Grade Level: SrH-Adult
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No |
Running Time: 55 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No |
Copyright Date: 2002
Available in French: No
|
There are few tracts of planet Earth that do not bear the stigmata of some cameraman's tripod. But the Sahara Desert is one. Moreover, it is a mere three hours flight from the United Kingdom. The British tend to avoid the Sahara – "sand and the French", very off-putting. But for Michael Palin, these drawbacks are stimuli, and from the comforting Britishness of Gibraltar he plans his assault on Saharan Africa – a mere 12 miles by ferry to Tangier – famous once for naughtiness, before the late King Hassan put an end to all that. Before he reaches the Sahara proper, Michael must first pass through Fez (spiritual capital of Morocco), Marrakesh (tourist capital of Morocco), and finally the High Atlas, that sits astride Morocco like a sentinel. Where the borders of Algeria and Morocco meet is a blot on the landscape – a huge refugee sprawl of over 160,000 men, women and children who fled their country, Western Sahara, when it was annexed by the Moroccans. They have lived in this harsh and hostile place for 27 years, largely forgotten. Michael stays at Smara, one of the biggest camps before he is escorted to the Mauritanian border by a Polisario escort. Further South, Michael rides The Longest Train in the World (it carries huge consignments of iron-ore, and a few passengers) to Chinguetti, seventh holiest city in Islam, and site of a perfect Foreign Legion fort. At Chinguetti, Michael enjoys the finest hour in a long and triumphal career. Challenged to a game of daemon (desert checkers, played in the sand with pieces of straw versus camel droppings) he prevails against the local grandmaster. |
