Around the World in 80 Treasures (BBC, 2005) (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)

Documentary series presented by Dan Cruickshank revealing the most beautiful and precious things in the world

E01 Peru to Brazil
Dan Cruickshank sets out on television's most ambitious treasure hunt ever – to reveal the most beautiful and precious things made by man since the dawn of time.

Filmed over five months and visiting more than 40 countries, episode one takes Dan deep into the Amazonian rainforests of Brazil, to the peaks of the Peruvian mountains and to the distant wilds of Easter Island.

Surviving tempest-tossed seas, crocodile-infested rivers and the digestive challenge of eating fresh guinea pig, Dan's choice of treasures ranges from the celebrated to the secret. His destinations in this programme – the giant Moai, the ruins of Machu Picchu and the giant statue of Rio's Christ – are famed worldwide. Less well known but equally spectacular are the gold treasures of the human-sacrifice-loving Moche people, with the sinister gold spider necklace, and the largest mud-built city in world – the magical location of Chan Chan.

Never before has the variety and range of mankind's creations around the world provided the stepping stones for such a momentous journey.

E02 Mexico to America
In episode two of Dan Cruickshank's global journey to find the top 80 man-made treasures in history, we travel from the mysteries of ancient Mayan tombs to that great symbol of the modern age - the Statue of Liberty, while taking in the drama of the giant warriors at Tula and the refinement of Thomas Jefferson's elegant home in Virginia. Dan also reveals his first dark treasures of this monumental journey - the ruthlessly efficient killer, the 1851 Navy Colt – the handgun that 'won' the west for the white man – and comes face to face with the 'Controller of the Universe' in Mexico City.

Elsewhere in Mexico, deep inside the pyramids of Palenque, Dan finds the great tomb of King Pacal. Even more surprising is the early civilisation of North America at Mesa Verde, where the clifftop people created a brilliant landscape that looks like something from outer space. From there it's an extraordinary leap to the high rise drama of Manhattan and the skyscraper that changed the world.

E03 Australia to Cambodia
Giant termite mounds, edible juicy ants and erotic cave paintings are the treasures Dan Cruickshank unearths in the outback. In Dan's view, even the brilliance of Sydney Harbour can't rival the artefacts of ancient Australia.

Dan then moves on to Indonesia and meets the Torajan people of Sulawesi for whom, with their elaborate funerals and continued contact with loved ones after they have died, the line between life and death is very different to that in the west.

Dan's excitement is palpable as he visits the highlight of his trip so far - the temples of Angkor Wat and the 12th-century city of Angkor Thom in Cambodia. A golden elephant is Dan's final prize in Thailand - another wonder of the ancient world.

Dan's visit to Indonesia and Thailand was made before the devastation wrought by the Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake in 2004.

E04 Japan to China
The ancient and the modern clash deliciously in Japan while the Terracotta army and the Great Wall of China boast the brilliance of ancient imperial China – Dan Cruickshank embarks on the fourth leg of his journey round the world to map man's greatest creations in history.

The sword of a Samurai warrior is his first and slightly menacing choice, but Dan is captivated by the artistry employed in making this most beautiful instrument of death. By contrast, he finds solace and tranquillity in a Japanese temple and meditation garden.

In China, the tension of war and peace reasserts itself as he walks the Great Wall of China and contemplates the massed ranks of the Terracotta Army – 8,000 soldiers all individually modelled on real people from 2,000 years ago. Again, he finds peace in a unique creation – the empress of China's marble boat – a miraculous and surreal vision on the waters of the Summer Palace lake.

As the smog of modern China descends, Dan finds his attempts to see the ancient porcelain of the Forbidden City challenged before making his escape to the space age world of high-rise Shanghai.

E05 India to Sri Lanka
In Calcutta, he tangles with a ten-armed naked goddess and is moved to passion in the Cave of Heavenly Maidens. Dan's on a journey of personal enlightenment and finds the key to the cosmos in the city of Jaipur, worships at the Temple of the Tooth, is blessed by an elephant and ends up in the world's greatest shrine to love, the Taj Mahal.

E06 Uzbekistan to Syria
Dan hits some of the most mysterious and secret countries in the world, where the weary western traveller cannot be sure of a warm welcome. But he's in for a surprise as he is accosted by young girls in Bukhara and Persian carpet sellers in Iran. He couldn't be more welcome if he tried.

Tile making in Samarkand, the extraordinary Trading Domes of Bukhara in Uzbekistan and the Fire Temple of Baku in Azerbaijan take Dan to some of the most incredible but least-visited places in the world. There is also a real mystery to solve as he gingerly edges himself up a cliff face towards the biggest archaeological puzzle of the 19th century - the Behistun carvings.

