0:00:03 > 0:00:07The Tropic of Cancer marks the northern border of the tropics,
0:00:07 > 0:00:12the most beautiful, brilliant and blighted region of the world.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15I've already travelled around the equator
0:00:15 > 0:00:17and the southern border of the tropics,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21but following the Tropic of Cancer will be my toughest journey yet.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25This tropic cuts through Central America, the Caribbean,
0:00:25 > 0:00:31North Africa, India, and on through Asia to finish in Hawaii.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36It's 23,000 miles across deserts, rivers and mountains.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Along the way I encounter extraordinary people,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44simmering conflicts and some of the most stunning landscapes on our planet.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48On this part of my journey,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52I travel from Egypt, across Saudi Arabia, to Oman.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I see an Ancient Egyptian treasure saved from the waters of the Nile.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I explore the underwater wonders of the Red Sea...
0:01:06 > 0:01:09..and cross the mysterious Arabian peninsula.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Bloody hell!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14In Egypt I meet some very hungry Bedouin boys.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16I'm amazed they didn't get the bit that's in my mouth!
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Inside secretive Saudi Arabia
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I get a taste of their Top Gear lifestyle.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27SCREECHING TYRES AND SHOUTING
0:01:27 > 0:01:29And as booming Dubai hits the rocks,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I meet its forgotten army of migrant workers.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34These are the people who build Dubai
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and this is how they're treated.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Oh, wow.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49The view certainly makes the climb worthwhile.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51I'm in southern Egypt.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54These are the waters of the River Nile
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and I'm just beginning another leg of my journey around the Tropic of Cancer.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03This is Lake Nasser,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07a vast reservoir formed by the damming of the mighty Nile.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12In Egypt's arid southern desert, the water is a welcome sight.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Not far from Egypt's border with Sudan,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23the Tropic of Cancer passes through Lake Nasser.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25At more than 300 miles long,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28it's one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40I'm far to the south of the famous great pyramids in the Valley of the Kings,
0:02:40 > 0:02:42but even down here there's spectacular evidence
0:02:42 > 0:02:44of Egypt's ancient past.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Local guide Fikry Kashef took me around the temple of Abu Simbel.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Wow.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56That is absolutely gobsmacking.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59- Ramses II.- Ramses II?
0:02:59 > 0:03:04- 3,300 years ago. - That's extraordinary.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06This is the history of this temple here.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Ramses II was one of Ancient Egypt's mightiest rulers.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And he wasn't exactly shy about flaunting his power.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Each of these seven-storey high statues,
0:03:17 > 0:03:18carved out of the mountainside,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21depicts the same subject - Ramses himself.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25And back at home, Ramses also had an epic private life.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29You know, the historians, they talk about more than 40 women
0:03:29 > 0:03:31for Ramses II, you know.
0:03:31 > 0:03:3440 women? What, you mean 40 wives?
0:03:34 > 0:03:3740 wives. He had more than 100 children, yes.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- 100 children?- More, more than 100.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45More than 40 wives, but the favourite one, she was Nefertari,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48which is behind, two times here, just here...
0:03:48 > 0:03:51- Oh, just at his feet? - Before the entrance,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54for whom he did the second temple behind.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- So he built a temple to his wife? - To his wife, yeah.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- Shall we go and have a look? - Please.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Ramses must have taken a particular shine to Nefertari.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05It was practically unheard of for pharaohs' wives
0:04:05 > 0:04:08to be honoured with their own temple.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12But these sculptures make many locals think this Egyptian queen
0:04:12 > 0:04:14might not have been entirely Egyptian.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19It is a little bit, you know,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21like an African face, or something like this.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Some historians say
0:04:23 > 0:04:28that she was originally from this area, from Nubia.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30The Nubians are the people
0:04:30 > 0:04:33who lived in southern Egypt and northern Sudan?
0:04:33 > 0:04:37- That's Sudan now, yeah, and... - And this is you? You're a Nubian?
0:04:37 > 0:04:38We are Nubians here, you know.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42So you can claim her, really, then, as one of your own,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44you can claim her as a Nubian?
0:04:44 > 0:04:45This is not sure, but, yeah,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50some details can show us maybe she was Nubian, but it is not sure.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Nubians, who are black Africans,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57built one of the earliest African civilisations along the Nile,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01at times rivalling the power of the pharaohs.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04But more recently, the Nubians have been dominated
0:05:04 > 0:05:07by Arab Egyptians from the north.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09When the Nile was dammed in the 1960s,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13the temple at Abu Simbel was cut into huge pieces and moved here,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17to higher ground, to prevent it being submerged underwater.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21But the Nubians say less attention was paid to their villages
0:05:21 > 0:05:24clustered along the banks of the Nile.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26They talked about
0:05:26 > 0:05:30temples and monuments, but nobody talks about people...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32- Right.- Around, you know.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34So the people who were living by the banks of the Nile?
0:05:34 > 0:05:35That's it, yeah.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Fikry's village was one of hundreds that disappeared underwater.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45It's quite amazing to think, then, that your village,
0:05:45 > 0:05:46where you grew up,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51is now underwater, is now submerged by the waters of the lake.
0:05:51 > 0:05:5460 metres the waters became higher than my village where I was born.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00When I look at this lake, you know, I have all of this like a cinema,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04behind my eyes, you know, to remembering my life
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and the life of my people
0:06:06 > 0:06:10here in our village, yeah, which is underwater now, yes.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15To make way for the lake, tens of thousands of Nubians
0:06:15 > 0:06:19were moved hundreds of miles from here and rehoused in the desert.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24The people who live in Abu Simbel now are mostly Arab Egyptians
0:06:24 > 0:06:26who've moved down from the north.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29This mass relocation of the Nubians is rarely discussed in Egypt,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33where the government limits freedom of speech.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I'd heard that many Nubians feel they've been shunted out
0:06:36 > 0:06:38into the desert and abandoned.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41But Egyptian officials, who are monitoring our filming,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45refused us permits even to visit the new Nubian settlements.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Fikry is one of the few Nubians left in Abu Simbel.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54He tries to keep Nubian culture alive
0:06:54 > 0:06:58by teaching traditional songs and music to the children.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01FIKRY SINGS
0:07:06 > 0:07:09CHILDREN JOIN IN
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Come on, clap yourselves, it was wonderful!
