Cairo 'City of Contrast'

Merrilees Parker travels to Japan to learn about its unique food culture. She begins her journey in Tokyo, at Tsukiji, the world's biggest fish market. Master chef, Romeo teaches her how to make the ultimate sushi, an art that takes years to master. Then it's off to a ramen museum, where you can try various regional styles of the noodle soup. Escaping the city, Merrilees takes the bullet train to Matsusaka where she visits a farm that produces the most expensive beef in the world. She also visits Kyoto and Mount Fuji for the annual Summer Fire Festival to gorge herself on wonderful street food.

Malaysia's multiculturalism is unrivaled throughout Southeast Asia and is reflected in its cuisine. Roving foodie Merrilees Parker begins her journey on the Malaysian peninsula with the native Orang Asli people of Kelantan She then heads off to the stunning Islamic East coast to cook a rich curry using freshly caught mackerel. In the ancient spice capital of Melaka, Merrilees cooks up a storm with fiery Laksa soup in the style of the Nyonya. In the Cameron Highlands, 5,000 feet above sea level, there is a notable English influence. The island of Penang is Merilees' next stop then she visits the capital, Kuala Lumpur, one of the fastest growing cities in Southeast Asia.

This Traveltalk series short visits the village of Chichicastenango, Guatemala and emphasizes the influence of the Mayan culture on its people. It shows how the residents intermingle ancient religious practices with Catholic teachings. Narrator James FitzPatrick introduces, and greets on camera, Father Ildefonso Rossbach, a Catholic priest who ministers to the local population in the village and outlying areas.

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

Rome was famed for the decadence of its ruling class, however, what about the ordinary citizens of these ancient cultures? How did they lead their day to day lives in an age when the average life expectancy was little more than forty? Did they believe in the Pagan Gods? What were their sex lives like? What did they do for entertainment? How ordinary Romans lived is, for the most part ...

Has the famed Egyptian beauty, Queen Nefertiti, been found in a secret chamber deep in the Valley of the Kings? A Discovery Channel Quest expedition led by Dr. Joann Fletcher and a team of internationally renowned scientists from the University of York Mummy Research Team hopes to find out. If they find her, it will be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries since Nefertiti's stepson, King Tutankhamen, was discovered in 1922. The "Great Royal Wife" of the renegade Akhenaten, Nefertiti was a mother of six who helped lead a religious revolution that changed Egypt and the world forever. Yet after her death, her enemies destroyed all evidence of her life. Now, drawing on 13 years of research, Fletcher and her team bring Nefertiti's turbulent reign to life like never before with cutting-edge computer animations to recreate ancient Egypt's great temples, x-rays to reveal the telltale signs of foul play on her mummy, and forensic graphics to recreate the mummy's face.

The grail is not the gold, nor the books of ancient wisdom, but the 3,000 year old DNA of the mummies, which may lead to a cure for malaria.

Go beyond the lost human history! A profile and examination of the recent findings of a highly advanced human settlement submerged at the end of the Ice Age when the sea level rose. The story of Atlantis has its roots in actual historical events!

A stunning trek from the vale of Kashmir, via Sind Valley and Kargil and Lamayaru Monastry.

In the 14 months prior to the revolution, filmmaker Lillie Paquette follows key opposition figures and young activists as they struggle against the odds and at great personal risk to remove an uncompromising US-backed regime.

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

This travelogue takes in some of the most important landmarks of Islamic power in India.

This documentary visits the towns and villages of the Alsace region of France at Christmastime. See the charmingly decorated storybook towns and learn of the unique holiday traditions and celebrations. The Alsatian landscape is covered with medieval towns, castle ruins and vineyards, and the communities of the region create a season of enchantment in their celebration of Christmas.

Egypt's Great Pyramid may be humanity's greatest achievement: a skyscraper of stone built without computers or complex machinery. This super-sized tomb has fascinated historians and archaeologists for centuries, but exactly how the ancient Egyptians finished the monument and fitted its two and a half million blocks in a quarter of a century has long remained an enigma. Today the secrets of the pyramid are finally being revealed thanks to a series of new findings. At the foot of the monument, archaeologists are uncovering the last surviving relic of the pharaoh Khufu, whose tomb it is: a huge ceremonial boat buried in flat-pack form for more than 4500 years. It's a clue that points to the important role that ships and water could have played in the pyramids' construction. This documentary follows investigations that reveal how strong the link between pyramids and boats is. It's a story of more than how Egypt built a pyramid: it's about how the pyramid helped build the modern world.

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.

A debate rages over the credibility of the Bible. Most archaeologists today have concluded that there's no evidence that the Exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt ever happened. Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney faces a crisis of faith: "Is this foundation event of the Bible really just a myth?" He embarks on a 12-year journey around the world to search for answers. The Exodus unlocks the mystery of this ancient saga, combining a scientific investigation with a retelling of the Exodus story to reveal an amazing pattern of evidence matching the biblical account that may challenge our understanding of history.

In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.

A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.

American archeologists have found a new tomb in the desert valley. This is the first find of this magnitude since King Tutankhamun's tomb was uncovered in 1922, according to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Called KV 63 - it is the 63rd discovered since the valley was first mapped - the new, intact tomb was found just 16 feet away from King Tut's resting place. A team of archeologists led by Otto Schaden discovered the tomb by accident while conducting "routine digs" on the nearby tomb of King Amenmesses, a 19th Dynasty pharaoh. Explore the wonders of the magnificent lost era.

Four female friends from Egypt with opposing religious, social, and political views listen to one another's perspectives and argue openly, without ever breaking the bond that unites them.