0:00:10 > 0:00:12I believe in God.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Don't know why. Always have.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Never had a religion, hardly ever went to church,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19but then, about ten years ago, just before I was 40,
0:00:19 > 0:00:20I became a Catholic.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24In nomine padre, del figlio, e dello spirito sancto.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I've come to wondering
0:00:26 > 0:00:28if I'd been born in another place,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30could I just as easily have been a Jew or a Muslim?
0:00:32 > 0:00:34After all, they believe in one God
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and, I assume, it's the same God.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I've come to the Mediterranean where Jews, Christians and Muslims
0:00:44 > 0:00:47have lived cheek by jowl with, let's be honest, limited success
0:00:47 > 0:00:50for as long as anybody cares to remember.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51THE POPE SPEAKS LATIN
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And I hope,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56believe,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58even pray,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01that we actually have more to unite us than divide us.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11On my way around the Mediterranean,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I want to try and show that religion actually does more good than harm.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19I won't be seeking out the religious zealots,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21they get quite enough airtime, if you ask me.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24No, I just want to find the majority -
0:01:24 > 0:01:26the nice, normal, gentle people
0:01:26 > 0:01:27who happen to be religious.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The meek might end up inheriting the Earth,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34but they're not getting much coverage along the way.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I'll be celebrating joyous festivals
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and trying to fathom some perplexing rituals.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45I'll witness the passion...
0:01:46 > 0:01:47..the devotion.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51I'll see things I never want to see again.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59A very senior cardinal has seen and heard it all,
0:01:59 > 0:02:00so manages to remain calm
0:02:00 > 0:02:04as he takes my first confession in several turbulent years.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It's such a relief to have had that conversation.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'And I'll get very close to my favourite parish priest.'
0:02:11 > 0:02:13If the worst was to happen now,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15is it to my benefit that I've expired with a priest,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18or does the fact that I brought about the demise of a priest
0:02:18 > 0:02:19make it even worse for me?
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Yeah, exactly. It could go either way, I'm not quite sure.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29The Mediterranean laps on the shores of 24 countries
0:02:29 > 0:02:31and three continents.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33My religious ride around it
0:02:33 > 0:02:36begins in very Catholic Croatia.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Of all the places around the Mediterranean to start,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Croatia isn't the most obvious choice on the face of it,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46but for me it is,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48because I'm half-Croatian.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51My mum's Croatian, she's got a place on this island.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It belonged to her mother before her.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57And I feel very Croatian, actually, I even speak Croatian,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59albeit better with a drink inside me,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02and I do so with a very strong Birmingham accent as well.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04It's a very peculiar noise.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05SHE SPEAKS CROATIAN:
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- You can go now.- OK.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I know, just say where we're going!
0:03:39 > 0:03:41'When I became a Catholic,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44'all my family, being enthusiastic atheists,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46'thought I'd lost my marbles.'
0:03:46 > 0:03:48All right, this is our...
0:03:48 > 0:03:50It's our house, my mum's house.
0:03:50 > 0:03:51Hang on, let's...
0:03:51 > 0:03:52Our name on the door.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Couple of hundred years old, but quite spick and span.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00'It turns out my mum's an atheist despite,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03'or rather, because of,
0:04:03 > 0:04:04'her religious upbringing.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:08So, why didn't you grow up believing, then?
0:04:08 > 0:04:12What really put me off, at an early age, when I was about seven...
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Yeah.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15..that you had a First Communion.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19You've got to...to confess your sins, that's what you have to do.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22No, I know. Hang on, I'm the Catholic here.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23I know about those things.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28So I went there, in this confessional whatever it's called, and I thought,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30well, what should I say?
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I haven't done anything. What did you do at seven years old?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37So I actually went and I said...
0:04:37 > 0:04:43- I said that I stole some jam out of a jar.- And had you done that?
0:04:43 > 0:04:45And I thought that was... No!
0:04:45 > 0:04:46LAUGHING: So you hadn't even done it?
0:04:46 > 0:04:49No, that was the sin. Telling a lie, for a start!
0:04:49 > 0:04:51- So you lied about...- Yes.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Because I couldn't think of anything else to say, what else,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58you know, I've done that was naughty, kind of thing.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I'm... How do I get to the age of 48 and a half
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and never heard this story?
0:05:03 > 0:05:04- I just don't get it.- I don't know!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- So you made up a sin about jam? - Yes. Yes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Well, I feel very sorry for you, now, at the age of seven,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12having to confess for having stolen jam
0:05:12 > 0:05:13when you haven't even stolen it.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I want to thank you for not taking me to church or First Communion
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- when I was a kid, so I was never put off.- No.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23This is the room where I always remember staying
0:05:23 > 0:05:27when we came on holiday, when we were kids. Me and my brother in here.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31This, oddly, is the bed my mum was actually conceived in,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35which is not, sort of, an image you want to dwell on,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37but it seems significant. So, I'm sharing it with you.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41But when my nan used to take me to church here,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44I remember a little boy, I was eight years old,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46and I used to say my prayers here like this.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48I can't remember what I was praying for,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50but I remember my mum and dad, laughing at me in the doorway there,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52and my dad particularly going,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56"Oh, aye, here's holy Joe at his work."
0:05:59 > 0:06:01This laughter and fun's all for the camera, by the way.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Most of the time, the two of us bicker like nobody's business!
0:06:06 > 0:06:09The only member of our family who was holy,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11if you like, was my mum's mum.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Though I was brought up in an atheist family
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and I was never part of any particular church,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25this place here was always very special to me.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26This little church
0:06:26 > 0:06:30on this island in Croatia, where my mum and my nan's house
0:06:30 > 0:06:31were just down the road,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35and my nan, who was religious, and I sort of half recall this,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38that she would bring me to church here when I was seven or eight,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and I just wonder whether some kind of seed was sown.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I just love little churches like this.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50The grandiosity doesn't really do it for me with churches,
0:06:50 > 0:06:51but this place is amazing.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I don't know whether it's the quiet beauty of the setting,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00or the hand of family history on my shoulder,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03but spiritually this place really does it for me.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10I'm a keen student of the Mass-going experience.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I love little places like this.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14What I would say though
0:07:14 > 0:07:16is that this is hard-core in terms of the kneeling.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18KNOCKING
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Oh, they're bone-hard, they're as hard as this floor.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25It's a serious devotion that goes on in here,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and very sore knees, I should think, if you're kneeling for long enough.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31This is...
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Saint Rocco,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35and he's invoked against cholera,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38knee problems, plague, skin diseases,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and he's patron saint of bachelors,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42diseased cattle, dogs,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44falsely-accused people, invalids,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Istanbul, surgeons, tile-makers,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50grave-diggers, second-hand dealers,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52pilgrims and apothecaries.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56So he's a busy chap in his saintliness...