0:07:36 > 0:07:39It must be very hard for them to imagine a world
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- which is submerged in water, mustn't it?- Yes.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45So music is one way of helping them to understand that?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Yes. The new generation, they don't know,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51they know nothing about their country and their culture.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Now it is another thing.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56- It's another world. - It is another world.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59That's why we are trying to do something with our children here.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15The next morning, it was time to get on the road
0:08:15 > 0:08:17and head towards Egypt's Red Sea coast.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22The route took us towards the dam that created Lake Nasser.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Because tourists and travellers in Egypt have been attacked
0:08:25 > 0:08:29by terrorists in the past, we've been given an armed guard
0:08:29 > 0:08:32to travel with us on this leg of the trip.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35At the moment, he's having a kip in the back.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45But you can see where the Egyptians got the inspiration from for their pyramids.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49You see these pyramidal or conical structures
0:08:49 > 0:08:52naturally formed everywhere out here.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55The pyramid-shaped mounds
0:08:55 > 0:08:58are made of sandstone and formed by wind erosion.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16So this is the lake on our right and we've got to the end,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20this is end of it, this is the Aswan Dam.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Since it was built in the '60s, this massive dam
0:09:25 > 0:09:28has helped to power the Egyptian economy
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and become a symbol of national pride.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35It feels strange to be up here, because when we were down south
0:09:35 > 0:09:41with the Nubians, we were hearing so many tragic stories about how...
0:09:41 > 0:09:44the whole Nubian way of life
0:09:44 > 0:09:47was lost as a result of the creation of this lake.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52And now we get here to this colossal dam,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56then you realise that to many people in Egypt,
0:09:56 > 0:10:01perhaps most people in Egypt, this dam was a life-changer,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03at the very least, and a life-saver in many ways,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08because it provides electricity for so much of the country.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12As well as providing hydroelectric power
0:10:12 > 0:10:16for this desperately poor country, the dam regulates the annual floods
0:10:16 > 0:10:19and has transformed agriculture along the Nile Valley,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22where most of Egypt's huge population lives.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32From Aswan, I planned to head across Egypt's southeastern desert
0:10:32 > 0:10:36to the Red Sea, aiming for the small town of Shalatein,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38close to the Tropic of Cancer.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42But the camera-shy government officials monitoring my journey had other ideas.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46So we're not allowed to go to Shalatein?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Not tomorrow, not the next day, not at all?
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Well, this is a very surprising situation for us,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59because we've travelled all the way round the world.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01For me... For you, I'm dealing...
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Yeah, this has happened to us twice now,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07twice the Egyptian authorities have prevented us from filming
0:11:07 > 0:11:13and even when they've prevented us from filming major stories,
0:11:13 > 0:11:14they've also been saying,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16"Oh, you can't film here, you can't film there,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19"you can't film this thing by the road, you can't get out of the vehicle".
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Despite its touristy image, Egypt remains an authoritarian state
0:11:23 > 0:11:26where the government censors
0:11:26 > 0:11:30the local media and routinely tries to control foreign film crews.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Undeterred, we left before dawn and headed on to the coast anyway,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41not sure whether officials would allow us to film anything when we got there.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44It was hundreds of miles across burning desert.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52For thousands of years, nomadic tribespeople
0:11:52 > 0:11:55have managed to exist out here in this merciless landscape,
0:11:55 > 0:12:00living off animals they graze on the sparse vegetation.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04But their days in the desert may be numbered.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08After a very long journey across the desert,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10it looks like we've made it.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15I'll tell you what, if they turn us back now,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I think I might have a little sulk.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24After more negotiations, we finally made it into Shalatein.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28It's an unremarkable outpost, but it may well be on the front line
0:12:28 > 0:12:33of perhaps the biggest issue now facing the tropics region -
0:12:33 > 0:12:34global climate change.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39In recent years, an unprecedented drought in Egypt's southeastern desert
0:12:39 > 0:12:42has forced thousands of Bedouins to abandon their nomadic existence
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and move to slum areas on the edge of this town.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51With my translator Mohammed,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55I went in search of a legendary Bedouin elder, Ali the Lion.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Ali. Ali! Salaam alaikum, Ali.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00SIMON CHUCKLES
0:13:00 > 0:13:03This is Ali the Lion.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Honoured to meet you. An honour to meet you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Ali was the strongman of his tribe,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13which thrived in the desert for generations.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16But he told me his people were now suffering the most devastating drought
0:13:16 > 0:13:20in living memory, decimating their animals and livestock.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Do you know more people who are leaving the desert to live in towns?
0:13:24 > 0:13:26- IN TRANSLATION:- Hundreds of them.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32People who lose their animals come and live here, near the market.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38They get themselves small jobs working for other people,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42doing anything to make a living for their kids.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Most Bedouins, like me, don't know how to read,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and we don't have the skills to get government jobs.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55We only know how to make a living through our animals.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Scientists believe Ali and his people are among the first victims
0:14:03 > 0:14:05of our changing global climate.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07When they arrive here in town,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10many Bedouin find themselves in deep poverty.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13There's widespread health problems and malnutrition.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15But despite their suffering,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19the Bedouin remain true to an ancient nomadic tradition - hospitality.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21What does that mean?
0:14:24 > 0:14:31Ah, he want to, er, invite you to eat this goat.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33- Ah. That's, er, a big honour, isn't it?- Yeah, of course.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36OK. Shukran.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50The goat's, er, just met its end.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53God, it's amazing how...
0:14:53 > 0:14:57rarely we see that now.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02We're so separated from what happens to our food.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07In a traditional Bedouin barbecue the meat is cooked on hot stones,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10but even Ali the Lion's happy to embrace a bit of modernity.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- What is this? - Petrol.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15To light the fire with.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So you're going to put a bit of petrol on it to get it going?
