was covered volcanic ash

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which hardened over time to form this dream-like landscape.

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For centuries, settlers have tunnelled into the rock to create

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over 200 underground cities and villages.

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So many, that the area's recognised as a World Heritage Site.

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Good morning, Sami.

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Good morning, Henry.

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But I'm here to see a recent discovery that might top the others.

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In the heart of the town, among the modern houses

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and office buildings, workers made a startling

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find as they cleared a hillside for redevelopment -

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The largest underground city of its kind.

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Excavations have revealed these openings, dug

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into the side of the hill.

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Experts estimate the caves could extend over 450,000 square meters.

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Wow, look at all of this.

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I find it quite hard to believe that there were people living on top

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of here and all of this was actually hidden, so they had no

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idea that this was here.

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No.

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That is insane.

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Wow, that ceiling is rather unique, isn't it?

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What's all this?

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This is a monastery and, according to the scientists,

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the monastery dates back to the 6th Century AD.

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It's not in the best of conditions, but you can definitely see that

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outline, that cross there.

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This region was really important for the early Christians.

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So do you find that some people are surprised to hear that Turkey

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has had such a Christian history?

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Most of the visitors which come to Turkey as a tourist, yes,

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because Turkey's a single country on earth which has got the function

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of a bridge which is connecting two continents together -

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Asia to Europe, Europe to Asia.

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Nearly two different civilisations that pass through this country,

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those are the civilisations which leave some remains.

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It's thought Christian settlers used these caves 1,500 years ago.

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The winding tunnels and hidden openings offered protection

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from attacking armies.

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Starting at the early Christian period, the enemies

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was the Roman Empire.

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After 6th, 7th Century, the enemies was Arab, Persians.

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And while they were attacking very often and how they could fight

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against the professional soldiers.

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Now, Sami, I've noticed a couple of these around

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the caves themselves.

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What exactly is it?

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This is a stone door.

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That must weigh at least, how much do you think?

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Around 1000lb, 500 kilograms.

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So it actually moves still?

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Yes, look.

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Wow, that's a little precarious.

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It's a little bit steep, isn't it?

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Yes.

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There are so many little holes you can actually put your foot

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in and fall through.

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What is this area, what is it used for?

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I mean this section has been used as a burial places, tombs,

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or family burial chambers.

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The caves weren't simply used for hiding.

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As well as burials, archeologists believe the network

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was used to store produce and transport goods.

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Now these particular tunnels are a bit of a tight squeeze

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and that's because they're part of the underground water system.

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Now they think that it stretches for about 12 kilometres,

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but at the moment they've only uncovered about 500 metres

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of it

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and it's definitely not recommended if you're

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a little bit claustrophobic.

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Luckily, I'm not.

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No-one is certain how long ago the first tunnels were built,

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they might be as much as 5,000 years old, long before

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the Christians settled here.

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Only a small portion of the network has been excavated so far

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and experts hope there are plenty more discoveries waiting

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to be unearthed.

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To

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Wow, look at that.

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I've actually heard of this spot because all the archeologists

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are very excited about this, aren't they?

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This is a church.

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An underground cave church, the experts are dating back

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to the 12th Century.

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You can't help but notice that these ones are pretty well kept,

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but a lot of them have, kind of, disintegrated away,

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some have fallen away from the actual ceiling.

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Probably, when we got to the other section of the church, over there,

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things will be much better preserved or which are under the soil

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will be much better preserved than those ones.

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So this is going to take quite a long while because you need

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the specialists who will take care in removing the dirt and, hopefully,

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finding some more fresh bits.

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Going forward, there are plans to turn sections of the cave network

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into an archaeological park with art galleries and boutique hotels.

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Authorities hope to open it to the public in 2018,

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when visitors can see the excavations in their full glory.

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Now, I'm leaving that dig at Nevsehir behind and heading

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westwards towards the city of Konya.

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Like many places in Turkey, it's seen civilisations come and go

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from the Romans to the Persians, but perhaps what it's best-known

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for was being the home of a man who's often referred

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to as the Islamic Shakespeare.

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Come, come again, whoever you are, come!

