0:00:37 > 0:00:40COUGHING
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Headquarter company,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
0:00:46 > 0:00:50will fire a royal gun salute
0:00:50 > 0:00:55on the occasion of the birthday of Her Majesty
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Queen Elizabeth II.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Fire!
0:01:04 > 0:01:08GUN SALUTE CONTINUES
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Number 2 gun...
0:01:13 > 0:01:15fire!
0:01:15 > 0:01:20I always have bad dreams before a new journey, dreams of being late
0:01:20 > 0:01:24or forgetting to pack my underwear or being shot at.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27What do I need? Maps...
0:01:27 > 0:01:29boots...
0:01:29 > 0:01:32mosquito net... Mosquito net!
0:01:32 > 0:01:38Stay calm. Read the paper... Might be the last you'll see for a while.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45My destination isn't that far away now.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50From here, you can almost see it. It all seems so easy.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Last lunch on British soil whilst looking out to Africa!
0:01:58 > 0:02:03GUN SALUTE CONTINUES
0:02:03 > 0:02:06What terrors can the Sahara possibly hold
0:02:06 > 0:02:11when it's only 300 miles from a British Home Stores or a bobby
0:02:11 > 0:02:13or a pint of warm beer?
0:02:13 > 0:02:21Setting off's like getting up on Monday. I know I have to do it, but I put it off till the last minute.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28There are no more last minutes. It's time to go.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The Sahara Desert is huge, the size of the United States
0:02:38 > 0:02:41with the population of Norfolk.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44It's as alien and hostile as anywhere on Earth.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49It's unknown territory for me. I'm ready to be tested again...
0:02:49 > 0:02:53if necessary to the very limits of endurance.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Good heavens! It's like going up a lift shaft 15 floors at a time!
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Well, I'm not in the desert yet, but I'm on a camel, I'm on the sand.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08You may laugh - it's the sand of Tangier's beach,
0:03:08 > 0:03:15but it's a good place to practise for a lot of camel-riding later. It doesn't come naturally to me!
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I get vertigo on top of these!
0:03:17 > 0:03:21We're going to have a go. OK, Mohammed...
0:03:21 > 0:03:27Imagine the dunes around, forget the hotel blocks...
0:03:27 > 0:03:32There aren't any girls walking round the Sahara either!
0:03:32 > 0:03:36The beach at Tangier is only 12 miles from Gibraltar,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38but it feels African.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Thank you, Fatima.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45It's friendly and there's always a game of football on.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51I haven't played for years which soon becomes painfully obvious.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I've done the splits!
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Ah!
0:04:05 > 0:04:08I've screwed my leg up!
0:04:08 > 0:04:11An injury...
0:04:11 > 0:04:14I've really just hurt...
0:04:14 > 0:04:16I shouldn't have done it.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22Never play when you're over 57! That's the time to stop.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Injuring yourself on camera is a good thing.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Doing it on Day 1 - not so good. But this is the Arab world.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Treatment is close at hand.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37The oriental steam bath, the hammam
0:04:37 > 0:04:42is not just about cleanliness, but also about meeting new people,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45doing interesting things...
0:04:49 > 0:04:51OK...
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Stretching my groin...
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Oh...
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Ah...
0:04:57 > 0:05:00That's good. It feels... Ow!
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Ah...! Ah...!
0:05:09 > 0:05:11That's OK.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17It's amazing how quickly you make friends!
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Before this, we hardly knew each other!
0:05:20 > 0:05:23That's good.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Ow...! Yeah... OK, that's good.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Within half an hour, I feel completely cured.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43From the 1920s to the 1950s, Tangier was a free port
0:05:43 > 0:05:47in which Europeans and Americans built elegant villas,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52seduced by blue skies and relaxed morals.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Today, it's part of Morocco,
0:05:57 > 0:06:04and, though the morals are less relaxed, the old town streets that drew the likes of Oscar Wilde,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Ronnie Kray and Errol Flynn, are largely unchanged.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18This innocent-looking square, the Petit Zocco,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22was once described as "the sinkhole of iniquity".
0:06:22 > 0:06:28I asked a present-day resident, writer Jonathan Dawson, if this wasn't a bit strong.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Was it ever that?- Yes, it was.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34When you say is it still, it's not obviously here,
0:06:34 > 0:06:39but, like all these places, everything is there if you want it.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43You can have boys, girls, cockerels, anything you want, hashish...
0:06:43 > 0:06:47It's the national past-time, smoking, for the Moroccans.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53It's not legal, but it's slightly not illegal. I don't encourage it!
0:06:53 > 0:06:58To find out what brings people to Tangier today,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Jonathan recommends I go to church... if I could find it!