0:07:57 > 0:08:00..but my word, great as it is in here,
0:08:00 > 0:08:05I don't think there's a better view as you emerge from a church,
0:08:05 > 0:08:06anywhere in the world.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Imagine at the end of mass in here,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10turning round and walking out of that door there.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18I think that's probably about as much
0:08:18 > 0:08:21banging on about religion as my mum can manage.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24So, is the Muslims' God the same as mine?
0:08:24 > 0:08:25She can't help me on that one,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30so onward, to the very top right-hand corner of the Mediterranean basin.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33MUEZZIN CALLS
0:08:33 > 0:08:34Istanbul.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37A city of 14 million souls,
0:08:37 > 0:08:38nearly all of them Muslim,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42be they lapsed, devout, or somewhere in-between.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47It's one of those cities which always looks frantically busy,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49but never more so than in the days
0:08:49 > 0:08:53before one of the biggest festivals in the Islamic calendar.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59In the Grand Bazaar and spice market, everyone's out
0:08:59 > 0:09:02preparing for the feast of sacrifice,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04one of the two Eids.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06It's like Oxford Street a couple of days before Christmas.
0:09:08 > 0:09:09Thank you very much, thank you.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- Enjoy.- Mmm! I will do, thank you.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- How are you?- Nice to see you.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Vladimir Putin lookalike there, look.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I wondered where he got to. He's hiding in plain sight in Istanbul.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29A staggering 90 million come to the Grand Bazaar every year.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It's claimed to be the most visited place in the world.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The Bazaar's been in business since 1455,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39which is only just before this gentleman's ancestors came here,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41having been expelled from Spain.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45He's one of the last Jewish traders in the whole place,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48selling Muslim, Christian and Jewish artefacts,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51not all of them in the best possible taste.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I mean, these things, aren't they Crusaders?
0:09:53 > 0:09:54They're Crusaders and Ottomans.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56But they don't like Crusaders around here.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Nobody minds you selling Crusaders?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01No, no, no. For selling, you can sell everything.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03OK. In the Bazaar you can sell everything.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04Are they Jewish chess pieces?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06No. That's just Christians versus Muslims.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09If you have, you sell it. We sell everything.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12OK, tell me about your teas.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Pomegranate there, it's nice.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Beautiful.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18- Anti-stress?- It's for relaxing.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Your wife too much speak, you drink one cup,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- very good sleeping. - THEY LAUGH
0:10:23 > 0:10:27He says, my wife too much speak, have one of those
0:10:27 > 0:10:29and I'll relax anyway,
0:10:29 > 0:10:30even if wife too much speak.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32I haven't got a wife. I'm still stressed though.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35On the face of it,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37a busy shopping scene just like you might get at home.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Here, religion is woven into daily life
0:10:40 > 0:10:42in a way we're not familiar with.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45CALL TO PRAYER
0:10:47 > 0:10:48When was the last time most of us
0:10:48 > 0:10:51heard a call to prayer in a shopping centre?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Modern Turkey is constitutionally secular,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08but seems to be getting more Islamic all the time.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10It boarders Syria and Iraq,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13so it's heavily embroiled in the horrors there.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I probably wouldn't have to look too far on either bank
0:11:16 > 0:11:19of the Bosphorus to find a Jihadist or two,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21but that's not the company I choose to keep.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25More my kind of man of faith is a fisherman friend of mine.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The skipper here has given me my fishing technique.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37I've got to keep this moving, so please don't be distracted.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40He said it doesn't work unless I keep moving like this.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42Ah, how am I doing?
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Super. Top job here. Very well.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47- Super, top job.- Very, very nice.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50'Selatin is the very gentlest of souls,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53'utterly at ease with his work and his faith.'
0:11:54 > 0:11:58So, how will you spend Eid this year? Uh, Bayram?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01HE SPEAKS HIS LANGUAGE:
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Do you feel close to God when you're out here on the Bosphorus?
0:12:16 > 0:12:18It feels very peaceful to me.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And is there a special prayer that you say as a fisherman?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Our patron saint of fishermen is Saint Peter,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and I'm sure he's smiling down on you now.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28Hello!
0:13:28 > 0:13:29THEY LAUGH
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Hello, Saint Peter.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36So, Selatin believes in God,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38who he just happens to call Allah.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42He, like I do, I suppose,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43sees God's work everywhere.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47That he's a Muslim and I'm a Christian
0:13:47 > 0:13:51is quite extravagantly unimportant to either of us.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59This festival of Bayram, as the Turks call Eid,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03celebrates a story that's in both the Old Testament and the Koran,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07about God's instruction to Abraham to sacrifice his son.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09This Abraham agreed to do,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11but God relented
0:14:11 > 0:14:12and an animal was killed instead.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20With the festival of Eid approaching, I've been invited to spend time
0:14:20 > 0:14:23with a lovely, fairly typical Istanbul family.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27The Geomjis own a restaurant
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and today, they're preparing food for the Eid feast
0:14:30 > 0:14:33I'm privileged to be sharing with them tomorrow.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35This is a lot of good stuff. You just, like...
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I could eat all this and there'll be nothing left for tomorrow.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- No, you eating the little bit, that's OK.- OK.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46This is Metup and her sister Melda.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Both have lived and worked abroad where they've often encountered
0:14:49 > 0:14:53misconceptions as to what being a modern young Muslim is all about.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59If you say, "Hey, I am Muslim," they can say, "Oh, really?"
0:14:59 > 0:15:04And then, "Where is your scarf? What's happened?"
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I was, like, "Oh..."
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Sometimes I'm just joking, "I forgot my scarf!"
0:15:10 > 0:15:13But this is, like, er, optional.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I am Muslim, I'm not putting on a scarf,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18covering my face and that.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22I'm not a, like, that kind of Muslim.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24You know, I believe God, I'm good person.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I have a good family.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30What can I expect from the festival tomorrow for Bayram?
0:15:30 > 0:15:34We wear nice clothes and eat a lot of food,
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and, erm, celebrate with the kids and older people and relatives.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Just, kind of, how you celebrate Christmas.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So, when you were a little girl, did you see the sheep slaughtered?
0:15:46 > 0:15:48No, I never seen them like that.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Like, because it's, erm, my family, they all the time aside,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- like, "Just don't see it." - No, you saw it.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Remember, my grandfather's house?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- No, not the little kids.- He buy... - No, not the little kids,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- like, four or five, no.- No, not four or five. Seven, eight years old,
0:16:01 > 0:16:06I see my grandfather buy little...sheep?
0:16:06 > 0:16:08- Yeah.- Sheep?- Lamb.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Lamb, yeah, because sheep is different.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Lamb, and we feed them one week, prepare, love them.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15When the time comes, Bayram comes,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19and it's time to sacrifice this lamb.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22I'm, like, I couldn't understand, because I had connected...
0:16:22 > 0:16:26connection with the lamb, and that's my friend, all those things.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28I'm, like, when they start the day,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33my grandmother and my grandfather explained me what they are doing
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and then, er, why they are doing, and then you start understanding.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39So, what... How did they put it?