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Aren't you supposed to do something
0:15:19 > 0:15:23like twirling the sticks together or something? This is cheating!
0:15:24 > 0:15:27No, that's what people did in the past.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35These people have always had a precarious existence out in the desert,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37but the way the climate is changing
0:15:37 > 0:15:39could bring an end to their traditional way of life.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42While the meat was cooking, Ali showed me around.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Personally, I don't mind living here.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53But there are people who don't like living like this, without animals.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Here you're OK if you've got a job or if you have money.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05You can come here and just relax.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Can we try some, then, Ali?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I mean, it's chewy, as goat always is, but it's delicious.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Meat is something of a luxury round here,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37so it's every man and boy for himself.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Bloody hell!
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- That happened very fast. - Children, you know.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53I'm amazed they didn't get the bit that's in my mouth.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I've been travelling around the tropics at a time when remote nomadic people
0:16:58 > 0:17:02are having their lives turned upside-down by climate change
0:17:02 > 0:17:04and the encroachment of the modern world.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Forced out of deserts or tropical jungles, but lacking the skills
0:17:08 > 0:17:10needed in towns and cities,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13many end up scraping a living in slums, like the Bedouin.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Following the Tropic of Cancer
0:17:19 > 0:17:22had taken me thousands of miles across North Africa.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Now my journey across the continent was coming to an end.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28I'd reached a milestone,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31the very edge of Africa, and the Red Sea coast.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Finally, we get to water.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Ah, it looks beautiful.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45I hope that's all right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50So, I've met up with Hossam Helmy here, who's a...
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Well, you're a pioneer, really, of diving in the Red Sea, aren't you?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Actually, we start here 20 years ago.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03And how many times have you dived in the Red Sea?
0:18:03 > 0:18:07The last time I counted, it was 5,000, that was seven years ago.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Hossam's dive centre was one of the first resorts
0:18:14 > 0:18:15on this section of coast.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17He took me out to see the coral reef
0:18:17 > 0:18:22that flourishes on his doorstep, thanks to the warm tropical waters.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26But even out here in the boat, there was no escaping
0:18:26 > 0:18:28one of the many Egyptian officials following us around.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32Would you mind asking our police guard if he knows how to swim?
0:18:32 > 0:18:33Ah...
0:18:33 > 0:18:36HOSSAM ASKS HIM
0:18:39 > 0:18:41- He doesn't know how to swim?- No.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43So we're going to have to look after him, then?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- If something happens... - We'll have to protect you!
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Coral reef is one of the greatest treasures of the tropics region,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13existing almost entirely between the Tropic of Capricorn,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15the southern border of the tropics, and here,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19more than 3,000 miles north of that line, on the Tropic of Cancer.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It was a thrill to find such diversity of life down here,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27suggesting that this reef is in good health.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35I think it's incredible, I really do.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39You said it's like being in an aquarium, and it's true.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Because it's virgin, nobody dive here, nobody fish on this area,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47no damage happened to the reef or to the shore, nothing.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Conditions in the Red Sea are especially good for coral reef.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It's relatively warm and shallow here compared to the large oceans,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59and the coral is nourished
0:19:59 > 0:20:02as rain washes minerals and nutrients into the water
0:20:02 > 0:20:05from volcanic mountains around the sea.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Around the world at the moment,
0:20:09 > 0:20:14coral reefs have been taking a battering, you might say,
0:20:14 > 0:20:15they've been suffering a lot
0:20:15 > 0:20:17- from climate change already.- Yes.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20How important is it that we protect the reef
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and preserve the ecosystem that's down there?
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Er, actually, I believe that the Red Sea, the marine life that exists in the Red Sea,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30does not exist anywhere else, it's a treasure,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34and we have to save it, not for ourselves, for our next generation.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Although tourism is Egypt's biggest industry,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54this southern Red Sea coast is still far less developed than areas further north.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57But that could be about to change.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03The government has plans for dozens of giant resorts to be built
0:21:03 > 0:21:05along this stretch of the Red Sea.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Hossam is one of many who fear that too many tourists
0:21:08 > 0:21:11could spell disaster for the coral reef.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13You've got a resort here yourself,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16and you've been here for a long time.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17Am I right in thinking you would prefer it,
0:21:17 > 0:21:22in all honesty, if there was only your resort here, really, wouldn't you?
0:21:22 > 0:21:23You're right.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Partly, I'm sure, for commercial business reasons,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29but partly also because it would mean fewer people
0:21:29 > 0:21:31going in the sea and potentially damaging the coral reef?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Er, yes, I agree with you 100%.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39I believe that that will be good for the nature on the south,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41we can keep our resources,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45natural resources, and we can keep it for our generation
0:21:45 > 0:21:50and for the next generation, and maybe for the next coming 100 years, I hope.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Hossam thinks that to protect the reef, new resorts should have fewer rooms,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58making them more expensive for tourists, but also more ecofriendly.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00He has just over 200 beds on his site,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03which the government says could hold more than 2,000.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07We have to push for the softer impact for the ecotourism.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Big piece of land and less numbers of rooms.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15That's what we are targeting to, we are pushing to...
0:22:15 > 0:22:20It's very difficult dealing with investors because it's numbers for them.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24If they can see a few successful projects
0:22:24 > 0:22:29who are following the ecotourism system, maybe they will join.
0:22:29 > 0:22:30I hope.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34You know how much money I get for this piece of land?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So you've been offered money for your...your empty patch of...?
0:22:37 > 0:22:39- Huge numbers.- Huge sum of money.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Huge number, but...