0:07:02 > 0:07:05The Anglican church of St Andrew.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12- Hello.- Hello.- I'm Michael. - Really happy! Thank you very much.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17- I'm Mustafa Chergui.- Mustafa...? - Church caretaker.- Caretaker?
0:07:17 > 0:07:23- Excellent. I wanted to see the church. - I've been here 38 years.- 38 years?
0:07:23 > 0:07:29- 38 years. 38 years.- 38...?- I'm very happy for English church people.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35- Can I see the church? - Thank you. 109 years a church, thank you very much.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- 109 years old?- Yes, thank you.
0:07:37 > 0:07:43Thanks to Mr Chergui, the church and its garden are immaculate,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45a rich mix of Arab and Anglican.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Let us share with one another the sign of peace.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56The congregation is a pretty rich mix too.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:08:08 > 0:08:11SINGING
0:08:16 > 0:08:19MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:08:26 > 0:08:31The expats of St Andrew's are outnumbered by Nigerians
0:08:31 > 0:08:34who've crossed the Sahara on the way north.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Do they have particular problems because they're moving into Europe?
0:08:39 > 0:08:44- What's life like for them here? - Very precarious.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Quite a lot of them get arrested and shoved into Algeria.
0:08:48 > 0:08:55Moroccan and Algerian governments play a game of putting their undesirables across the border.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59About half the congregation seems to be Nigerian.
0:08:59 > 0:09:05- Well, it was about 200 people. - Really? - About seven old hands in 200...
0:09:05 > 0:09:13- They're wonderful people, but... Did you hear the phones ringing? - Yes. Quite interesting themes.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17At Christmas, they all rang with Jingle Bells.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Everybody had a great laugh at it!
0:09:20 > 0:09:25- You must actually come and meet Birdie.- I'd love to.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- Perhaps tomorrow?- Yeah, sure.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33- OK.- People have been very friendly here - lots of invitations.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39- Well, come tomorrow at 11.00 if you want.- Mid-morning?- All right.- Lovely.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42..Yeah, it's great...
0:09:42 > 0:09:50'Just as I'm thinking how dreadfully British this all is, Mr Chergui has someone he wants me to meet.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:52This is a pretty courtyard.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55- Fatima!- Very nice. Lovely tiles.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Lunch...there we are...
0:09:58 > 0:10:01We're having chicken.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- Hello.- La cucina.- Yes.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- For lunch.- Hello, Fatima.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- Thank you very much. - We're all from London.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Nice to see you. He's been very good to us today.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- He showed me around.- Thank you.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20We'll leave you to it...
0:10:22 > 0:10:2540 years! There must be something right there!
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Yes, before... Mustafa...
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Well...
0:10:33 > 0:10:38We'll leave you to your Sunday lunch.
0:10:38 > 0:10:45Next day, I arrive at Jonathan's apartment, eager to meet Birdie, whoever Birdie is.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51In these circles, it could be his wife, auntie, an old golfing chum...
0:10:51 > 0:10:56I'm completely wrong. Birdie is a bird.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01- Jonathan...- Yes? - It's a bit of an unusual pet...
0:11:01 > 0:11:06I thought it was a hen and it would lay me an egg for breakfast.
0:11:06 > 0:11:13- He was lying in a box in the market and I thought...- Hello, Birdie. - I'll grow him for a breakfast...
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- Overexcited.- Stop it, Birdie!
0:11:16 > 0:11:21- Bit of nerves with the camera. - I thought he'll be good for...
0:11:21 > 0:11:28I like the odd boiled egg, but he turned into a fella which was a hell of a shock.
0:11:28 > 0:11:35- Tangier is one of those places where it's hard to tell who's a fella... - He's trying to sum me up!
0:11:38 > 0:11:40He's going to crow.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!
0:11:43 > 0:11:46- How did you know that? - I know when he's going to crow.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49It's 4.00 in the afternoon!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53He doesn't stop at one! You need earplugs.
0:11:53 > 0:12:01- It's abnormal for a bird to be sitting on a sofa in a library. - He's not exactly reading a book.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- He is a dog with feathers. - I love that beak!
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I'm sorry to say that, but I do...
0:12:08 > 0:12:15There's no way of reaching the Sahara without crossing the Atlas Mountains,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20a series of long steep ranges that stretch right across Morocco.
0:12:20 > 0:12:26In amongst them are some of the oldest cities in North Africa.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32This is Fez, thought by many to be the most perfect medieval city in the Islamic world.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Is this the point where the cars stop
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- and the donkeys take over - or the mules?- Yeah.
0:12:41 > 0:12:48Once inside its walls, you might as well be in a maze, but it's one that delights all the senses -
0:12:48 > 0:12:50sight and sound and smell.
