Film & TV
ANALYSIS, POLITICAL TALKS, DOCUMENTARIES
The Last Secrets of the Middle East
What is it about the Yazidis, Druze and Mandaeans as the keepers of pre-Christian and pre-Islamic traditions? How much did ancient Middle Eastern beliefs shape our European culture? Gerlach attends fire ceremonies and mysterious religious rituals; he learns new things about the origins of good versus evil, truth versus lies, loyalty versus betrayal. He enquires about an obfuscated Islamic saviour, inspects what is probably the world’s most precious Koran manuscript, and finds himself in a sacred site on the Euphrates River, which is the destination of over 18 million pilgrims every year.
On this journey to lesser-known but all the more spectacular locations, he unravels the last secrets of the fascinating “Orient”, whose legacy helped Europe to rise.