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- They say, "Abraham had a son," and...- Yes.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45He need to cut that son, but he sacrificed that son.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- He offered to sacrifice the son. - Yes, but that the son is free
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and that we celebrate it every year.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- So are you coming to the sacrifice tomorrow?- Yes, yes.- Yes.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- You both are?- Yes.- Yes. - Can each of you hold one hand?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59- Are you going to hold our hands too? - You know I am, I am.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02Relaxed as they are,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05religion for this family is more than just for Bayram.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Prayer is part of their daily lives.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09There's a mosque next door
0:17:09 > 0:17:10and, when it's quiet,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Haja, Melda's cousin, says it's fine for me to tag along with her.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17I don't think I've been in a mosque, actually, before.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Are you allowed to take me in there?
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Yes, I will, er, go inside right now.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23You can follow me.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25OK. Don't you need to...
0:17:25 > 0:17:29No, I have to put on my scarf, because this is the, er,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31respect to my culture.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33And your cousin comes here to pray as well?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Yes, she's going to be praying right now. OK.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37But this isn't the prayer time we're going now?
0:17:37 > 0:17:41- Yes. Yeah, this is, like, we call them Ikindr time.- OK.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Yeah, it's just, like, until the 7.30, and then she's going to pray.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46- OK.- And then you can see the inside.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Right, go on. You go first.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I'm first. When you go in the inside,
0:17:50 > 0:17:51- you have to take off your shoes.- OK.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53- You can put them in here.- Yeah.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55'I really like being shoeless, actually.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58'It somehow makes it more intimate.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00'The decor though I find a little unsettling.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03'Because figurative religious art is shunned,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'it's a bit sort of bare for my Catholic sensibilities.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09'None of the angels and icons that I'm so used to.'
0:18:17 > 0:18:20But I find it nothing less than electrifying
0:18:20 > 0:18:24to share this sacred space with these young women.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Spiritually, there's not a piece of paper between us.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31When Melda's working abroad, actually,
0:18:31 > 0:18:32and can't get to a mosque,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35she'll just use whatever church she comes across, and quite right.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39And what do you pray for, if you don't mind me asking?
0:18:40 > 0:18:45It's just, like, we're Muslim, and we pray for God.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Thank you for everything, forgiveness,
0:18:48 > 0:18:53and...the life, happiness, sadness -
0:18:53 > 0:18:56appreciation for everything.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57SHE PRAYS QUIETLY
0:19:00 > 0:19:05So, when I'm in my church and I pray to my God, is there any difference?
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- Is it the same?- No, God is God. Only one God.- It's the same God?
0:19:08 > 0:19:09It's the same God, but different religion.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11But do you think it matters?
0:19:12 > 0:19:16So, praying in a synagogue, or a church or a mosque?
0:19:17 > 0:19:18- Doesn't matter.- It's the same?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21If you pray, er, same thing.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24We believe the one God, and then different kind of religion.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28It's amazing we find so much to fight about when it's all one God.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36I dare say there are Muslims and Christians
0:19:36 > 0:19:38who'd spit fire at that exchange,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42but for Christians like me and Muslims like Melda,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I've reached the conclusion that we are basically just the same.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Funny feeling getting up for my very first Eid, or Bayram
0:20:02 > 0:20:04as they call it around here. Sort of like...
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Christmas morning.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10I'm sort of...thrilled
0:20:10 > 0:20:16and honoured to be taking part in the family's festivities, but, er,
0:20:16 > 0:20:21somewhat concerned at the thought of seeing a...sheep dispatched.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It seems a funny thing to be doing on Christmas morning, if you see what I mean.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Then again, I suppose, we're always eating turkey
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and that's met its maker in the previous days, so...
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Got a nicely pressed shirt...
0:20:37 > 0:20:38Try and look presentable.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43As in most cultures, the women here are being left to prepare the food,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and while the lamb awaits slaughter nearby,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50the menfolk invite me to prayers at another local mosque.
0:20:50 > 0:20:51Ever anxious to please,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55I work on my pronunciation of today's appropriate salutation.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58I Bayram lar?
0:20:58 > 0:20:59Iyi Bayramlar, yes.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- Iyi Bayramlar.- You're learning Turkish very quickly.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Iyi Bayramlar.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05'However hard I try to speak a language,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'why is it that I always still sound like I come from Birmingham?'
0:21:10 > 0:21:13A morning of quiet devotion with my new friends
0:21:13 > 0:21:16soon looks like it won't come to pass, though.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22There's a rare old commotion at the mosque.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26It's like something out of West Wing.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Could you please move out of sight, sir, we have to...
0:21:32 > 0:21:35The secret service people keep coming out with presidential shoes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38The bodyguards look nervously at me,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I look nervously at them.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Of all the mosques, in all the world,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Turkish President Erdogan
0:21:44 > 0:21:47has decided to come to this one for his Eid prayers.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I seem to have blundered into the wrong mosque for Bayram here,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02because the President's turned up
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and all the secret servicemen are looking very furious with me.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07So, no prayers for me,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11but at least I get to show off my newly acquired language skills.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Iyi Bayramlar.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15ADRIAN AND OTHERS: Iyi Bayramlar.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20And there goes the President.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23One of the most bizarre mornings of my life.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28'And it's about to get more disorientating.'
0:22:30 > 0:22:34This is where hundreds of the sheep and bulls chosen for sacrifice
0:22:34 > 0:22:36will be meeting their maker.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41I understand the tradition and the importance of keeping alive
0:22:41 > 0:22:42the link to Abraham...
0:22:46 > 0:22:49..and I also appreciate that what goes on in abattoirs at home
0:22:49 > 0:22:52is probably barely less awful to behold than this.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55In the original story,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Abraham sacrifices a lamb,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00but more prosperous families might choose a bull instead.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Either way, I honestly don't know if I'm man enough to bear witness.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I've got two emotions. One...
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I'm f... I'm nervous about it, OK?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Two though, I'm so grateful that it's a sheep, not a cow,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21cos those... Oh, yeah?
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Seeing those cows with the blindfold on... Here, there's another one here.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Do you feel sad for the animals?
0:23:27 > 0:23:28- Or are you just...- No.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33No, we are not. We are sad, but this is our culture and just...
0:23:33 > 0:23:38We are Muslim, today is the Iyr Bayram, it's a happy Bayram.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42That? This one?
0:23:44 > 0:23:45I'm trying to avoid eye contact.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52It's my honour to do the deal for the sheep.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54The sheer joy of these men, though,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56suggests I may be paying a mite over the odds.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Sorry.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03750 for a life.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Hang on, I'll get my money out.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09'Distressingly, the girls have given him a name. Karamano,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12'which, they tell me, means courage.'