0:12:50 > 0:12:57If you're used to shopping at Sainsbury's, you won't make much sense of it.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02That is why I need my indispensable guide Abdelfettah a local artist,
0:13:02 > 0:13:06who'll guide me through this labyrinth of souks and sweatshops.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11- Those pots are for cooking preserved meats.- Preserved meats?
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- Which lasts for the whole winter. - Ah...
0:13:15 > 0:13:22Like all the best guides, Abdelfettah's determined to end on a high note.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24That is amazing!
0:13:24 > 0:13:28It's exactly how it looked in medieval times.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33From the narrow passageways, you've suddenly got so much space.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37I've never seen anything like that anywhere.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40What's going on here?
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Obviously, for dyeing and tanning, all the different colours...
0:13:45 > 0:13:50- Talk me through it.- It's the stages of the treatment of the hides.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52There's the washing machine there.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58Then they get the hide into holes with some lime and pigeon poo...
0:13:58 > 0:14:07- Pigeon poo? Pigeon droppings?- Yeah. - Is that good for stripping...? - Yes. It's got some sort of acid...
0:14:07 > 0:14:13- and it also feeds the hide. - It's quite a pungent smell.- It is.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- And then...? - Then they get them into these vats,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22where they are going to take the final colour.
0:14:22 > 0:14:29- Yeah.- ..Either yellow for babuches or red for pouffes and other uses.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35How old are these vats, how old is this system here?
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It's actually as old as Fez.
0:14:38 > 0:14:46Fez started by producing hides and selling them into the open market,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50sometimes it was in Europe, so it's very old.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55- Over 1,000 years old? - 12 centuries with no exaggeration.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58It's the most extraordinary sight.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's also like a great paintbox.
0:15:03 > 0:15:10- I remember when I was young, I opened it and put the water in... - That's a nice comparison.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Fez is a magical city and I have to leave it far too soon,
0:15:15 > 0:15:22but I've a suspicion it won't be the last temptation that lies between me and the Sahara.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28If Fez was a little reserved, then Marrakech is wide open!
0:15:28 > 0:15:33If you've got it, you flaunt it - whatever it is, whatever it costs.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38- Nice shoe, but I can't go as high as 350.- How much can you pay?
0:15:38 > 0:15:43- 150.- Yes. 150 each.- 150 each!
0:15:47 > 0:15:50150 each is 300.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52350 for both.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- I can't...- For one, 150.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03- One's not really enough, is it?- Two. - I think you need two.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07- Two - 300. - Two for 300. You're coming down?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- How about 200?- 280.- 200.- 280.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21- 220 for two?- 250. - No. Sorry about that.- 240.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24220, that's it. Sorry.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Anyway... yellow isn't really my colour.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32The top? No, it's slippers I'm after.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46From Marrakech, it's all uphill to the Sahara.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Passing first through the land of the Berber people,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53one of whom is my companion Amina,
0:16:53 > 0:17:00though she's spent so long working in America her accent is more Mafia than Moroccan.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05- Are we already in the Berber...? - Yes, we are in the Berber villages.
0:17:05 > 0:17:12- They were the original inhabitants of Morocco before the Arabs came through, is that right?- Yes.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Absolutely. We don't quite know the origins,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20but they sure were here before the Arabs, yeah.
0:17:20 > 0:17:27- Sorry to harp on about this, but what are the characteristics of the Berbers?- Warm people...
0:17:27 > 0:17:29er...
0:17:29 > 0:17:31very ambitious...
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- hard-working...- You're a New Yorker, really?- Not really.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41- I'm a Casawi, as they say... - A Casawi?- From Casablanca...
0:17:41 > 0:17:46That's good. I like that. A Casawi. I'm from Sheffield.
0:17:46 > 0:17:52I'm a Sheffieldawi! Talking of that, I must find a toilet.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Here we transfer to a more rugged form of transport.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- The luxury pick-up we were promised? - Yeah!
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- OK...- OK... Let's go.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Shokran.- Thank you. Shokran.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Shokran, shokran...
0:18:09 > 0:18:10OK...
0:18:10 > 0:18:14SHE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:18:14 > 0:18:20It may look as though we're doing this to save the BBC some money,
0:18:20 > 0:18:26but once we're out of the village, we can see why they don't encourage cars.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- How are you feeling?- I feel great!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42- The rush of blood that comes with nature?- Fresh air.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47- Yeah.- Yeah. How do you feel? - Yeah...it's fantastic.
0:18:47 > 0:18:55We're so suddenly out of the valley and the trees and the cherry orchards and the walnut trees...
0:18:55 > 0:19:03- Up here, there's nothing... Bare rock. There's a village up ahead? - Yes...- They're not fooling us?
