Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places

A thought-provoking documentary on the current and historical causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. political involvement.

During the British Raj, the orphan of a British soldier poses as a Hindu and is torn between his loyalty to a Buddhist mystic and aiding the English secret service.

Facing an arranged marriage to a man of dubious morals, heiress Korah Hurley poses as the impoverished travelling companion of her aunt, the Marquise de Jaurmais, in order to test whether her rakish fiancé's affections are truly for her or for the fortune she will inherit.

A woman searches for her adult son, who was taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent.

Carter, an art conservator, arrives in Italy to restore a fresco in an old church. He discovers that the strange locals are hiding something and a mystery relating to a nearby lake that legend says was created by a meteor.

Emilia Fox and Britain’s top criminologist, Professor David Wilson, cast new light on the Jack the Ripper case. Together, they examine the Ripper’s modus operandi using modern technology to recreate the murder sites to help understand the extraordinary risks the Ripper took to kill his victims. Using the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System (HOLMES)—a bespoke computer system used by the police to help detect patterns in criminal activity—and evidence uncovered within the investigation, results strongly indicate another woman was, in fact, the first Ripper victim.

The events of the hajj have long remained veiled from non-Muslims, who are forbidden even to enter the holy city of Mecca. A team of Muslim filmmakers gained access to Islam's holiest place at the peak of the pilgrimage to document the holy event for National Geographic Television.

For centuries, we've grappled with the mystery of The Holy Grail. Was it really the cup used at the Last Supper by Christ and the Disciples? And where is it today? It's the ultimate adventure, one of history's great detective stories. At the heart of the best-selling novel of all time, The Da Vinci Code, lies the mystery of this most sought-after, yet most illusive, sacred relic. Over the centuries, historians, archaeologists, adventurers, and rulers alike have sought to piece together the ancient puzzle and find the one true Holy Grail. Now, follow award-winning investigative documentarian Bruce Burgess as he follows the clues and goes In Search of the Holy Grail.

Welsh poet Ifor Ap Glyn has a passionate interest in the toilet: its history and how it has evolved over the centuries, right up to the development of the current design. Here, he explains the reasons behind his fascination.

In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.

Danny Dyer goes on a quest to spot a UFO, spurred on by a meeting with his boyhood hero Sir Patrick Moore. Danny examines reported UFO landing sites and the sinister evidence that aliens may have been conducting scientific experiments here in Britain. He meets witnesses who claim to have seen UFOs and one man who says he can prove he's been abducted by aliens. Danny's search for his own close encounter takes him all the way to the UFO Research Centre in Portland, Oregon.

Historian William Dalrymple journeys to Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Pakistan to explore whirling dervishes, Qawwali singing and other forms of music sacred in Sufism, the branch of Islam that emphasizes music as a mystical route to the holy. Capturing performances of renowned Muslim musicians such as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sain Zahoor, the film reveals that at the heart of Sufism lies a dedication to tolerance and pluralism.

Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the ancient Christian practice of preserving holy relics and the largely forgotten art form that went with it, the reliquary. Fragments of bone or fabric placed inside a bejewelled shrine, a sculpted golden head or even a life-sized silver hand were, and still are, objects of religious devotion believed to have the power to work miracles. The documentary features interviews with art historian Sister Wendy Beckett and Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum.

February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

Refugee gods, transposed to flesh and blood, wash ashore to rouse the myths of ancient Britain, half-drowned in a forgotten past. They disperse through shifting realities to awaken the giant Albion and find the holy grail in a ritual to save England from the rot of darkness and hatred that's strangling its soul.

Journey through the long-vanished corners of prehistoric North America, beginning when man first entered the vast, unspoiled continent some 14,000 years ago, in this appealing BBC documentary. Witness ancient beasts, mammoths, mastodons, giant bears, and sabre-toothed cats, and see the legacies each has passed to their modern successors. Computer animation and digital effects bring to life mammoths, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, short-faced bears, glyptodonts, and a plethora of smaller animals in a lush Ice Age mosaic. Discoveries from sites across America are the basis for the reconstructions. The BBC team behind "Blue Planet" and "Walking with Dinosaurs" now takes you back to an 'early America' beyond imagination. Travel back 14,000 years as humans were first entering the continent, sharing it with ancient beasts.

Terry Jones' Great Map Mystery is a four-part television documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two Wales in 2008 and presented by ex-Python Terry Jones. As described on the BBC's website, "Terry Jones sets out on a series of journeys through Wales following the world's first road atlas: John Ogilby's Britannia, published in 1675."

The year 2004 saw two hundred years of railways in Great Britain and to celebrate this historic landmark year, dedicated train enthusiast Mark Williams traveled the length and breadth of Britain in an exciting new TV series. Travelling the length and breadth of Britain, Mark tracks down the nation's fascinating railway heritage and gets to grips with locos such as the magnificent 160 ton Duchess of Sutherland. From the earliest designs of Richard Trevithick and George and Robert Stephenson to the advent of Class 31s, and from the development of London's Underground to the evolution of railway coaches, he reveals how our railways have changed over 200 years of history.

David Dimbleby takes to his wooden sailing boat to explore Britain's rich maritime heritage.

Professor Richard Fortey travels to some of the greatest fossil sites on earth to discover more about the distant past.

Oz Clarke and James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the amazing array of drinks that is on offer.

The British actress goes on a 2,000 mile journey across the four main islands of Japan, travelling from North to South meeting local people and absorbing the culture.

Sue Perkins undertakes an epic, personal journey to the source of India's Ganges river in the Himalayas, meeting hermits and holy men to understand the sacred nature of this river.

Exploring the history and use of psychedelic plants. Psychedelica examines; Sacred Healing ,Integrating Shamanic, Wisdom, Treating Illness with Plant Medicines, Set, Setting, & Psychotropic Experiments, Expanding Human Consciousness, Shadow Side of Psychedelics, Indigenous Medicine of the Mind, and The Holy Mushroom Theory. Psychedelica is an original series streamed on Gaia. 2018

Entering a sacred monument is never an unremarkable experience. Whether a place of worship for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists, the buildings all tend to be architecturally magnificent. And behind the stone, brick, or marble facades are hidden stories of titanic construction sites where brilliant architects, builders and artists came together... From the West to the Far East, these monuments are the concrete witnesses of men's beliefs and of their desire to excel, as well as reminders of their will for political dominance. This series, set in the present day, is about discovering some of the world’s most beautiful and sacred monuments, from Italy to Hungary via France, and on to India, Tunisia and even Myanmar... During each episode we spend a day, from sunrise to sunset, at one of the monuments and learn about its history and architecture, as well as the rituals practiced there, and the people who take care of it.

Enter a world of mummies, witches, zombies, and shamans as we explore Britain's mysterious sites and mystic past.

Alexander Armstrong travels to the Land of Fire and Ice to learn more about the unique nature and culture found there, visiting every corner of Iceland to experience the incredible sights and people.

Writer Sathnam Sanghera travels across the country exploring the effects of the British Empire on modern Britain

A land of myth and legend, ancient Iraq is the cradle of human civilization; and now, pioneering archaeologists gain rare access to investigate sacred sites and reveal the truth behind forgotten Biblical cities.