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Oh, God. I hope he goes easily.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15I don't want to... I don't want a struggle.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Really, I can't face a struggle.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Come on, son, go quietly,
0:24:19 > 0:24:20there's no point resisting.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I'm really honoured to share this special moment with these women,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29but there's no getting away from it, I'm really struggling.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34SHEEP BLEAT GUTTURALLY
0:24:38 > 0:24:41THEY PRAY
0:24:42 > 0:24:44At the critical moment,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46the sisters and those around us say their prayers
0:24:46 > 0:24:49and it's at this point that the meat becomes halal
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and, therefore, acceptable for Muslims to eat.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13I cannot tell you how glad I am that it's over.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Ye Gods, I never want to see that again.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I might not actually eat meat again.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I came here a Catholic, I'm going to go home a vegetarian, I think.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23SHEEP BLEAT PAINFULLY
0:25:25 > 0:25:27The tradition is that those families who can afford to buy
0:25:27 > 0:25:31an animal for slaughter donate a third of the meat to the poor,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33a third to friends
0:25:33 > 0:25:35and keep a third for their family celebration.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Bayram feels very like our Christmas,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52albeit with better weather.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56A happy family around a table groaning with food
0:25:56 > 0:25:58and memories of Bayrams past.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- So, this was very exciting when you were little?- Yes.- Bayram.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07- I collected a lot of money.- Did you?
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And sometimes they give candy.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11What did you prefer, candy or money?
0:26:11 > 0:26:12Of course, money.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13LAUGHTER
0:26:13 > 0:26:15'This is all very nice,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19'but I just want to get the eating of poor Karaman out of the way.'
0:26:19 > 0:26:20'Oh, no, here he is.'
0:26:21 > 0:26:24When I was a kid, I always had trouble eating
0:26:24 > 0:26:26the meat of the lambs that I saw was slaughtered.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28It's a very different experience
0:26:28 > 0:26:31and seeing it dying before your eyes.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Yeah.- And yes, it's a hard thing to accept.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37So, if you'd been there today with me and seen poor Karaman,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39would you still be able to eat that?
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- No, probably not.- Really?- Yes.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Sometimes it's better to not know some things.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44I was very upset, but now...
0:26:44 > 0:26:47I must be quite shallow, because now I can't wait to eat it,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49so I don't know what that says about me.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52It's my first taste of Karaman.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55Here we go...my friend.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02It's delicious.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05I'm glad Karaman finished off as part of a beautiful meal.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I wouldn't have liked to see him end in a bad meal.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10SHE LEADS PRAYERS
0:27:12 > 0:27:15'All in all, I've encountered nothing but warmth
0:27:15 > 0:27:16'from my Muslim friends in Istanbul.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19'Turkey, for all its complexities,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22'is straightforward in that it's nearly all Muslim.'
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Rather less straightforward is the ever-volatile religious mix
0:27:29 > 0:27:31to be found at my next stop.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41For the world's three one-God religions,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44all roads start and end here in Jerusalem.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Thousands of years of enmity.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48What must God think?
0:27:51 > 0:27:55This city is home to the most holy places of Christianity
0:27:55 > 0:27:56and Judaism,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59as well as the third most holy site of Islam.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03The tension between these three sets of beliefs
0:28:03 > 0:28:06has gone on as long as they've coexisted,
0:28:06 > 0:28:11as each of them strives for control of and access to their holy sites.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17This is Temple Mount,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20which Christians and Jews believe is the place where Abraham nearly
0:28:20 > 0:28:22sacrificed his son,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and Muslims call it Haram al-Sarif,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and believe it is where the Prophet ascended to heaven.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33The Stations of the Cross mark the key moments
0:28:33 > 0:28:35around Christ's crucifixion.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38For me, it's all fascinating,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40rather than spiritually moving,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43watching misty-eyed devotees of the three religions
0:28:43 > 0:28:46determinedly crisscrossing this old city.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50This is a fascinating little spot here,
0:28:50 > 0:28:52a kind of a faith-interchange.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54This is the Via Dolorosa.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Down here and round there, the Way of Sorrows,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59the 14 Stations of the Cross.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The first one up there, where Christ was condemned to death,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05and then up there, where he went to his crucifixion.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09This is Station three and four just here,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12people walking on the original flagged stones down there.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15And then, this is the main drag down to the Al-Aqsa mosque,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17so there's Muslims coming to and fro,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19and also down to the Wailing Wall,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21so Jews going up and down as well.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
0:29:28 > 0:29:31marks the area where Jesus was crucified,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33where his body was laid
0:29:33 > 0:29:35and the tomb from which his body vanished.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37The site of the resurrection.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Millions of pilgrims come here every year,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47many of them spending every last penny they've got to do so.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51It plainly makes them feel part of the Bible story,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53physically close to Jesus.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58But I only feel physically close to thousands of people
0:29:58 > 0:30:02feeling something I'm afraid I just don't at this moment.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05The chief Armenian priest here, Father Samuel,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09reassures me my reaction doesn't necessarily make me a bad person.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15So, right at the entrance this is, perhaps, one of the holiest spots.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17What...what happened here?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34So, this is where Christ lay?
0:30:34 > 0:30:35Yes.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39A lot of people come and they kiss the stone.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43And I feel fortunate to be here, but I don't feel the need to go
0:30:43 > 0:30:46and kiss the stone, or press my head against it.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10It's underneath. Do these people know that's that?
0:31:11 > 0:31:12They don't know that!
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Father Samuel's Armenians are one of six Christian denominations
0:31:26 > 0:31:27running this place.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32There's also Ethiopians, Coptics, Syriac Orthodox, Roman Catholics
0:31:32 > 0:31:35and the most numerous, the Greek Orthodox.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48Even though it's the holiest place in Christendom perhaps,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52it doesn't feel very spiritual to me.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53It's a real circus,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56throngs of people trying to get into the different places,
0:31:56 > 0:32:01pushing and shoving and waving things and kissing things.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03A kind of fervour.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06It's not for me. It's not for me at all.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09I distrust religious fervour, whichever religion it's from.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12CHILD CRIES, MOTHER COMFORTS IT
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I suppose if I've an issue with fervour,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19Jerusalem is the last place on God's earth I should spend time.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23This is the Western Wall where Jews come to pray and weep,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26lamenting the destruction of the temples.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30So, it's also known as the Wailing Wall.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34All a bit bewildering, but I found a friendly rabbi, Rabbi Bob,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36to show me the ropes.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40If you look at the bottom stones, the ones with the bevelling,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42you can see that people have inserted little
0:32:42 > 0:32:44slips of paper into the cracks in the wall.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48We... Judaism teaches that God is everywhere.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50- The phrase is... - SPEAKS IN HEBREW
0:32:50 > 0:32:53"There is no place which is not full of God's presence."
0:32:53 > 0:32:55God fills all the worlds.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58But because of the idea behind this structure,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01because of what it's meant to us, we believe that God
0:33:01 > 0:33:04is especially accessible here and that God hears our prayers here.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Er, so it's...it's been an age-old custom for people to come
0:33:07 > 0:33:09and pray at the wall, as you see.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And sometimes if they have a special request, if they have
0:33:12 > 0:33:15a family member who's sick, if they're having financial trouble,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18anything else, they'll write a petition to God on a slip of paper
0:33:18 > 0:33:20and insert it into the wall.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Of course, the cracks can only hold so many slips of paper,
0:33:22 > 0:33:25so every once in a while, workers come and clean them out.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31'I'm not actually sure what I feel about asking God for anything,
0:33:31 > 0:33:36'and I'm even less sure about writing him a note telling him what I want.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38'But they're so keen on the idea here
0:33:38 > 0:33:40'that if you can't come along yourself to post the prayer note,
0:33:40 > 0:33:45'you can pay someone to do so on your behalf.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47'Batya Burd, a former corporate lawyer,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50'runs a charity which does just that.'