0:19:03 > 0:19:08No, they're not. I hope they're not. I'm sure they're not.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- He's laughing - so we're OK. - Is there a restaurant?
0:19:12 > 0:19:16The Berber village of Arremd, 8,000ft up in the Atlas,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20is so well camouflaged you could easily miss it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25It looks cold and inhospitable, but we're in for a surprise.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30We're not going to be the only ones eating here. We have to share.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33That's the national dish, the tajin.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38- Yeah, that's...the tajin. - That's the tajin...
0:19:38 > 0:19:43- It's meat, potatoes...- Yeah. - Olives...
0:19:43 > 0:19:48- Are those beans or olives? - Bean...no, olive.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51SINGING
0:20:05 > 0:20:10The Berbers are a minority in a predominantly Arab Morocco,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14so a dance like this is celebrating more than just a betrothal -
0:20:14 > 0:20:19it's celebrating the survival of their own culture.
0:20:35 > 0:20:42A coach service connects up the last towns and villages of the Atlas Mountains.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48It should take me to the end of Morocco,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53where the road runs out and the desert begins.
0:20:53 > 0:21:01The sound of the Koran fills the bus, ensuring Allah will protect us on our journey.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08TOOTING
0:21:10 > 0:21:16At the village of Tademt, we pull in at a motorway service station.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22If it's fast food you're after, the signs are not encouraging.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Just deux...
0:21:31 > 0:21:38With a little help from a friend, I negotiate for a kebab, but you have to watch what they put in it.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Pas de tete! - Pas de tete! Brochette seulement.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- Brochette.- Brochette seulement.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Dear Delia, I've just eaten a bit of sheep's head.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Would this be best with white-wine sauce or a roulade?
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Merci.
0:22:07 > 0:22:14When Muslims talk about making a journey, they always add inshallah, God willing.
0:22:14 > 0:22:20It seems appropriate as we climb to the highest pass on the Atlas Mountains. Inshallah.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Well, now we've crossed the High Atlas, we are,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34for the first time on this journey on the edge of real desert,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37yet the first village is very familiar.
0:22:37 > 0:22:45If you've seen Gladiator, Lawrence Of Arabia, Romancing The Stone, The Four Feathers, you've seen it!
0:22:45 > 0:22:51If you've seen Sodom And Gomorrah - which my parents treated me to - you've seen it!
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Ait Benhaddou is one of the great film sets of the world.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58The towers here are beautiful,
0:22:58 > 0:23:05but it's hard to tell which are made of rich red desert earth and which of 4x2 plasterboard.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12In this Moroccan Hollywood, illusion and reality play tricks.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20From now on, signs of life are few and far between.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33The last river sinks into the sand.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36The last salesmen make their pitch.
0:23:36 > 0:23:42We have a vingt, we have a quinze... How about a dix?
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Tomorrow, I'll be in the Sahara... at last.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25MUEZZIN CHANTS
0:24:31 > 0:24:33CHANTING STOPS
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- COCK CROWS - So this is it!
0:24:36 > 0:24:39The last hotel for a while,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43but, to be honest, I feel pretty good, glad to be alive...
0:24:44 > 0:24:47..and glad that, as from today,
0:24:47 > 0:24:53I'll no longer have to ask anyone else what the Sahara Desert looks like.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Well, the comforts of Morocco are now well behind us.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49We're beyond the last protective arm of the Atlas Mountains.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Ahead of us is 1,000 miles of sand and stone,
0:25:52 > 0:25:58and, unlike Morocco, the Sahara is not welcoming - it's hard and it's hostile,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and, from now on, it gets serious.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12South and west of Morocco lies the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14It was once a Spanish colony.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18When they left in 1975, the Moroccans moved in.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24Those inhabitants who didn't want to be Moroccan were forced to flee.
0:26:24 > 0:26:30They were given land near Tindouf in Algeria for four temporary refugee camps...
0:26:30 > 0:26:35which is where they still are over a quarter of a century later.
0:26:44 > 0:26:51Their military and political organisation is called the Polisario Front.
0:26:51 > 0:26:58Their job is to keep the flag flying, make sure the world doesn't forget their plight,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03and ensure that nearly 200,000 people are fed and watered
0:27:03 > 0:27:09in one of the most inhospitable corners of the Sahara.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14The nearest water supply is 16 miles away from the camp.
0:27:14 > 0:27:21Over the centuries, this water has filtered down from the Atlas Mountains
0:27:21 > 0:27:24to fill huge underground reservoirs.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34Because the water is impure, bleach has to be added.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41My host Bachir has been a refugee for half his life.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Well-educated and travelled, he lived for a while in Leeds.
0:27:45 > 0:27:51That water is for everything? For cooking, for washing, for bathing?
