Sahara

Michael Palin's epic voyages have seen him circumnavigate the globe, travel from the North to the South Pole and circle the countries of the Pacific Ocean, but perhaps the greatest challenge facing an intrepid explorer is crossing the vast and merciless Sahara Desert. There is no easy way to do it, and Palin's experiences are like nothing he has encountered before.As the journey unfolds, the Sahara reveals not the emptiness of endless sand dunes, but a huge and diverse range of cultures and landscapes and a long history of civilisation, trade, commerce and conquest stretching from the ancient Egyptians to the oil-rich Islamic republics of today.From Gibraltar, Palin crosses the straits to Morocco and the notorious city of Tangier. He pauses in Fes and Marrakech before traversing the mighty Atlas Mountains. From Southern Algeria he reaches the frontier with Western Sahara, where he encounters the Polisario Front, a guerrilla organisation, then heads south to Mauritania and ends up in Timbuktu. Passing through many fascinating and unique areas, he finishes his journey in Tunisia - where The Life of Brian was filmed, and Palin crucified....