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- But you refuse to sell? - I refuse to sell, yeah.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- Why?- Oh, to keep it as is, to keep it as is.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I'm going to lose myself if I do that.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54- What, you'll lose your soul? - Yeah, yeah, exactly, my soul, yeah.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Hossam's making a good living from his resort
0:22:57 > 0:23:00but he's turned down a chance to make a quick fortune.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02And if others can also be persuaded
0:23:02 > 0:23:06that protecting the environment is a vital long-term investment for all of us
0:23:06 > 0:23:10then there's hope for tropical treasures like the Red Sea reefs.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14I'd reached the edge of Egypt.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18It was time to cross the Red Sea to the secretive kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20It has a pretty bad reputation,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24I think it's fair to say, in terms of its openness to foreigners,
0:23:24 > 0:23:29particularly in terms of its openness to foreigners.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32It's been a great struggle for our team to secure visas for us
0:23:32 > 0:23:34to travel across the kingdom.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39I'm looking forward to it, but I'm a bit apprehensive as well.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Following the Tropic of Cancer across the Red Sea,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49I flew to Saudi Arabia's second largest city, Jeddah,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51just to the south of the line.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57In order to secure visas to cross Saudi Arabia
0:23:57 > 0:24:02we had to find someone to invite us and to vouch for us during our stay.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05In the early hours of the morning, our sponsor and guide
0:24:05 > 0:24:07came to meet us at the airport.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08This is Danya.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11She's going to be taking us across the country, isn't that right?
0:24:11 > 0:24:12That's right.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16I'm excited about travelling across Saudi Arabia.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- I'm a little bit apprehensive as well.- What are you afraid of?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I think the heat, the distances...
0:24:23 > 0:24:25um...
0:24:25 > 0:24:30and we've had a few problems in Egypt with government minder-type people,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32so I hope things are going to go well here.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33Let's hope so.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It might now be difficult for Western travellers to enter Saudi Arabia
0:24:40 > 0:24:42but for centuries, Jeddah has been a bustling
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and cosmopolitan Red Sea trading port.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48And since Saudi Arabia's oil boom,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51it's grown into a city of more than three million people.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55The next day, Danya took me for a tour around the old town.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58This is a great market, though.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00It's packed with colour and stuff happening.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Yeah, it is, it's beautiful, I have to say.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07You do see a real ethnic mix amongst the people here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09You know, I can see Saudis here,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14but I can also see Africans, I can see Asians,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16you can see people from all across the world, really.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Saudi Arabia has a reputation for suppressing free speech
0:25:21 > 0:25:24and women's rights, so having a female guide was unusual.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28But Danya's a businesswoman from an influential family.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30There was lots I wanted to ask her,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33but I wasn't sure what issues might get her into trouble.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35A historical site felt safe enough.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39So Danya, tell us where you've brought us. What is this arch here?
0:25:39 > 0:25:43This arch is a representation of the old door,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47which pilgrims used to go through to go towards Mecca.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49So people would come to Jeddah
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and they'd come through the port, they'd stop here,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and once they'd gotten themselves ready and whatever,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59they'd leave through this door and go towards Mecca.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02So in a way, the city was the arrival point
0:26:02 > 0:26:05for pilgrims from across the Islamic world, then?
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Exactly. And so Jeddah's always been a melting pot
0:26:07 > 0:26:09for people from all around the world.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17So this man, is he on his way to pilgrimage, probably?
0:26:17 > 0:26:19- Probably, yes.- Salaam alaikum.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20Alaikum salaam.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25CALL TO PRAYER
0:26:30 > 0:26:34That's the call to prayer, and I can see the shops closing here.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36I mean, they move very quickly, don't they?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Yeah, they do. It's just basically like, "OK, it's calling,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41"let's just shut everything down".
0:26:41 > 0:26:43And this is one of the things that I really love.
0:26:43 > 0:26:49I feel so safe here, because look, they don't even close their shops.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51They just cover it with a blanket and that's enough.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54You don't see anyone going in or stealing anything.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Men went inside the mosque to pray.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Like many mosques, it didn't have a women's section.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Danya prayed on the pavement.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08The differing treatment of men and women in the kingdom
0:27:08 > 0:27:13can be a shock to foreign visitors, and it affects even a pioneer like Danya.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16She's one of the first women to own a media company in Saudi,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18but I didn't know whether she'd be able
0:27:18 > 0:27:23or willing to discuss such sensitive and controversial issues.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I found it a difficult situation.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27I've certainly travelled through dozens of countries
0:27:27 > 0:27:29on these journeys that I've been doing,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31and this is the only one I can remember,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the only country I can remember we're visiting
0:27:35 > 0:27:40whereby our entry is predicated almost on the fact that somebody has to sponsor us.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Almost, you're given a responsibility
0:27:43 > 0:27:46to make sure we don't misbehave or talk about the wrong things
0:27:46 > 0:27:49or do the wrong thing while we're in Saudi.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53You've come as guests of the Ministry of Culture and Information, you know,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56but we are the ones that are taking you around and so, definitely,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00we feel some sort of responsibility, we feel a level of responsibility.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Are there things that you could say that could get us into trouble?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Potentially. You can't make everyone happy all the time, you know.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14But there are sensitive issues that Saudis discuss openly.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Inside the kingdom, many view the biggest crisis as restlessness
0:28:17 > 0:28:22among the country's rocketing population of pampered and underemployed young men.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27Thousands of them have been attracted to violent Islamic extremism.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Boredom and frustration are rife, partly because the law forbids
0:28:31 > 0:28:34young men from mixing with girls outside marriage or family.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38So these are the Jeddah Boys.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45But all the rules can't stop young Saudi men from doing what lads do.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47With cars, that is.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50- Simon. Lovely to meet you.- Salaam.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Thank you for letting us come down and see your vehicles.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- You're welcome. - Who are the Jeddah Boys?
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Jeddah Boys, it's a club for modified cars,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03and we do shows and put on things like this.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06And this has got some sort of extraordinary sound system.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09This is a mobile nightclub, really.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
0:29:18 > 0:29:20- I've got a bad feeling about this. - OK, are you ready?
0:29:20 > 0:29:23SUSPENSION HISSES
0:29:30 > 0:29:32We're cruising along here.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35You're not a very good driver.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But I'm having a few accidents, I'm sorry, it's a very bumpy road.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42There's a lot of love and work gone into these cars. What's the reason for it?