0:27:51 > 0:27:54For everything except for tea.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59- Yeah.- Because this is a little salty, relatively salty,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04so it's good for cooking and everything, but not for tea.
0:28:04 > 0:28:11- Tea needs a very...good water.- And it needs unsalty water.- Unsalty water.
0:28:11 > 0:28:18- Where does the tea water come from? - From another well, very far from here and you can't see it.- How far?
0:28:18 > 0:28:22It's about...something like...
0:28:22 > 0:28:26- 50 miles.- 50 miles?- Yeah. - For a cup of tea?
0:28:26 > 0:28:31The tankers shuttle back and forth across the desert,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34day in and day out.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Without them, Smara Camp would die of thirst.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46How many people are there in Smara, in this camp?
0:28:46 > 0:28:51This camp is the second-largest camp of refugees.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55- We have here something like 40,000 people.- 40,000?
0:28:55 > 0:29:01- Do people have to pay for their houses?- No, absolutely nothing.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06- Education is free? - Education is free, health is free...
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- Water?- Water...
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- Each house has a tent.- Yeah.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15It's a...
0:29:15 > 0:29:17It's as...we...
0:29:17 > 0:29:22The fact that we keep the tents here, it's very symbolic.
0:29:22 > 0:29:29- Yeah.- It shows that we always have the desire to go back to our country,
0:29:29 > 0:29:34that this is not our homeland or something like that.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Despite Bachir's unquenchable optimism,
0:29:43 > 0:29:50there are more and more of his people each year for whom the time to return home has already run out.
0:29:50 > 0:29:57It's sad - a lot of people here, I don't know how many are in this area -
0:29:57 > 0:30:03- but they're all people who died outside their own country, exiles? - Yeah.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06They have fled from their own country
0:30:06 > 0:30:12and they have came to live here in these very hard conditions,
0:30:12 > 0:30:18while they were waiting to go back. But, unfortunately, they died here.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26So this is the main market of Smara Camp.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29This is where the main shops are?
0:30:29 > 0:30:32The main shops - they are very recent.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35All these things
0:30:35 > 0:30:39- since '94 or '95. - What did you have before that?
0:30:39 > 0:30:46A shopping mall, however basic, would have been unthinkable in Smara Camp ten years ago.
0:30:46 > 0:30:53Recently, the Spanish Government agreed to pay pensions to those who'd once served in its army.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58This has given some of the refugees enough money to start businesses.
0:30:58 > 0:31:04- I need two bottles of water and some dates... - HE TRANSLATES
0:31:09 > 0:31:14- Which kind of dates do you like? - Have you got any British dates?
0:31:14 > 0:31:16No, no...
0:31:16 > 0:31:20The best. I'll take his recommendation.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23- Sheffield dates!- Sheffield dates!
0:31:23 > 0:31:27You know about those, having been to Leeds!
0:31:27 > 0:31:32The only meat I've eaten for the last three days is camel.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36I suppose this is where it comes from.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39How much is a camel, its head?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42HE TRANSLATES
0:31:45 > 0:31:52- 400 Algerian dinars. - 400 Algerian dinars. How much is that in sort of...?- In pounds.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56£4. £4? That's not bad.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00- Do you boil it?- Yeah, we boil it, but it takes a lot of time.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Three hours to four hours to cook it,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07because it's not the best part of the camel.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17Before my next camel dinner, I retire to the bathroom for a shower,
0:32:17 > 0:32:22whilst Bachir's wife Krikiba conjures up another meal for us all.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Sadly, the hot water isn't working.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Ooh!
0:32:34 > 0:32:40- We're moving on tomorrow...- Yeah. - On around the Sahara.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44One thing I'll remember about Smara here,
0:32:44 > 0:32:50- apart from the way you've looked after us which was magnificent... - Thank you.
0:32:50 > 0:32:57..is it's a very well-organised town, and I keep forgetting it's a camp, it's a refugee camp.
0:32:57 > 0:33:04To all intents and purposes, you are refugees. Your children haven't seen the country you were born in.
0:33:04 > 0:33:11I wonder what the future is. How do you see the future developing?
0:33:11 > 0:33:18For us, the future is very clear. We will continue this fight until the end.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20WHISTLING
0:33:20 > 0:33:26At a school in the desert, these children rehearse for a parade for the anniversary
0:33:26 > 0:33:34of the founding of Polisario. With the help of Spanish and Cuban teachers,
0:33:34 > 0:33:41these are among the best-educated children in Africa, but where they go from here is by no means certain.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47For us, it's time to hit the road... or rather the sand,
0:33:47 > 0:33:52as Bachir and his men escort us through the flat treeless wastes
0:33:52 > 0:33:55along the borders of Western Sahara.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00And when at last they do find a tree, they chop it down.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Well, not all of it - just enough to get a fire going.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25While the stew is cooking,
0:34:25 > 0:34:33I test one of the unexpected advantages of flat treeless wastes - terrific telephone reception!