0:33:50 > 0:33:53So, I know you've got a business where you...you, sort of,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55get other people prayed for, if I can put it like that.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Technically speaking, it's actually a charity.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Um, so, people around the world, they come to the website,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03they tell us what their problems are.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05It's very confidential.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07We tell them what we think their prayer should be,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10we compose their prayer based on rabbinical instructions.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13They give us the donation according to whether they want the prayer
0:34:13 > 0:34:17said for many hours or, um, along with other people,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21and we send them their prayer, we send them a picture,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23a name of who's going to be praying for them,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26and then, every day, we send them a little excerpt with their prayer.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28We expect them to pray with us
0:34:28 > 0:34:30and we pray every single day at the wall.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33We send one person for them who is their agent.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36- It's them...- So, they're a prayer agent?- Exactly.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38So, they're here praying for them,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40but we want them to also pray at home.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42'But, surely, God isn't going to hear that prayer from home
0:34:42 > 0:34:46'and not answer it unless someone else in Jerusalem pops
0:34:46 > 0:34:49'a note in the wall with the same prayer on it?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52'Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.'
0:34:58 > 0:35:02'Having enjoyed Eid, or Bayram in Turkey, no end,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06'my appetite for religious festivals has been well and truly whetted.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10'Don't mind much which religion, just bring them on.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13'And I'm in luck, as I'm in Israel for the Jewish festival
0:35:13 > 0:35:18'of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Booths, or of the Tabernacles.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21'This is a joyous celebration all about the harvest.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23'To celebrate it, you need four things -
0:35:23 > 0:35:26'a heart of palm, a bit of willow,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30'some myrtle and a knobbly citrus fruit called etrog,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34'the quality of which is extremely important.'
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Are you looking for an immaculate fruit?
0:35:40 > 0:35:42If it has any blemishes, then it's not perfect.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48There are certain blemishes that... that render it...non-valid.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50A little spot here and a little spot here.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53- Well, even I can see.- But it's still kosher.- It's still kosher.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- Yeah, it's still kosher.- But it's not perfect?- It's not perfect.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59It seems a shame. It seems a shame to reject any of them.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03Originally, an etrog should have a... It's called a "pitam."
0:36:03 > 0:36:05The question is if it fell off on the tree or off the tree.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08If it fell off on the tree, then it's still kosher.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10If it fell off afterwards, then it's not kosher.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13But why does it matter in terms of a celebration, if it's not perfect?
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Because if you want to do something holy, and...and...
0:36:16 > 0:36:20and a good deed in eyes of God, then it should be done in a perfect way.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22It should be done with the nicest fruit possible,
0:36:22 > 0:36:24otherwise, it's not respectful.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Same thing with the palm.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30The palm branches have to be closed completely, has to look nice.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34'The three branches and the fruit having been so carefully
0:36:34 > 0:36:39'scrutinised, are gathered together and shaken in six directions
0:36:39 > 0:36:43'every day during the festival, signalling that God is everywhere.'
0:36:43 > 0:36:48They come to you for your expertise, when did you... How did you acquire this expertise? Do you learn that?
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Years. First of all, it's a lack of expertise, you have to study,
0:36:51 > 0:36:53and then it's experience, 15 years' experience.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56So, it's a combination of theological expertise
0:36:56 > 0:36:59- and very good eyesight, one assumes. - Yes. Well...- I'm taking pity
0:36:59 > 0:37:01- on the gnarled fruit.- On the one that other ones don't want.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05- That's my compassion. I just can't help myself.- Compassionate, yeah?
0:37:05 > 0:37:07- It was nice meeting you. - It's really, really nice to meet you.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Thank you very much indeed.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14'The Festival of Sukkot involves building shelters representing
0:37:14 > 0:37:17'the small huts which farmers might have used at harvest time.'
0:37:17 > 0:37:21If you want to just roll it over, you can do that.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24'In almost every Jewish family, making their own sukkot
0:37:24 > 0:37:28'and spending time in it is an important family ritual.'
0:37:28 > 0:37:30If this blows off in the night,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32- I'm going to get the blame, aren't I? - Exactly.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Yeah. How is that? Is that all right? Is that all right where I am?
0:37:35 > 0:37:38- Perfect.- Did you make this? How do you do that?
0:37:40 > 0:37:42That's really good, that is.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48'My house for Sukkot here in Jerusalem
0:37:48 > 0:37:51'are the Shine-Markowitz family.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54'Gaby's the daughter of an eminent London rabbi.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57'Her husband Stephen hails from South Africa.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00'They're both big fans of this festival.'
0:38:02 > 0:38:06We have a sense of security when we live in concrete,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09but the real security comes from above.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14And when you live outside and it's windy and rainy,
0:38:14 > 0:38:18it's a time to reflect on where the real security comes from,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20which is up on high.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23And the side effect of it is, it brings everybody out.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25So, it brings the community out of their homes
0:38:25 > 0:38:27and into the communal ground. So, if you look around,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29everyone's going to have one on their balcony,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32out in the gardens. When you walk in the streets, everybody comes out,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35everyone's eating outside. It's the end of a summer, it's that
0:38:35 > 0:38:39thanksgiving for this beautiful time for the harvest festival, um,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and for being especially in Jerusalem.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Cos it was a pilgrimage festival originally,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46so to be in Jerusalem is especially wonderful.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49So, you feel more at home to be surrounded by your own all the time?
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Well, I like heterogeneous communities
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and that's one of the reasons why I love Jerusalem, cos there are
0:38:54 > 0:38:55Muslims here and Christians here
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and visitors from all around the world.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Every religion, it's a place for the three religions.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It's a holy place for the three religions
0:39:02 > 0:39:04and to have freedom of religion for everybody here.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08I would never want to be in a place where everybody's like me.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11And, yet, at the same time, it's the best of both worlds,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14because I can practice my religion not only freely here,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17but it's also naturally part of the rhythm of life.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18Under the circumstances,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21is it remotely possible to celebrate each other's festivals?
0:39:21 > 0:39:26Um, I go to my Christian friends and do a Merry Christmas tipple
0:39:26 > 0:39:29with them and they come around here and have lunch in our sukkot...
0:39:29 > 0:39:31What about the Muslim festivals?
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Is that just too tense at the moment?
0:39:33 > 0:39:37There isn't really a sense of celebrating each other's.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41I think if we could get to a place where there was real space
0:39:41 > 0:39:44and respect for each other's festivals,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47that would really be a good place to start.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49'From the roof of their apartment building,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53'Gaby and Stephen have a brilliant view of the old city and,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56'if you ask me, a pretty brilliant take on the enmity
0:39:56 > 0:39:58'often radiating from it.'
