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From there, the team drives south for the tougher part of the journey to Baghdad, Babylon and Basra. On day nine, they head to Kirkuk, which his guidebook warns is ‘the most dangerous city in Iraq’. They’re now firmly in Iraqi government territory, while the land grows more menacing the further south they travel. Despite the ubiquitous presence of troops and the dishevelled appearance of Kirkuk, this ancient Mesopotamian city was once part of numerous empires, a heritage that was literally submerged in oil nearly two centuries ago when Western drillers brought a gush out of the ground, turning Iraq into the world’s fifth-largest producer. Into Iraq his latest book and TV venture, is in the tradition of all that he has done in his earlier works. Fearless and genuinely interested in travel and the history of the lands he passes through. Not as nimble as in earlier times, now 78, Palin has lost none of his strengths or stamina to find history and see the future through a new generation’s eyes. Palin is famous for his work with Monty Python and for his travel programmes, which have seen him visit locations including North Korea, Iraq and the Himalayas. The actor was knighted in 2019 for services to travel, culture and geography.
wereldreiziger (en oerkomiek) Michael Palin naar Irak voor Channel 5 Television. Hij wilde wel eens kennismaken met het land van Tigris en Eufraat, het vroegere Mesopotamië. Hij volgde de loop van de Tigris van aan de grens met Turkije naar Basra, bijna aan de Perzische Golf. Het wordt een 18 dagen lange en niet ongevaarlijke tocht doorheen het historische, maar vooral ook het hedendaagse Irak.Kirkuk, a city north of Baghdad, known for its oil reserves, is often listed among the most dangerous places in the world, and although IS fighters have been largely driven from the city, they still lurk in the countryside around. As Palin heads south, though, he encounters more suspicion, more hesitancy and even outright hostility from the people he meets.
In zijn boek, “Naar Irak”, die een literaire versie is van de TV-reeks geeft hij nog iets meer informatie vrij over zijn odyssee van bijna 1.700 km. Thanks to good viewing figures for the journey to Iraq it does look as if I might slip away somewhere else next year, but in the meantime I have the unglamorous task of completing work on the book about my enigmatic Great-Uncle Harry. It’s been fascinating diving into the family archives of his short life, and trying to work out just what sort of man he was. And, if all goes well, it should be a fascinating read ! We Three Kings. With Hugh Dennis and Bill Bryson at St Jame’s, Piccadilly. (Photo by Andy Sillett of the National Churches Trust.) Sir Michael Palin – comedian, adventurer, national treasure – lives in a serene white-fronted house on the corner of a quiet side street in north-west London. He opens the door, sprightly and energetic in a white button-down shirt and jeans.We have chaos and we laugh at it; their chaos is too deadly for them to be comfortable laughing at it.’ Michael Palin is for me the best travel guide. His words in books, supplemented with vivid and informative photographs and pieces to camera in TV programmes always engage me and fostered a desire to explore beyond my limited travel horizons. Michael Palin has been travelling across the world for decades. These travels are best known from the television series for which these journeys are designed, but he also writes books to accompany them.