After the pleasures of Iran, Dan heads for one of the glories of the ancient world - the great city of Persepolis, vanquished by Alexander the Great in 330BC. In its day, it was the most beautiful city in the world and there's more than enough left to savour the brilliance - like the Palace of One Hundred Columns and the Gate of All Nations.

Lastly, Dan visits Damascus in Syria and one of the most exotic souks in the world. Worn to a frazzle, he heads for the local hammam - the town steam bath - for pampering and a hubble-bubble pipe.

E07 Jordan to Ethiopia
Dan Cruickshank goes in search of the Ark of the Covenant – the legendary great gold box that held the original Ten Commandments handed down to man by God. His journey takes him from Jordan to the Holy Land of Israel and Palestine and finally to Ethiopia – Africa's Garden of Eden.

His journey has all the hallmarks of an endurance test. The astonishing city of Petra – so fine and intricate in its decoration yet carved directly out of the rock face – must be reached by donkey along a precipitous gorge. Then Dan must get past the Guardian Monk of Ethiopia, who allows no-one to pass, and riskiest of all, he must climb the vertical cliff at Debre Damo to reach the treasures hidden inside the monastery on top of the mountain.

Along the way, Dan encounters prehistoric skyscrapers and the most powerful ruler in Africa, King Lalibela. His ultimate prize is unexpected – to be cleansed of all shame by an ancient relic that wields its mystical powers beneath the Star of David. And the Ark of the Covenant? Maybe he finds it, maybe not, but at least he escapes without being turned into a pile of ashes.

E08 Mali to Egypt
Dan Cruickshank’s journey around the world reaches new heights of discomfort in the heat and dust of the desert. He takes in the astonishing cave paintings of the Dogon tribe before embarking on a love affair in Egypt with the most beautiful woman in history for whom he must brave two giant jackals. In between, he witnesses the grotesque masks of Mali that connect the world of the living with the world of the dead, survives a power cut in the middle of the deepest, darkest chamber of the dead in the Great Pyramid outside Cairo, lives a day in the life of a Roman trader in Leptis Magna and identifies with Laurence of Arabia in the desert of Libya.

One amazing surprise is the biggest mud building in the world, which cools down in the African sun by means of an installation of 104 saucepan lids on its roof - possibly the simplest ventilation system in the world but also the most ingenious. Finally, as he floats into the sunset down the Nile, he contemplates how it will feel to re-enter Europe after four months away.

E09 Turkey to Germany
In the penultimate stage of Dan Cruickshank’s gargantuan journey around the world, we find the intrepid explorer floating above Turkey in a hot air balloon! Below lie miles of a subterranean city where across the centuries peoples hid from warring factions from the east and west. Once in the caves - dark and sinister as they are - Dan uncovers an ingenious means of defence before stumbling on the weirdest treasure of his trip - a cavern full of golden locks - of hair!

It reminds him he needs a haircut - possibly the least wise decision of his trip. Recovered from his singeing experience over supper in downtown Istanbul, the mother of all domes at Hagia Sophia raises his spirits as he climbs to the very top.

In Russia's St Petersburg, Dan casts himself in the guise of Peter the Great, who planned an imperial city from a simple shack before heading north toward the Arctic Circle and the remote Monastery of Solovki, where Russia's epic and often violent history has left its mark. Even now it is one of the bleakest places he has encountered so far.

Poland is a destination with personal echoes - as he reveals, he grew up there - a visit to the local salt mine with its miraculous salt carvings - beautifully detailed figures carved by the miners as altar pieces to petition God for their safety - transports him back to his lost childhood.

Shadows of 20th-century history crowd in as Dan lands in Berlin where he determines he must salvage something from the wreckage of Nazi Germany. His choice: a chair and a beetle.

E10 Homeward Bound
At last, the end is in sight, and Dan's circumnavigation of the globe almost complete. But first there are some of the most brilliant treasures of all to enjoy. Venice, Florence and Rome revive an exhausted but ebullient Dan about to take his 92nd flight of the trip before he sails for home.

His first destination was once the most dangerous place on earth - Mostar and its famous bridge spanning the Christian and Muslim worlds. Destroyed by missiles and now rebuilt. Then on to Athens and the glories of the Parthenon before heading for the ultimate treasure trove of Italy - the beauties of Venice, the splendour of the Pantheon in Rome and the fabulous chapel of the Medici princes in Florence. Then in Spain, Dan is astonished by the unrivalled brilliance of the Alhambra, and echoes of the days when a large part of Europe was under Islamic rule.

At last, it's time for Dan to reflect on the immensity of his journey round the world - how has it changed him and what is he to make of it all? What can we all learn as human beings from the fantastic variety of mankind's creations that Dan has seen? And what single thing more than any other has inspired man to create?


First broadcast:  March-April 2005
Duration:  1 hour per episode

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