0:40:00 > 0:40:02It doesn't snow every year, but when it does,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06what's so beautiful about it is you stand here with this view
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and everything's white and, all of a sudden, there's no difference
0:40:10 > 0:40:13between the neighbourhoods and the houses, everything's just one
0:40:13 > 0:40:15big blanket of white and you can't tell the difference
0:40:15 > 0:40:20between East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem, or Arab, Jew, Christian.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Everyone's just part of Jerusalem and it's just one big,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26beautiful, white, pure blanket. And I...I take that moment
0:40:26 > 0:40:29of inspiration that that's how it should always be.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33We live very close to a number of Arab villages down the road.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Um, we have a lot of
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Arab people who work in the building, who we know.
0:40:38 > 0:40:43I work... At work I have a number of Arab colleagues
0:40:43 > 0:40:46and, as the tension increases,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51you have to...invest a lot of energy
0:40:51 > 0:40:55in saying that most of the Arab population,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58just like most of the Jewish population,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00want to live peacefully together.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03And I won't allow that to get in the way of my normal relationships
0:41:03 > 0:41:06with people who I know I can trust.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09As much as this city is about the great faiths,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12with the great monotheistic faiths meeting, it's also about
0:41:12 > 0:41:20insecurity and about vulnerability in all parts, for all faiths here.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25I think that's part of why it's such a charged, divine atmosphere,
0:41:25 > 0:41:27an atmosphere that there's some kind of divine presence here.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Cos, at the end of the day, because it's so highly charged
0:41:30 > 0:41:33and because we're so vulnerable, and because there is so much tension,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35we are very much reliant on something bigger
0:41:35 > 0:41:38than ourselves to keep us safe and to create peace here eventually.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42So, it's in our hands, but we don't have control over everything,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44and that's the message of the festival, is
0:41:44 > 0:41:47we don't have control over everything, and you have to
0:41:47 > 0:41:50give that up and say, "That's OK," and be grateful for the blessings
0:41:50 > 0:41:53that we have, and to work to defuse that tension,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and to try and create that safety so that everybody
0:41:56 > 0:41:58gets to live here in peace.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00'Well, amen to that.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03'In this city you meet people to make you despair
0:42:03 > 0:42:06'and people who wash that despair away.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09'I know which category this family is in.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13'But I challenge anyone to be in Jerusalem for long
0:42:13 > 0:42:17'before the religious intensity gives them a headache.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22'Mercifully, just down the road is the antidote, Tel Aviv.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24'Not without its own troubles,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27'but possibly the most relaxed city in the Middle East.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39'My guide here is Gil Hovav, a famous writer and TV chef,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43'for whom Jerusalem is a lifetime away from here,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47'a place where matters of faith are seen in much less sharp focus.'
0:42:49 > 0:42:53So, tell me about Tel Aviv. I've been in Jerusalem, how does it differ?
0:42:53 > 0:42:59Well, Tel Aviv is all about freedom and love and happiness.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03And business, of course, but Tel Aviv is a much more secular city.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05What about if you're ultra-Orthodox? Where do you go?
0:43:05 > 0:43:06There are separate beaches.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10You have, in the north of Tel Aviv, a separate beach for men
0:43:10 > 0:43:11and separate beach for women.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14- Separate gay beaches?- It's not separate, it's all over town.
0:43:14 > 0:43:15- Tel Aviv is super gay.- Is it?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- This is the gay capital of the Middle East, so...- So, you're...
0:43:18 > 0:43:22- you're gay first, and then Muslim, Jewish or Christian secondly?- Me?
0:43:22 > 0:43:27I'm first of all gay, then I belong to the Israeli nation
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and only thirdly am I...
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Jewish my belief, let's say.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36- There's some virulently homophobic Orthodox Jews.- Yes.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40Yet the Israeli Defense Force, one of the most feared armies
0:43:40 > 0:43:43in the world, is probably the most pro-gay, most progressive,
0:43:43 > 0:43:45most gay-friendly army in the world.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49In Israel, gay men and women are not ALLOWED to serve in the army.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53They're EXPECTED to serve in the army, because they're citizens.
0:43:53 > 0:43:54I mean, this is their job.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56So, yes, Israel is very mixed,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00but when you talk about the ultra-Orthodox homophobic crowd,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04- it's a very loud, small minority. - Did you go in the army?
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Of course. I was four years in total.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Were you openly gay at the time?
0:44:08 > 0:44:10No, but in the unit I was serving
0:44:10 > 0:44:12and in the intelligence service,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15nowadays it's considered the gay unit of the army.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20'Gil seems intensely relaxed on just about every subject
0:44:20 > 0:44:23'apart from food, especially hummus.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25'He says if God was proved not to exist,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28'they'd all just fight about hummus instead.'
0:44:28 > 0:44:31Now, you should understand that hummus is a matter of belief.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34You're talking about God, belief, you know.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38Try to annoy a person from Jerusalem, not talking,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41- you know, bad-mouthing God - God forbid...- Yeah.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43But saying that hummus in Jaffa or in Tel Aviv
0:44:43 > 0:44:45is better than Jerusalem, it would kill you.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Even the way we eat hummus is different.
0:44:47 > 0:44:48If you come from Jerusalem,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51that would be... That would mean that you're a crazy right-winger
0:44:51 > 0:44:55settler with hair on your chest and you're a man.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58So, you eat your hummus like this, in a straight line.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03If you're from Tel Aviv, like, a gay person with glasses, you know,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06and bald, you would eat it like this, in a round movement.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Even with your pinkie, you know, like a gay British person.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13So, you should choose what you believe in.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15I don't know about God, but with hummus I can tell you,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18- Jerusalem is better. - What shall I try?
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Hang on, I'll put a bit of bread in that, er...
0:45:20 > 0:45:22This is a Bukharian bread.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25- Yes. How do I...- You dip it. You want to be gay?
0:45:25 > 0:45:28- Yeah.- Do it like this, please. - OK.- With your... No.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30With your pinkie up, now hold it.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32That's quite awkward, that one.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Yes. Well, you know, being gay is not about...
0:45:34 > 0:45:37- Do I go clockwise or anti-clockwise? - Ah, you're British,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39- so go anti-clockwise. - OK.- You do everything the other way.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42- Right, OK. Like that, how am I doing? - And now eat.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46My God, I can introduce you to some men in Tel Aviv.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48There'll be nothing...nothing left of you
0:45:48 > 0:45:50when you go back to Britain.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53So, where are you on the spectrum?
0:45:53 > 0:45:55I know you... you describe yourself as secular.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01So if I say here is ultra-Orthodox Jew, here is complete atheist.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04- Where are you on this table? - So if this, let's say,
0:46:04 > 0:46:06the West is ultra-Orthodox
0:46:06 > 0:46:09and here is atheist,
0:46:09 > 0:46:13I'm in...the shores of Japan.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16OK. So, how did you end up so secular?