0:29:42 > 0:29:45It's a hobby, like any other. It's a passion, actually.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48People like to modify their cars, modify their engine.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51It's something you don't see every day, you don't see in the streets.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55As you're going around, you'll see that car once or twice, that's it.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57I find this quite reassuring,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01actually, because it can be quite hard for young men, young guys,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04in Saudi to find an outlet for their passions.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05It's difficult for them to meet girls
0:30:05 > 0:30:08and there aren't things like cinemas and music concerts
0:30:08 > 0:30:11like there are in the rest of the world,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and this is a way they're able to express themselves
0:30:14 > 0:30:17in a way that's almost artistic, really.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Some might want to be artists, but other frustrated young men
0:30:22 > 0:30:23just want an adrenaline rush.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27An epidemic of dangerous street racing has led to carnage
0:30:27 > 0:30:28on the kingdom's roads,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30so the authorities have come up with a novel way
0:30:30 > 0:30:33of channelling all the youthful energy.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40TYRES SCREECH
0:30:41 > 0:30:44This is the Jeddah Raceway.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50It's a government-approved playground for Saudi Arabia's boy racers.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03- Hossam.- How are you doing?
0:31:03 > 0:31:05- Salaam alaikum. - How are you doing, my friend?
0:31:05 > 0:31:06- Simon, nice to meet you.- Simon...
0:31:06 > 0:31:12Hossam Tayab is a professional driver on the Saudi racing scene.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Why was the raceway set up in the first place? What's the point of it?
0:31:16 > 0:31:22Er, the first reason was to minimise the reckless driving that is going on
0:31:22 > 0:31:25on the street and try to guide people to put their passion
0:31:25 > 0:31:27and hobbies in the right way.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Was there a serious problem, then, before the raceway,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32with kids driving too fast, driving dangerously on the street?
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Well, in the main cities, the policemen,
0:31:35 > 0:31:40they have some sort of control over this, but unfortunately, in the suburb areas
0:31:40 > 0:31:42there were some incidents that took place
0:31:42 > 0:31:47where really, really youngsters will do really, really bad stunts.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Hossam offered to give me a crash course in the kind of driving
0:31:50 > 0:31:52youngsters have been doing on public roads.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Hossam, how much do you love your Porsche?
0:31:56 > 0:31:57- Very much.- Oh, dear.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I work really hard to buy this car.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Oh, dear.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Like, usually when you drive normal, you relax,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09but this you need to make sure you have full grip on the steering wheel
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and your foot is completely on the pedals.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Yeah, my knees are...
0:32:14 > 0:32:16You're not touching the pedals with your toes.
0:32:16 > 0:32:17- Oh, OK.- OK?
0:32:17 > 0:32:20You're exploring Saudi in a different way.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Exactly.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Oh, sorry.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31- OK, slow down.- Slow down a bit.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Slow down. Sharp turn.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Get on it.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38- Whoa!- It's OK, it's OK, no problem.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41- Are you sure?- Yeah, yeah. Start it.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44OK. Put it into first gear.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48- OK.- Try to make the U-turn.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49Everything is normal and cool and fine.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55The car just went out of control a little bit.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56- A little bit?- Yeah.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I think you're being very generous!
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Slow down here, and turn, sharp turn.
0:33:03 > 0:33:04TYRES SCREECH
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Yeah!
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Yeah!
0:33:08 > 0:33:10While you turn, you can blip it to get...
0:33:10 > 0:33:12- Yeah, you see.- Like that?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15More. More. A little bit more. Little bit more.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17- SIMON SHOUTS - It's OK, it's OK.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19Sharp left turn.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- Yeah. - Give it gas, give it the gas, yeah.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- You're getting it. You're doing it. - Yeah!
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- There you go.- What fun!
0:33:28 > 0:33:30- You're good...- OK.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33You're good with the foot, you're a little bit slow on the steering.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I got it! I got some applause!
0:33:35 > 0:33:39- Yeah.- Ah! Oh, my goodness.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42It's completely intoxicating, I want to get a Porsche now
0:33:42 > 0:33:44and do this again. Thank you so much.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46You're most welcome, I hope you enjoyed it.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55I hit a few cones, but honestly,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57it's a lot of fun.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04To reduce widespread disaffection among the young
0:34:04 > 0:34:08and draw them away from joyriding and the excitement of militant groups,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11the government's investing heavily in schemes like this,
0:34:11 > 0:34:14giving young men a chance to burn rubber and let off steam.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Following the Tropic of Cancer took me on from Jeddah
0:34:20 > 0:34:25to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, across hundreds of miles of empty desert.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Riyadh is the conservative heartland of the country.
0:34:36 > 0:34:41It's a sterile place, not the most thrilling city to visit.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46Even locals admit there's not much to do except pray and shop.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49Many forms of Western entertainment are banned here,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53but the Saudis certainly don't seem to mind a bit of extravagant consumerism.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58- It's very flash here, isn't it? - Hmm-mm, it's a shopping mall.
0:34:59 > 0:35:05The image that outsiders have of the type of Islam
0:35:05 > 0:35:10that's practised in Saudi Arabia is that it's very austere,
0:35:10 > 0:35:12almost quite militant.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18How does that square with a shopping mall like this?
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Look, this is Wallis, this is a store we have in Europe.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Next to it is La Senza, this is a lingerie shop.
0:35:24 > 0:35:30- Is there any conflict between the two? - I don't see any conflict because...
0:35:30 > 0:35:33at the end of the day, it's just shopping, you know what I mean?
0:35:33 > 0:35:38It's like, maybe people think that women can't dress up or whatever
0:35:38 > 0:35:41because they're always covered, but then you see the jeans
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and you see the underwear and you see the tights
0:35:44 > 0:35:46and you see all of these types of things, and obviously,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48you know, women can wear them, they can wear it at home,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50they can wear it in front of their family,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53in front of their friends, things like that, you know.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56But I would say one of the most common stereotypes
0:35:56 > 0:35:58is that Saudi women are oppressed,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02and usually that's based on the fact that we're wearing an abaya,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05but honestly, to us, it's not oppression.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07You know, this is what's normal to us,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10this is what we've grown up with, this is what we live.