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Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!

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The words of a 13th Century religious scholar, mystic and poet

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called Mevlana Rumi, whose work has been studied

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and venerated for centuries in the East and become increasingly

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popular in the West.

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# Come as you are.

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# As you were...#.

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Musicians from top 90s grunge group Nirvana to Madonna have used text

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attributed to Rumi in their work.

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He's currently, almost 800 years after his death,

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the best-selling poet in America.

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The son of a religious scholar, Rumi spent much of his childhood

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travelling throughout the Islamic world before finally making his home

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here in Konya, in central Anatolia.

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He became well-known not only for his interpretation of Koranic

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verse, but also the honesty and humour in his writing

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and his clear sense of morality, leaving behind countless poems that

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still resonate today.

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And now many people come here to Konya to see where the man,

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who is often referred to as the Islamic Shakespeare,

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is buried and to learn more about his work an his teachings.

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I've been incredibly lucky as a direct descendant of the great

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man himself has agreed to meet up for a chat.

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TRANSLATION: Listen to the reed, how it tells it tale,

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complaining of separations.

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Saying, ever since I was parted from the reedbed my lament has

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caused man and woman to moan.

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TRANSLATION: I am the 22nd generation descendant from Mevlana

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and when I was born my siblings and I were taught that we had been

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passed a very special gift to protect.

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Others can learn and experience his teachings, but it's our duty

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to safeguard the legacy.

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So why do you think the teachings that Mevlana had written about have

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grown in popularity, 750 years later?

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The whole world is curious about the teachings of Mevlana

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because he taught us how important it is to know and love ourselves

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because that allows us to love others.

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This really resonates with what's happening in the world today.

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As a Sufi, Rumi was a member of a group of devout Muslims

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who focus on nurturing their own and others spiritual dimension,

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whatever their religion.

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A whole tourist industry has sprung up around Rumi in Konya and every

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year hundreds of thousands of people also come here to study Sufism.

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Perhaps best-known of all Sufi traditions are the world famous

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dancers or Dervishes who whirl in a trance-like state to release

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untapped energy and make a devine connection.

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Now this is a very special place indeed.

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This is where they make the sikke, which is a traditional hat worn

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by the Sufi.

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They've used the same technique for hundreds of years

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and it's all handmade.

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TRANSLATION: In the teachings of Mevlana everything has a meaning.

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People, objects, animals and plants.

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Kissing this band on the hat symbolises the value

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of these things.

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So you put the sikke on your head, like this, and the ribbon comes down

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to your heart.

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The green band symbolises knowledge and you can think of this

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like a channel, which means all knowledge should lead

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to the heart and to love.

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If knowledge doesn't reach the heart, then it's worthless.

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Although whirling Dervishes perform for tourists in many parts

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of the Islamic world, here at the Mevlana Rumi Centre,

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I'm told that I'll see something far more authentic

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and purely devotional.

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Now I hear that they put on this performance every Saturday night,

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I'm really looking forward to watching this.

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Each devotional session or Sama is led by a Sheikh,

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who commands the ritual.

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Each of the dancers whirl with their right arm directed

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upwards towards God, whilst their left arm points

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to the earth.

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Through this unique act of motion and meditation,

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Sufi believe they can reach the source of all perfection,

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known as kemal.

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It's so hypnotising, kind of, watching them perform.

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I can only imagine how they actually feel doing it and listening

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and hearing the scriptures, it's almost as if they get

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into a bit of a trance, but I'll definitely say

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that's pretty amazing.

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TRANSLATION: Everyone who is left far from his source wishes back

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the time when he was united with it.

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Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for this week,

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but coming up next week:

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I head to Brunei to explore the world's largest floating town.

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And Alli gets a chance to play his very first set

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and he asks why so many London clubs have closed down in recent years.

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I'm mixing!

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Catch that if you can.

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But from me, Henry Golding, and the rest of The Travel Show team

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here in Turkey, it's goodbye.

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Hello.

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Well, while some of us were shivering on Thursday,

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for others, for example across the North of Scotland,

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it was remarkably mild.

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A day of contrasts.

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