0:34:33 > 0:34:34Hello?
0:34:34 > 0:34:39Hello! Hello, love! You'll never guess where I am.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44Oh, you did! The Sahara, yes, but what bit?
0:34:44 > 0:34:49We're just into Western Sahara at the moment, came in from Algeria.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53The desert is fantastic. It changes all the while.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58We're just having lunch. They've chopped down some wood.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02They're making a fire. Probably camel again. Yes, camel.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06Over the last few days, a lot of camel.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Most of the bits of the camel.
0:35:08 > 0:35:13Anyway, we're here, I'm well... Any messages? What?
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I've won the Lottery, yes...
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Oh, Pat's in to paint the sitting room! Fantastic!
0:35:19 > 0:35:22No, tell him I don't want that...
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Not that buttermilk we had before.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30Can we have it lilac with a purple stripe and the dado in brown?
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Yeah... No, it's much better.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35No, it's better.
0:35:35 > 0:35:40We all get athlete's foot at some time. I am putting the ointment on.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Bye, love. Bye...from the Sahara.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05100 miles further south,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09I'm with an armed guard, climbing a ridge rich in fossils,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13a reminder that the Sahara was once under the ocean.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15It looks out over a valley
0:36:15 > 0:36:23where a wall and a minefield mark one of the least-known armed confrontations in the world.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Yeah...
0:36:28 > 0:36:31I'm a bit jumpy here, because only a mile away
0:36:31 > 0:36:38is a wall built by the Moroccans to keep the Polisario out of their homeland.
0:36:38 > 0:36:44The wall runs for 1,600 miles and there's 160,000 Moroccan troops patrolling it,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47some of them probably looking at us.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49It's more tense since the Polisario,
0:36:49 > 0:36:56who weren't asked if the Paris-Dakar Rally could go through their land, abandoned the ceasefire.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I think I'll stick to fossils!
0:37:02 > 0:37:08The Polisario may have abandoned their ten-year ceasefire with the Moroccans,
0:37:08 > 0:37:16but the army detachment I met near the wall looks ill-equipped to back up any sabre-rattling.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18- ..Against tanks.- Tanks, yes...
0:37:18 > 0:37:23They have very basic equipment, a few anti-aircraft guns on trucks
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and Russian tanks, third-hand from the Algerians.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42There's no doubting their courage,
0:37:42 > 0:37:49but it seems pretty clear that if these defiant exiles are to win their land back,
0:37:49 > 0:37:54it'll have to be with the ballot box, not the gun.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12We spent last night at an old Spanish fort.
0:38:12 > 0:38:19This morning there's a sandstorm brewing as a convoy arrives to take us across the border to Mauritania,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23a country which I confess I've barely heard of before,
0:38:23 > 0:38:30but that's what travel's all about - learning something new, and, of course, constantly saying goodbye.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32- Bye, guys.- Bye, Michael.- Thank you.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- Good! Thank you!- Thank you.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39We never got to play our game together!
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Bye-bye. Thank you.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Thank you. Thanks very much.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Hey! My driver! My man!
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Best driver in town! Thank you.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Thank you!
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Thank you!
0:38:58 > 0:39:00The chef man!
0:39:00 > 0:39:07'I'm very sad to leave Bachir who gives away his British connections by apologising for the weather.'
0:39:07 > 0:39:12- Sometimes we don't have storms. - You gave us a little of everything.
0:39:12 > 0:39:19- You're going to disappear into a cloud of dust! Hope you find your way back.- We will find it!
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Left at Coventry and just take the spur road up the M6.
0:39:23 > 0:39:29You find your way through fog, we find our way through the sandstorm!
0:39:29 > 0:39:31I hope to see you all again.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35Bon voyage! Merci!
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Good luck!
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Off you go! One, two, three, go!
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- TOOTING - Thank you!
0:39:59 > 0:40:01As the conditions worsen,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05I fear we might miss the Mauritanian border altogether,
0:40:05 > 0:40:10but, suddenly, we're upon it, bouncing out of the sands on to...
0:40:10 > 0:40:16luxury! A tarmacked road, the first we've seen in over a week. Oh, bliss!
0:40:28 > 0:40:33Even in a sandstorm, the usual formalities have to be observed...
0:40:33 > 0:40:37or, in this case, unusual formalities.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41THEY SPEAK FRENCH
0:40:49 > 0:40:53THEY SPEAK FRENCH
0:40:54 > 0:40:57WIND RATTLES AGAINST WALLS
0:40:58 > 0:41:00HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:41:00 > 0:41:06'What a noise! Things like that can spark a conversation...sometimes!'
