Series
Sahara with Michael Palin
Documentary
In this four-part BBC documentary, former Monty Python funnyman and renowned globe-trotter Michael Palin sets off from Gibraltar to travel across the Sahara, his witty humor downplaying the hardships he faces along the arduous journey. He travels to Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and beyond, across some of the harshest terrain on the planet.
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Seasons & episodes
1A Line in the Sand13 Oct 2002 · 60m · ★ 7.0Michael lands at Tangier in Morocco after crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, and passes through the High Atlas mountains after brief stops in Fez and Marrakesh. From here, the Sahawari people help him to negotiate the harsh, rugged terrain and guide him south to the Mauritanian border.
2Destination Timbuktu20 Oct 2002 · 60m · ★ 6.0After a brief stopover in cosmopolitan Senegal, Michael endures two nights aboard the train to Bamako, where he meets up with the renowned kora player Toumani Diabete. Meanwhile, the Dogon people of West Africa introduce Michael to some of their origin myths, and a trip down the River Niger turns out to be far from plain sailing.
3Absolute Desert27 Oct 2002 · 60mMichael reaches Timbuktu along with a camel train carrying the giant salt blocks that made the city one of the greatest centres of Islamic learning up until the 16th century. He wanders through the rubble that is 21st century Timbuktu to find the Imam who shows him original astronomical textbooks that predate Galileo's discoveries by 200 years.
4Dire Straits3 Nov 2002 · 60mMichael arrives at the border of Niger and Algeria, the most desolate crossing, and then turning north Michael passes through the mountains of the Hoggar massif before pausing in the oil and gas fields of central Algeria. Then onto Libya to attend the very last reunion of the Desert Rats of Tobruk, before turning west along the North Coast past deserted classical sites at Apollonia, Cyrene and Leptis Magna.
Details
- First aired
- 13 Oct 2002
- Last aired
- 3 Nov 2002
- Status
- Ended
- Language
- English
- Network
- BBC One
- Episodes
- 4
- Votes
- 17 on TMDB
Cast
Michael PalinSelf - Presenter