0:46:16 > 0:46:20To put it bluntly, I think God perished in Auschwitz.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Go to Jerusalem, go to the big holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27look for God. If you find him, send me a note.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29There is no God.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37I don't think the Bible - the good book - is about peace.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42I think it's a book that is not very friendly to women,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46not to mention gay people, of course, but it's a book of war.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49It does give you a lot of good rules, of course,
0:46:49 > 0:46:53but it does give you, you know, a co... Not a commandment,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56but, like, a rule that the...the Israelites should kill the Amalek
0:46:56 > 0:47:01and so it's about...killing other people.
0:47:01 > 0:47:02I do not believe in it.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04I don't wish to believe in such a book.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09I think that we should all look inwards, look for love,
0:47:09 > 0:47:11look for the things that we share together,
0:47:11 > 0:47:13and there are so many of them.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16'This atheist is right
0:47:16 > 0:47:19'when he says the book has many bad things in it, but he'd also
0:47:19 > 0:47:22'have been right if he'd said there are many good things in it.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26'And the irony is that when he says he prefers to look inward,
0:47:26 > 0:47:29'look for love and look for things we share together,
0:47:29 > 0:47:33'for me that is precisely what religion is all about.'
0:47:33 > 0:47:34OK, I've decided.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37You're so happy in your skin, you're such a nice man,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39I'm going to drop Roman Catholicism
0:47:39 > 0:47:43and become an atheist gay Israeli Jew.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46- Very good, very good. - Will...will you have me?
0:47:46 > 0:47:48- Yeah, we're going to find an Israeli name for you.- OK.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50And a nice guy.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56'So, this Catholic was turned vegetarian by Muslims in Turkey
0:47:56 > 0:48:00'and now turned gay by an atheist Jew in Israel.
0:48:02 > 0:48:03'Time for a drink.'
0:48:05 > 0:48:08This is some Croatian brew.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10My mum's from Croatia.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13This is from the island of Murter in the Adriatic.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16He's trying to show off. As two Israelis,
0:48:16 > 0:48:21we should show him that he is not worthy of sitting next to us.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24There you go, gentlemen. And we say in Croatia, we say "ziveli."
0:48:24 > 0:48:26- Ziveli!- Ziveli. Here we go, here we go.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30Cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers. OK, there you go.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34- Give me another one.- Yeah.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37- Cheers.- Ai ziveli.- Ai ziveli. - Ai zivelas.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46- Here we go again.- Ai ziveli.- Ziveli, ziveli. Here we go.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51ALARM CLOCK BUZZES
0:48:51 > 0:48:53EGG SIZZLES
0:48:55 > 0:48:58'In navigating this tricky route between believers
0:48:58 > 0:49:02'and un-believers, the next dizzying change of tack takes me
0:49:02 > 0:49:05'from a committed atheist on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea
0:49:05 > 0:49:08'to dead certain Evangelical Christians
0:49:08 > 0:49:10'gathering on the Dead Sea.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18'Evangelical Christians in solidarity with Jews come from all over
0:49:18 > 0:49:21'the world to celebrate Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24'their logic being that, as a Jew,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27'Jesus himself would have celebrated this festival.'
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Evangelical Christians. So, how do they differ from, sort of,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34dour Catholics like me?
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Well, you know, it's really to do with how you approach the Bible.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40The Evangelicals take the Bible, you know, I'd say more seriously.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42You know, they read it and they believe it,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44and they try and live by it.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47And they take less of what the church says and more of what
0:49:47 > 0:49:50the Bible says. So there's a, sort of, it's a very fiercely protestant
0:49:50 > 0:49:52kind of view of, like, "I read the Bible and I believe it
0:49:52 > 0:49:55"for myself, and then I come and express it with other people."
0:49:55 > 0:49:57So, this goes back to the beginning with the Old Testament,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00you've got some creationists in our midst here.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Sure, you've got people who believe, yeah, we believe that God created...
0:50:03 > 0:50:05I mean, why would you not believe that God created the world
0:50:05 > 0:50:07if you worship him or you believe there is a God?
0:50:07 > 0:50:10This is people coming as individuals whose lives have been touched
0:50:10 > 0:50:13by Jesus and they want to express it and celebrate with each other.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18What do you think the general view here is of what I think is that
0:50:18 > 0:50:20Christians, Muslims and Jews, it's one God,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23we've just got to find a way of not fighting over it?
0:50:23 > 0:50:25What would the general view be here?
0:50:25 > 0:50:26Christ is the only one?
0:50:26 > 0:50:28That is the Evangelical Christian view,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30because that's what Jesus said.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33His claim was that, you know, you love all people, by all means,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36but there's only one way to salvation.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38And so...so, obviously, Christians believe that,
0:50:38 > 0:50:41and they want it for other people. If I believe that, you know,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Jesus is the only way, I'm going to want to tell other people about him.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47So, Christianity's always been a belief system that's tried to
0:50:47 > 0:50:50persuade other people, "Hey, we believe that this is the way."
0:50:52 > 0:50:53'This "We're right and you're wrong"
0:50:53 > 0:50:57'mode of Christianity doesn't sit well with me.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01'I'm drawn to a couple of friendly-looking English ladies in
0:51:01 > 0:51:06'the hope of a reassuring theological cuddle, which isn't forthcoming.'
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Is this the English posse? The British posse, I should say, yeah?
0:51:09 > 0:51:14- Yes.- Can I take a seat? I'm finding it extremely hot.- Mm, it is.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16I'm not finding the presence of God at the moment,
0:51:16 > 0:51:18- just the presence of heat.- Yes. - I'm hoping I'll feel
0:51:18 > 0:51:20- something else later.- Yes, I'm sure. I'm hopeful too.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22So, what do you make of the setting?
0:51:22 > 0:51:25I mean, it's very... Obviously, it's very dramatic,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27but has it got, sort of, a spiritual significance for you?
0:51:27 > 0:51:30- Oh, yeah.- Oh, yes, definitely, because Jesus celebrated
0:51:30 > 0:51:31the Feast of Tabernacles,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35and I'm here to support the Jewish people, the nation of Israel
0:51:35 > 0:51:38that has a right to exist, has a right to defend itself.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42And the Jewish people have given the world so much blessing.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44So much blessing.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47My own profession, psychotherapy, in medicine, in music,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50in innovation, arts.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52So, so much have they given the world
0:51:52 > 0:51:56and continue to bless the world, um, in so many ways.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58And it's not often recognised. So, that's why I'm here.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Cos, the reason I've come,
0:52:00 > 0:52:02I'm sort of going around the Mediterranean,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06where Jews, Christians and Muslims have had to live cheek by jowl
0:52:06 > 0:52:10for millennia, just trying to show that
0:52:10 > 0:52:13we're all more or less the same and we're all under the same God.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16- But this is... You wouldn't... - No, we're not.- We're not.- We're not?