0:36:10 > 0:36:16It's not a signal that we can't do things just because we're wearing black.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19That's maybe, for me, something difficult to understand,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23is why the West sees the way we dress as a sign of oppression.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25Maybe you could enlighten me.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27You've turned it back onto me very well.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30I think we see it as a sign of oppression
0:36:30 > 0:36:34because we believe it's imposed on you by men.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39But I never see people saying, well, high heels, for me,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43are a sign of oppression, you know, and that was instituted by men.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48So how come women breaking their feet walking around is not oppressive
0:36:48 > 0:36:52and yet covering myself up is considered as oppressive, you know?
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Of course, it's not a comparison everyone would accept.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00And the reality here is that Saudi women aren't even allowed to drive
0:37:00 > 0:37:04and face punishment if they're not acceptably dressed.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09But it was clear Danya genuinely believes the abaya isn't a form of oppression.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15SIREN
0:37:20 > 0:37:26It's quarter to six in the morning and we're up ridiculously early
0:37:26 > 0:37:30because we've got to catch a train, because we're heading to Dubai.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37In the country with the world's largest oil reserves,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40the car is king and everyone drives everywhere.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Perhaps that's why this is the only railway on the Arabian peninsula.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03From Riyadh, our train would cross the fabled Empty Quarter desert,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06the largest sand sea in the world, to the Gulf coast.
0:38:12 > 0:38:18The view outside, well, it's like we're taking a train across Mars.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21It's an otherworldly landscape.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Boiling hot, dusty as hell
0:38:25 > 0:38:28and virtually sterile.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33Completely alien environment, but beautiful nonetheless.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Dotted out here in the desert are oilfields,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43some of the largest oilfields on the world,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46that power our industrial economies.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48This is where we get our black gold.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Or at least, the Saudis do.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06In our air-conditioned bubble,
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Danya and I settled down with the daily papers.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11From the outside,
0:39:11 > 0:39:17Saudi Arabia can seem to be a country where there's not much discussion
0:39:17 > 0:39:22about change, about political-type issues,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26but when you start opening newspapers in Saudi,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30you do start to see that there is debate about the sort of issues
0:39:30 > 0:39:34that concern people outside Saudi Arabia.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37This is saying that Saudi Arabia needs to change,
0:39:37 > 0:39:39it talks about the role of women.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43It says, "Male-dominated families are oblivious to the rights of women
0:39:43 > 0:39:46"to enjoy the same privileges afforded the menfolk.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49"Society still debates the rights of women to work,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52"their right to travel and their right to conduct business".
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Now, regardless of what you think of this,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57regardless of what I think of this,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01at least this is a debate that's being had.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03You know, people do talk about this.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Well, I have friends who write for newspapers
0:40:05 > 0:40:08and I have friends who just get angry about stuff
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and write to newspapers, and have their, you know,
0:40:11 > 0:40:15letters and articles published, so there is definitely
0:40:15 > 0:40:19a healthy debate on different topics going on in the kingdom.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22I mean, it's not that, you know, people are...
0:40:22 > 0:40:24- Silent.- Yeah.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Saudi Arabia has rightly been given a battering by human rights groups
0:40:29 > 0:40:33and it remains a country and a culture that's difficult
0:40:33 > 0:40:34for outsiders to penetrate.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39But I couldn't fault the warm welcome I'd received.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45I followed the Tropic of Cancer on east into the United Arab Emirates,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48and I headed for its biggest and brashest attraction -
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Dubai.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Perched on the edge of The Gulf, it rises up out of the desert,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03a symbol of success, or a monument to excess?
0:41:10 > 0:41:14I'd heard a lot about the city, but I'd never been,
0:41:14 > 0:41:19and after the austerity of Saudi Arabia, it was all a bit overwhelming.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23This luxury playground has drawn thousands of Western expats
0:41:23 > 0:41:25and millions of holiday-makers,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29with its year-round sun and tax-free salaries.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34But Dubai is best understood from above.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43It's only really when you're up in the air here
0:41:43 > 0:41:45that you get a sense of the real scale of Dubai...
0:41:46 > 0:41:48...of what they've achieved here.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50I mean, just a couple of decades ago, most of this,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53almost all of this, was just desert.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59The discovery of oil in the 1960s kick-started Dubai's transformation
0:41:59 > 0:42:04from a sleepy backwater port into a major international city.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06During the boom years, billions were ploughed
0:42:06 > 0:42:10into some of the most extraordinary and rapid development anywhere in the world.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15The rulers of Dubai seem to have thought they had to build big.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20The latest landmark was supposed to be Dubai's crowning glory.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30more than half a mile high, double the height of the Empire State Building.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32But will it be a success?
0:42:35 > 0:42:39The ambition of this place really is quite overwhelming.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Just over here you can see perhaps the grandest,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44biggest engineering scheme and building scheme
0:42:44 > 0:42:46they've come up with in Dubai.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48This is supposed to be the world.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52All those little islands here are supposed to resemble parts of the planet
0:42:52 > 0:42:57and it's supposed to be a giant residential complex
0:42:57 > 0:43:00that will be reached by boat or by helicopter from the mainland.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05But The World was looking very quiet.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09Like the whole of Dubai, it's been hit hard by the global recession.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Investors in this project have lost a fortune.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18But there's another, forgotten group in Dubai
0:43:18 > 0:43:20who gambled more than just their savings here,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23risking everything in the hope of a better life.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28We've just stopped by the side of the road, because we noticed
0:43:28 > 0:43:30that the road up here has been blocked off,
0:43:30 > 0:43:34so that coachload after coachload
0:43:34 > 0:43:38of migrant workers who've come here to build this city,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41coachloads of them are going past.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43I guess it's maybe the end of the shift or something.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47Where are you guys from? Bangladesh, India?