0:41:09 > 0:41:11C'est fini?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Merci bien.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Au revoir.
0:41:22 > 0:41:29The hotel may not be four-star, but it does have lots of things I haven't seen for a while.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34Hot water, a flushing lavatory and, unfortunately, a mirror.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Oh, my God!
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Ah!
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Thank you. Merci.
0:41:58 > 0:42:05Dear Delia, can't get sheep's head for love or money. Shall I do with warthog soup?
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Outside, the weather is getting worse.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17A ferocious wind is whipping in the sand, stinging and blinding.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21The locals know just how to deal with this sort of thing.
0:42:21 > 0:42:28The first time I've worn the howli, as they call it in Arabic, turban as we know it.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32This is not cosmetic... It's essential.
0:42:32 > 0:42:39If you've ever had to tie someone else's tie, you'll understand why most of Mauritania came to help me.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44And I can't, as yet, tie it myself.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46There we go.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50The howli as it's called in Arabic.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54A turban as we know it. Thank you.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01I see 6.1, 5.1, 7.3.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04A good score.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Zouerat is a company town.
0:43:09 > 0:43:16Rich iron-ore deposits have turned this corner of the Sahara into a multimillion-dollar asset.
0:43:45 > 0:43:50Iron ore makes up almost half of Mauritania's foreign earnings,
0:43:50 > 0:43:56and production goes on round the clock to fill the huge trains that carry it away.
0:44:03 > 0:44:09Despite the mine, Zouerat has pockets of great poverty.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Here everything is recycled.
0:44:20 > 0:44:27An oil drum becomes not only the side of a house, but the roof and the doors and the garden wall.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37Five years ago, this family were farmers -
0:44:37 > 0:44:40till drought forced them into town.
0:44:40 > 0:44:47The outer wall of their tent is made from material once used to wrap mining explosive.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51I wanted to know how they stayed so happy.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:45:01 > 0:45:03What makes you so happy?
0:45:03 > 0:45:07SHE REPLIES IN ARABIC
0:45:12 > 0:45:14The country...
0:45:14 > 0:45:19- Bel maison...- The country, the calm, the beautiful house.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22Yes, very good!
0:45:23 > 0:45:26My beautiful house.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31TRAIN HOOTS
0:45:36 > 0:45:44Every day, seven days a week, iron-ore trains, more than 2km long, leave Zouerat.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48And, unlikely as it may seem, some carry passengers.
0:45:48 > 0:45:55After a week in backbreaking vehicles, the chance to cross the desert by rail cannot be ignored.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12I've got a ticket, but I'm not quite sure what for.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15SHOUTING
0:46:23 > 0:46:26The railway officials aren't overhelpful.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31Their primary role seems to be to stop anyone getting on.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Not very keen to let us on.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Thank goodness I got a reservation!
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Going in there now. Shall we try it?
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Come on. Let's go.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03BABY CRIES
0:47:22 > 0:47:24There's one last hope -
0:47:24 > 0:47:28the recycling bin at the back of the train.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33C'est la premiere?
0:47:33 > 0:47:39- Huh?- C'est la premiere classe ici, cette voiture?
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I'm confused, but I'm told this is first class.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47Though you might be forgiven for thinking it was rubbish class.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Well...
0:47:50 > 0:47:52OK...
0:47:52 > 0:47:54BELL RINGS
0:47:57 > 0:48:01SHOUTING
0:48:15 > 0:48:20The iron-ore express may take a while to get going,
0:48:20 > 0:48:24but then it is the longest train in the world...
0:48:24 > 0:48:26probably.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42It may look like a bottle bank from the outside,
0:48:42 > 0:48:47but it is premiere classe on the iron-ore train in Mauritania,
0:48:47 > 0:48:52and it settles down and people get on to their bunks and talk.
0:48:52 > 0:48:59The unlucky ones, who travel for nothing, scramble on the wagons with the iron-ore and the rubble.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02They can sit there for nothing.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04We get this train south.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09This goes to Nouadhibou, takes all the iron ore to the coast.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11We'll get off before that, but...
0:49:11 > 0:49:16Cor! Well...after that, I'm prepared for rush hour anywhere!
0:49:16 > 0:49:20We've got six hours to settle down, read a paper,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24join the frequent travellers' club...whatever!
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Cette pain, tres interessant.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57TRAIN HORN
0:50:23 > 0:50:28MUSIC: Mon Legionnaire by Edith Piaf
0:50:28 > 0:50:32The iron ore goes on its way to the coast -
0:50:32 > 0:50:39we turn inland to a classic Saharan town and an even more classic relic of French colonial days -
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Fort - now Hotel - Saganne.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02This place, Fort Saganne,
0:51:02 > 0:51:09seems to represent something quintessential about the French in Africa - the French Foreign Legion,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12the glory of France, but largely German.