0:52:16 > 0:52:19- We're not under the same God. - No, we're not with the same God, no.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Because on the Temple Mount in Arabic it says, "God has no son."
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Now, to a Christian that is offensive, because God
0:52:25 > 0:52:28does have a son and that son's name is Jesus, and Jesus is a Jew.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31But how is peace going to break out if we can't find us
0:52:31 > 0:52:34some common ground? If you're saying it's a different God?
0:52:34 > 0:52:37It's possible to find common ground with respect
0:52:37 > 0:52:39and with will for peace,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42but when there's one party that refuses to accept
0:52:42 > 0:52:44the right to existence of the other party,
0:52:44 > 0:52:47you ain't going to get anywhere.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50The...the only person I've met so far that's actually said that.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53I quite admire your honesty, I must admit.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Well, yes, I'm not very politically correct, no,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57cos I don't think God's word is, but...
0:52:57 > 0:52:59So what do you think when you're in Jerusalem
0:52:59 > 0:53:02- and you hear the call to prayer from a minaret?- I haven't heard that yet.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06I haven't heard that yet, I've heard that in other places in the world.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Sad.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10But why? I mean, they've got a right to call to prayer, surely?
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Oh, absolutely, I just feel sad that they're deceived
0:53:12 > 0:53:15and that they don't have the truth,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18the truth of a living God that says, "Forgive your enemy.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20"Do good to those that persecute you."
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Our God is alive, their God is dead.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29You're the two least radical-looking people, but, er, look at you.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31It's quite frightening in some way.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33Listen, I'll leave you to it before I say something
0:53:33 > 0:53:36that upsets you. I don't want to get on the wrong side of you two.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- You won't upset us.- Listen, have a smashing evening.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42- Lovely, thank you for talking to us. - Thank you very much. Thank you.
0:53:42 > 0:53:43LOUD ROCK MUSIC
0:53:44 > 0:53:47Do you know what? I feel more ill at ease here
0:53:47 > 0:53:51than I have done in any mosque or synagogue I've been in.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56- PASTOR OVER LOUDSPEAKERS: - Is everybody ready to praise? Would you stand up on your feet?
0:53:56 > 0:54:01It's all very joyous and everything, but it's resolutely non-inclusive.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03The inter-faith message isn't for them.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Put your hands together...
0:54:05 > 0:54:07It's just not for me.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09They're saying, "Christ is the only way.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12"This is the only way, you're welcome to join us,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14"but if you don't, that's your look-out."
0:54:14 > 0:54:16And it just doesn't sit well with me.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Come on, let's open up the gates tonight, Jesus!
0:54:19 > 0:54:21# Gates wide open
0:54:21 > 0:54:22# Gates wide open
0:54:22 > 0:54:27# To the mountain we must g-o-o-o-o
0:54:27 > 0:54:29# Gates wide open
0:54:29 > 0:54:30# Gates wide open
0:54:30 > 0:54:33# The city and my God The city and my God... #
0:54:33 > 0:54:34'As darkness falls,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'the light of Jesus seems to burn ever brighter for them.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42'Being the dour, gloomy type,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46'his happy-clappy stuff really doesn't suit me.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59'At this point, I'm past caring who's Christian, Jewish or Muslim.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01'I just want some peace and quiet.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05'Back in the warm bosom of the Shine-Markowitz family,
0:55:05 > 0:55:07'this is more like it.'
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Thank you. And what's this?
0:55:09 > 0:55:11This is called skug.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13Yemeni spicy...
0:55:13 > 0:55:16The way you say it, it can only be strong.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19Skrrrug!
0:55:19 > 0:55:20LAUGHTER
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Look, this is my best Hebrew I'm doing here.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Don't laugh at me, I need encouragement!
0:55:26 > 0:55:27LAUGHTER CONTINUES
0:55:27 > 0:55:29I think I put a bit too much on here.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31Am I gonna be all right with that?
0:55:31 > 0:55:32CHILDREN HOOT WITH LAUGHTER
0:55:32 > 0:55:34Will you stop laughing at me?
0:55:37 > 0:55:38Mm. Ugh!
0:55:38 > 0:55:40CHILDREN GIGGLE
0:55:43 > 0:55:46THEY SING IN ROUNDS
0:56:00 > 0:56:03There's quite a lot of pressure on you coming on at the end,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06because...you mess that up, you could ruin the whole thing.
0:56:06 > 0:56:07It was going very well until then!
0:56:11 > 0:56:13LONE MALE VOICE CHANTS
0:56:13 > 0:56:16The climax of the Jewish festival of Sukkot,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20and the four plant species so assiduously shopped for
0:56:20 > 0:56:25and selected over the last few days get their moment in the sun
0:56:25 > 0:56:28before Judaism's most sacred of places, the Western Wall.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36CHANTS MINGLE AND ECHO
0:56:37 > 0:56:40LONE MALE VOICE CHANTS
0:56:43 > 0:56:45CROWD CHANTS RESPONSE
0:56:49 > 0:56:54Jews, Christians and Muslims have more in common than you might think.
0:56:55 > 0:56:56When I watched Haja pray
0:56:56 > 0:57:00in the grave stillness of that mosque in Istanbul,
0:57:00 > 0:57:05when I was with the Shine-Markowitz family building their sukkot,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08lovely people, just marvelling at the humanity
0:57:08 > 0:57:13and the warmth and the humour of the lovely Father Samuels.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19Just quiet people, quietly going about their devotional business.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22But then, when it gets noisy, it just loses me.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24I'm repelled by it, I want to run a mile.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28I've come to fear fervour.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30An Israeli bloke told me a great joke.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33It's a Jewish guy, marooned on a desert island.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35After 20 years, he's rescued
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and they find he's built himself two synagogues.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39And they say, "Why do you need two?"
0:57:39 > 0:57:42He said, "Well, that's the one I always go to.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44"That's the one I never go to."
0:57:44 > 0:57:45I thought that was hilarious
0:57:45 > 0:57:49and it's true within religions, and true between religions.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51If we're not careful with religion,
0:57:51 > 0:57:55we're defined by what we're not, rather than what we are.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58Having said all that, I definitely still believe in God.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Not sure about religion.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04I think I'm still a Christian. I'm clinging on.
0:58:04 > 0:58:05Amen.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10'Next time, my journey round the Mediterranean
0:58:10 > 0:58:14'takes me to Rome, Marseilles and Barcelona.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16'I'll bear my soul in the shadow of St Peter's...'
0:58:16 > 0:58:19It's the confession bit I'm worried about.
0:58:19 > 0:58:20All he wants to know is the sins.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22'..and come hard up against a key tenet
0:58:22 > 0:58:25'of the church I choose to be part of.'
0:58:25 > 0:58:27I've got two kids, apart from anything else.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30What am I supposed to say to them?
0:58:30 > 0:58:34'And I'll wonder exactly what so many Jews, Christians and Muslims find to
0:58:34 > 0:58:37'disagree about, as I continue to ask
0:58:37 > 0:58:39'don't we all live under one God?'