0:43:47 > 0:43:50- India.- India? Bangladesh?
0:43:50 > 0:43:52- Bangladesh?- India.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54SIMON LAUGHS
0:43:54 > 0:43:58This is a bit of globalisation that always gets me a bit emotional,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00people who travel across this planet
0:44:00 > 0:44:04seeking a better life, you know, they're seeking work,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07they're seeking more money for their families.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10That, for me, is the real story of globalisation.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15There are thought to be almost a million migrant workers in Dubai,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17two-thirds of the entire population.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21But many have discovered the streets here aren't exactly paved with gold.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24In recent years there have been widespread allegations
0:44:24 > 0:44:28of mistreatment and exploitation of workers.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31I met Almas Pardiwallah, a former employment agent
0:44:31 > 0:44:34who campaigns for the rights of these men.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36She told me the situation for the workers has been getting worse
0:44:36 > 0:44:38since the economic downturn.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43The workers live in camps out on the edge of town.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46So can you tell us a little bit about the camps?
0:44:46 > 0:44:48We're heading to one now.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52Sonapur is a place where the maximum of the camps are concentrated on.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53- Right.- Most of them.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56It's like Labour City, if you wish to call it.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Each camp appears to be the property,
0:45:00 > 0:45:05if you like, of the company that employs the workers,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09so we might have to go in a little covertly.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Typical camp, is it?
0:45:11 > 0:45:14There are 50 men living in this block who are locked
0:45:14 > 0:45:17in a desperate fight with the company they came here to work for.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21- IN TRANSLATION:- Some of us have worked for seven months,
0:45:21 > 0:45:24some for less, but now we've been laid off
0:45:24 > 0:45:27and we haven't been paid anything since we arrived.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30They say there's no work.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Many of the migrants here
0:45:32 > 0:45:34borrowed from loan sharks to pay for their work visas.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Then they were supposed to spend their first few months in Dubai
0:45:37 > 0:45:39paying off the loans.
0:45:39 > 0:45:4322-year-old Shoak put up his family home in Bangladesh as security.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47You took out about a £1,500 loan, then, to come to Dubai.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Why did you want to come?
0:45:49 > 0:45:54- IN TRANSLATION:- The agent told me it would be easy to earn £400 a month in Dubai.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01Instead, I was given £40 for food when I arrived, and then nothing.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03I just stay in my room.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06For the last three months, there's been no work.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11Most of these men's families are completely reliant on their incomes.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16I'm the only breadwinner in my family. I look after my mother and my brother.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20If I don't earn money here, they could take our house away.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23My mother's already in financial trouble.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26It must feel like you're living a nightmare.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31I won't go back to Bangladesh. I'll work here and I'll die here.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34I'll be killed if I go back.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39They can't pay off their loans or pay for flights home.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40They're trapped.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43But they're not getting any help from the authorities in Dubai.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48- IN TRANSLATION:- We've been to the Labour Court and the High Court,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52our problem hasn't been solved, and they never say when it will be.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55They just tell us to keep coming back.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57We're going mad.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00And this is presumably quite a typical story.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02- Very typical. - They're pulled this way and that,
0:47:02 > 0:47:04they've got threats here, threats there against them.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08That's an absolute typical, normal case in this case, if you can call it.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12They have no option and no help forthcoming from any quarter.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Do you know what you're going to do?
0:47:18 > 0:47:22They say if no outcome for this dilemma is forthcoming,
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- they will commit mass suicide. - Do they really mean that?
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Have you heard of cases
0:47:32 > 0:47:35- where guys have committed suicide in this situation?- Oh, yes.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37It really does happen?
0:47:37 > 0:47:38Yes, because if they go back home,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42the moneylenders are not going to be nationalised bank
0:47:42 > 0:47:43where a notice is going to come.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46There's somebody going to come and crack your kneecaps,
0:47:46 > 0:47:49probably if you have a sister, take away your sister or a child,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51so how are they going to cope with that kind of a dilemma
0:47:51 > 0:47:53when they go back home?
0:47:53 > 0:47:55It's as bad as that?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58It's like jumping from one mafia to another.
0:48:10 > 0:48:15Almas is very generously and charitably agreeing to take on their case, it seems.
0:48:17 > 0:48:22It's a completely different side to Dubai that we're seeing here
0:48:22 > 0:48:25and it's a side that I think a lot of people close their eyes to,
0:48:25 > 0:48:29but when you come here, you're confronted by the facts.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31These are the people who build Dubai
0:48:31 > 0:48:34and this is how they're treated.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36It's bloody depressing.
0:48:36 > 0:48:37It really is.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46A madcap folly, Dubai is a monument to the worst capitalist excesses,
0:48:46 > 0:48:50and many have said there's a certain poetic justice to its decline.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53But it's not only rich investors and businessmen who've been hit hard here.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56The real victims may well be the thousands of migrant labourers
0:48:56 > 0:49:00who now find themselves stuck here without work.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06It was a reminder of the value of my passport
0:49:06 > 0:49:09and the freedom it offers as I headed along the Tropic of Cancer
0:49:09 > 0:49:11from Dubai towards Oman,
0:49:11 > 0:49:15the last tropical country on this leg of my journey.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Just a few hours' drive from the bling of Dubai,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26Oman feels like another planet.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30While Dubai's turned itself into a Middle Eastern Las Vegas,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Oman is a stable, ancient country,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35hoping visitors will be drawn to its natural wonders.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40We can already see the landscape changing a little.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44Travelling across Saudi and then into UAE, the landscape was very flat.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47It's nice to see something different.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55And the best way of experiencing the beauty of the place
0:49:55 > 0:49:57was to get outside and under canvas.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07Five-star all the way.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24It is ten past seven in the morning
0:50:24 > 0:50:28and the temperature is already over 40 degrees centigrade.
0:50:28 > 0:50:34It just doesn't seem to get cold here, it's just hot or hotter.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38The Omani authorities had sent along a government minder,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40but Shaka could not have been more different
0:50:40 > 0:50:42to his obstructive counterparts in Egypt.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45When you've got a country as beautiful as this,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48you could be making a good income from it.