0:51:12 > 0:51:19This place was used by Gerard Depardieu recently in a film called Fort Saganne.
0:51:19 > 0:51:25The view is amazing. On one side, Chinguetti, seventh holiest city of Islam,
0:51:25 > 0:51:31and, on the other side, the sort of dunes you only see on date packets!
0:51:35 > 0:51:42This is my first sight of a sand sea, a landscape as beautiful as any on Earth,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45created only by sand and the wind.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50So intense is the midday heat -
0:51:50 > 0:51:57well over 40 degrees - that Chinguetti only comes to life in the hours before darkness.
0:51:57 > 0:52:04Then the streets become meeting places, playgrounds and sports pitches.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08A great desert sport is dhaemon, a game like draughts.
0:52:08 > 0:52:14All you need to play it are some sticks and a lot of camel droppings.
0:52:14 > 0:52:21This is the local grandmaster and, before I know it, I'm given some jobbies to take him on.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Merci.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28HE CHUCKLES
0:52:28 > 0:52:32Merci pour votre assistance.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Boom!
0:52:36 > 0:52:40THEY SPEAK FRENCH
0:52:40 > 0:52:45He said, "Let him do it for himself!" Doucement...
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Carefully. Carefully... My whole reputation...
0:52:49 > 0:52:52on the board...
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Yeah... Nodding...
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Then he comes in and grabs that...
0:53:02 > 0:53:05OK...
0:53:05 > 0:53:13With luck, and help from just about every able-bodied man in Chinguetti, I get him into a bit of a corner.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18THEY SPEAK ARABIC
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Next thing I know, I'm the champion!
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Thank you!
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Beginner's luck! Beginner's luck...
0:53:27 > 0:53:29A natural-born player!
0:53:29 > 0:53:31THEY SPEAK ARABIC
0:53:31 > 0:53:34They're working out the strategy.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Merci. Thank you, Grandmaster.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41He's not taking it very well. He doesn't look me in the eye.
0:53:43 > 0:53:50Early next morning, I walk out across the sand sea before the heat becomes intolerable.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54The desert looks wonderful, but it doesn't sound right.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04ENGINES IN DISTANCE
0:54:15 > 0:54:19If that's a mirage, it's moving awfully quickly!
0:54:19 > 0:54:22ROAR OF ENGINE
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Oh, my God!
0:54:26 > 0:54:30MUSIC: Meet Me At The Love Parade by Da Hool
0:55:13 > 0:55:15No, it's not a dream.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18It's the 24th Paris-Dakar Rally.
0:55:18 > 0:55:25320 vehicles, attempting to be the fastest to drive from France to Senegal.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27And this is just the press corps!
0:55:27 > 0:55:35For one day, the local airport becomes a media city, as live coverage is beamed across the world.
0:55:35 > 0:55:42No-one complains, because without TV rights, these competitors would never get the chance
0:55:42 > 0:55:47to do something as pointless as racing across the Sahara.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58At the furthest, least comfortable end of the airport,
0:55:58 > 0:56:03is the only British team left in the race.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Dave Hammond the motorcyclist,
0:56:05 > 0:56:12sponsored not by Mitsubishi or Mercedes, but by Webb's Garages of Cirencester.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Dave's technical team is Martin.
0:56:15 > 0:56:2152 bikes have crashed out and this David is in with a chance against the Goliaths,
0:56:21 > 0:56:25but what does he think of the Sahara?
0:56:25 > 0:56:31- Do you get any feeling of the country you go through, any sense of being in Mauritania?- No...
0:56:31 > 0:56:36Not at all, I'm afraid. I know we're going south cos it's getting hotter.
0:56:36 > 0:56:42What are conditions like on the road? It's spartan, tent on the rubble here...
0:56:42 > 0:56:47What's it like? Have you got showers and rest facilities?
0:56:47 > 0:56:51Very little, really. Sleeping bags and roll mats,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55showers hanging off the back of the van...
0:56:55 > 0:57:01It is sparse, there's no doubt about it, but it's all part of being on the Dakar Rally.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12I've scribbled a good luck message on the front of Dave's bike.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14As he lines up next morning,
0:57:14 > 0:57:19he's lying 21st out of the 166 bikes that started.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32There are only six stages left,
0:57:32 > 0:57:39but with loops and time trials, that's still 2,000 more miles to go before the finishing line.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47This is Atar Airport the morning after the rally,
0:57:47 > 0:57:52and the circus is packing up and heading remorselessly for Dakar,
0:57:52 > 0:57:55which is where I have to go as well.