The Nabataeans, once desert-dwelling nomads, transformed into master merchants who controlled the incense and spice trade routes spanning from these ancient lands to the Mediterranean, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia.
Explorer, adventurer, author, and TV presenter Alice Morrison will travel to Jordan and Saudi Arabia on a quest to reveal the secrets of a forgotten ancient civilization, the Nabataeans, in a new two-part series titled Arabian Adventures: The Secrets of the Nabateans, airing on the BBC News channel starting Saturday, June 1.
In this series, Alice embarks on an adventure to uncover the secrets of the Nabataeans by visiting key locations to tell the story of these desert-dwelling nomads turned master merchants. The Nabataeans controlled the incense and spice trade routes through these ancient lands to the Mediterranean, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia from the 4th century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. until the expansion of the Roman Empire subsumed much of their culture.
Episode One sees Alice begin her journey in Jordan, at the ancient trading centre of Petra, crowned as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Here, the Nabataeans carved exquisite buildings, theatres, and grandiose tombs out of solid sandstone rock. She discovers their secret skills in architecture and engineering.
In Episode Two, Alice journeys south and crosses the border into Saudi Arabia. Following ancient trade routes, she heads toward one of the world’s great oases, AlUla. This was the Nabataeans’ second city, Hegra, established as their influence spread. The archaeological site of Hegra has only recently opened up to the world and is now host to an international team of experts making new discoveries about every aspect of who the Nabataeans were and how they lived. Here, Alice explores tombs, uncovers an ancient buried city, and even comes face to face with a Nabataean.
Alice Morrison said: “This has been a fascinating voyage of discovery. The Nabateans are the greatest civilisation you’ve never heard of. From digging in sandy tombs, to using the latest technology to reconstruct an actual Nabatean woman, I’ve been delving into their deepest secrets.
“What I didn’t expect when I started investigating the Nabateans was to find that women played such a prominent role in society. It was a delight to have that all explained to me by one of the new generation of Saudi women, Wedad Yaseen.”
Emma De’Ath, Commissioner of BBC, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Alice and the team at Tern TV on the next BBC series of her Adventures. In her last BBC series, Alice journeyed from Morocco to Timbuktu. This time Alice follows in the footsteps of the ancient Nabateans from their capital in Jordan along their trade routes to their cities in Saudi Arabia. As an Arabist and an Arabic speaker Alice is the perfect host for this series”.
Harry Bell, Managing Director, Tern TV, stated: “We are thrilled to be working with Alice Morrison and the BBC on another Arabian Adventures series. It’s particularly exciting to be championing a rarely seen female explorer on TV and matching her with a feminist leading story about the Ancient Nabatean civilisation in modern-day Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”
Arabian Adventures: The Secrets of the Nabateans airs on the BBC News channel on Saturday, June 1, at 01:30, and 07:30, and Sunday, June 2, at 14:30 and 21:30. Episode 2 airs on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9. All times GMT. The programme was produced by UK-based factual producer Tern Television for the BBC.