0:50:48 > 0:50:54That's true. But to keep it, to preserve it, not to ruin it.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57- That's the key. - Come, enjoy, entertain yourself
0:50:57 > 0:51:01and then, yeah, leave it as it is, you know.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05Do you need to worry about tourists? Because you have oil.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10Yes, but oil... oil will not last for long.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13There's one day when you'll wake up in the morning
0:51:13 > 0:51:17and there is no oil, so what are we going to do?
0:51:17 > 0:51:19We need something else, another income.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20- We're going to go?- All right.
0:51:20 > 0:51:21Come on, then.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Oh!
0:51:26 > 0:51:30BOTH: Oo-oh.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Ooh, it's bloody freezing!
0:51:34 > 0:51:39The only time in Oman we've been cold. Ah...
0:51:39 > 0:51:41It's very refreshing.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59A few more hours on the road took us to Nizwa,
0:51:59 > 0:52:00one of Oman's oldest cities.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06My translator, Nasib, took me along to its famous market.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12That man has a sheep in the back of his car.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14I'm not sure the RSPCA would approve of that.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17SHEEP BLEATS
0:52:20 > 0:52:24The Omanis are keen to protect both their country and their culture.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28The contrast with flashy Dubai couldn't have been greater.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31It does feel like we've stumbled into a scene
0:52:31 > 0:52:34from the Old Testament, really.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Men are leading goats or carrying goats around the ring here
0:52:38 > 0:52:43and everybody else is then bidding on them if they want to buy.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52The ladies on my left, what is their involvement in this?
0:52:52 > 0:52:56They're owner of the goats, they came from the desert. Bedouin.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01- From the eastern region. - The ladies actually own the goats?
0:53:01 > 0:53:03- Own the goats. - And the men sell them?
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Yeah, the men there, they just go around and sell them
0:53:06 > 0:53:09and they take some little percentage.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20You still get a sense of Bedouin culture here, I think.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24Oman still has a very large Bedouin community.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26They might not be nomadic any more
0:53:26 > 0:53:30but the market is still a place where Bedouins can come
0:53:30 > 0:53:34and they can buy and sell cattle, sheep, goats and their...their livestock.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Leaving the mountains behind, we made the final push across the desert
0:53:54 > 0:53:57to the very edge of Arabia,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59and one of Oman's most extraordinary sights.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10The sun's just going down over the mountains behind us
0:54:10 > 0:54:14and we're nearly at the end of this leg of the journey.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19The beaches down here are the most easterly point
0:54:19 > 0:54:22of the entire Arabian peninsula,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25but we can't quite get down to the beach yet
0:54:25 > 0:54:30because tonight there'll be some very special visitors.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39I met up with two guides who knew where to find the intrepid travellers
0:54:39 > 0:54:43who come to this beach, which is protected by the Omani government.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47- Can you see just down here the tracks?- Like a tank's.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49It looks like a tank, exactly.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53This is very exciting, Mohammed. Very exciting.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59It wasn't long before we saw the first visitor.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04My God, there's one just there, look.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Look at that.
0:55:07 > 0:55:12An enormous and endangered green turtle, one of the greatest ocean travellers.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16For just one night every three years, she leaves the sea
0:55:16 > 0:55:18to look for somewhere to lay her eggs.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21I can't tell you how excited I am to witness this.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24I've never seen anything like this before
0:55:24 > 0:55:28and you really see nature here involved in one of its eternal struggles.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34- Mohammed?- It's going out.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37There's one laying eggs. My colleague has given me sign.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39Oh, right, OK. Yeah, we'll go, let's go.
0:55:42 > 0:55:43GASPS
0:55:43 > 0:55:46(My goodness, look at this.)
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Ah! So she's actually laying the eggs right now,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53right in front of us.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58There goes another one.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02She's just plopping out her eggs one by one.
0:56:02 > 0:56:07They're, I suppose, the size of golf balls or ping-pong balls.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16So she's totally focused on her birthing now, laying the eggs.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18That's all she's thinking. She's not worried about us.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Oblivious to our presence once she starts laying,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29she'll now bury around 100 eggs in the sand.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39The turtles that hatch here
0:56:39 > 0:56:43range for thousands of miles over the entire Indian Ocean.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46But they'll always return to this beach to lay their eggs,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48at one of the world's largest breeding sites,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50close to the Tropic of Cancer.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54It can take all night to dig the nest,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56lay the eggs and then cover it all up again.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59You can see even just from looking at them,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01from their behaviour,
0:57:01 > 0:57:05how utterly exhausting all this is.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10They'll shift a bit of sand, then they'll rest.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13They'll shift some more sand, then they'll rest.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19And as one turtle was laying eggs, another's were hatching.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21Oh, my goodness, look.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23Oh, my goodness!
0:57:23 > 0:57:25They're tiny little turtles.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Crazily flip-flapping to get out of the sand.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33Ah, look at you.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Yes, yes, you're out, you're alive.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42It was an inspiring moment as I witnessed the birth
0:57:42 > 0:57:47of endangered turtles that find protection on this corner of the Arabian peninsula.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55As she heads out to sea, I'm coming to the end
0:57:55 > 0:57:58of another leg of my journey around the Tropic of Cancer.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01I've travelled from the waters of the River Nile
0:58:01 > 0:58:03to the edge of the Indian Ocean.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06It's been a tough and quite exhausting trip
0:58:06 > 0:58:09but nothing like what she has to go through.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I need to get some rest and some sleep
0:58:11 > 0:58:15and then I'll be continuing the journey across India.
0:58:19 > 0:58:24Next time, I witness a dramatic start to the tropical monsoon rains.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
0:58:27 > 0:58:30I get to bath a national treasure.
0:58:30 > 0:58:31Aah!
0:58:31 > 0:58:34And I sample some of India's more exotic cuisine.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37- So I've got to suck out the eye? - Yeah.