Season 1

Tim Mackintosh-Smith sets off in the footsteps of the Moroccan scholar Ibn Battutah who, in 1325, embarked on a thirty-year pilgrimage across forty countries and three continents.

Tim travels through Turkey, the Crimea and India. On his way he uncovers all that is weird, wonderful and mystical in the Islamic world. With very strong language.

Travel writer and Arabist Tim Mackintosh-Smith explores the place of Islam in Hindu-dominated India and Communist China, and tells the story of the glittering Islamic trade empire of the 14th century. Travelling from Gujarat to Calicut he witnesses the ritual dance of the Indian Abyssinians, which culminates in a fire-walking frenzy. In the Maldives, Tim explores Ibn Battutah's claim that he had discovered the secret of formidable sexual prowess. Taking to the Maritime Silk Route, Tim heads to China. He meets a clan who trace their ancestry back to Arabs, and witnesses an illegal Arabic lesson - the authorities are quick to equate learning Arabic with Islamic fundamentalism. Ibn Battutah's journey across the world ended with an encounter with a hermit mystic in a cave outside Guangzhou. Will Tim find the cave, hidden in the forests of White Cloud Mountain?