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tv   The Travel Show  BBC News  November 20, 2018 3:30am-4:00am GMT

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as the un tries to revive talks to end the three—year war, the saudi—led coalition has bombed houthi rebels in the port of hodeidah. carlos ghosn, a man described as a titan of nissan cars, is under arrest in japan. the chairman of the japanese car giant, as well as mistubishi and renault, is being investigated over claims he under—reported his own earnings. unconfirmed reports say he failed to declare $41; million over five years, half his actual earnings. in chicago, four people are dead after a shooting at mercy hospital. the shooting started in a car park, and the gunman then entered a clinic. the gunman himself died but not before a police officerofficials say a police officer, a doctor, and a pharmaceutical assistant, as well as the gunman himself, are all dead. the foreign secretary has visited iran for the first time since he was appointed.
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jeremy hunt called for the immediate release of nazanin zagarhi—ratcliffe, the british—iranian who has been held there since 2016 on spying charges. diplomatic correspondent james landale was with the foreign secretary in tehran. this is not a sight you will see everyday. a british foreign secretary strolling the streets of tehran, sampling the delights of the grand bazaar. this isjeremy hunt's first visit to iran and he came with a clear message. the country, he said, should immediately release nazanin zagari—ratcliffe and other british iranian dual nationals who have been detained. if they, as a policy, detained dual nationals as a tool of diplomatic leverage, then there will be consequences for iran. this is not something that the united kingdom will allow to happen and let them get away with it scot—free. it's a case he took to his iranian counterpart, who admitted he could help with humanitarian assistance, but little more. why can nazanin zagari—ratcliffe not be released 7
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would it not correct an injustice, but also improve relations between the uk and iran? i'm not in a position to discuss the legalities of the case. she is an iranian citizen and she has been accused by thejudiciary, which is an independent body. and that is the problem. the iranian power brokers who decide mrs zagari—ratcliffe‘s fate are not around this table. this afternoon mr hunt met her four—year—old daughter, gabriella, and otherfamily members. back in britain, her husband welcomed his efforts. honestly, i think we have been here before. this is the second time a foreign secretary has gone to iran, you know, to lobby for nazanin‘s release, so we will need to see exactly what happens before we get our hopes up too high. yet again, obviously we remain fingers crossed and hoping beyond hope that she can be back before christmas. jeremy hunt, though, did notjust come to iran to talk about british iranian dual nationals.
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he also came here to assess for himself the impact of us sanctions, here, on the streets of tehran. he concluded iran was under real pressure, seeing few western goods on sale. iranian leaders accept that people will suffer, but are urging european politicians like mr hunt to do more to help. james landale, bbc news, tehran. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the travel show, i'm in lebanon, finding out why beirut is hoping to regain its reputation as the entertainment capital of the middle east. we have amazing people who are doing work that is internationally recognised. also coming up:
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i'll be discovering how an ordinary man became the king of his own castle. did he build it himself? himself, stone by stone. it took him 73 years. plus, lucy hits the british countryside to check out the latest hiking gadgets. gopro, take a photo. with its mix of minarets and church spires, lebanon's capital beirut is a clash of culture and religion between the mediterranean and the middle east. and i have come at a special time for the city. this year marks 75 years since this nation finally gained its independence — the birth of modern lebanon. for four centuries, it was the ottomans who ruled here, right up until the end of world war i, when control was handed to the french. it wasn't until 1943 that the struggle for self—rule
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finally paid off. now this statue here in martyr‘s square was put here to commemorate all of those who died resisting ottoman rule in the name of lebanese independence. today, the statue is pocked with bullet holes, scarred by the civil war that tore this city apart in the 19705 and ‘80s and made beirut a byword for sectarianism and conflict. a significant proportion of this city's historic buildings have been torn down. and on the ones that are still standing, the damage caused by the war is clearly visible. but it wasn't always this way. in the 1960s, beirut was the height of glamour, dubbed the paris of the middle east.
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and few spots epitomise this ideal better than one of the city's 5—star destinations. this commemorative book was produced a few years ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the hotel and when you look through it, it really gives you an idea of the calibre of celebrity that have stayed here. i mean, they've got marlon brando, there's bridget bardot, even the great muhammed ali. i was coming to the phoenicia since the beginning. we used to do fashion shows here, and this is a very special hotel. mona ross is an international model who was based in beirut before the war. mona ross is an international model who was based in beirut before the war.
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wow! mona ross! take a seat! now she is a permanent resident of the hotel. i mean, it's part of my life. i consider i'm part of the columns of the phoenicia. maybe i am! you are part of the furniture, yeah? part of the furniture! yeah, you're part of the fabric of the whole hotel! when the war came, the hotel became a battleground, a key strategic point because of its size and downtown location. i was passing by next to the phoenicia when it was destroyed and saw a little plant, hibiscus plant, with little red flowers on it and i was so touched by this and i couldn't believe my eyes — why this plant is alive in front of this hotel who was dead? today, a generation of young
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lebanese are determined to shake the dust and debris from the city's reputation. this is nice. where have you brought me to, lisa? so, we're in an area called mar mikhayel. when you come during the day, you can actually discover a lot of art galleries, concept stores. but then, at night time, it completely changes. so you can see there are a number of bars and restaurants, so it is quite buzzing. my sort of place! i think a lot of people, when they think about lebanon or beirut, their perception is a country that is war—torn and is full of violence. the war is part of lebanon's history but it doesn't define the country. we have this amazing art scene, we have a lot of designers and artists and film producers, um, architects, amazing people who are doing work that is actually internationally recognised and i think that is the best way for people to really understand what this country is like.
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lisa takes me to central station, which was recently named among the world's 50 best bars, to try lebanon's national drink, arak. cheers, enjoy. thank you. oh, that's strong! it's got a real aniseed taste. you couldn't drink it too quickly. you have to take your time. so is this the drink that young lebanese people are drinking? actually, this is a drink you normally enjoy with family over a long lunch. a lot of the bars, especially central station, they are creating these very innovative cocktails that celebrate the flavours of lebanon in a very interesting way. so here is modernes falafel.
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0oh! it's a deconstructed falafel sandwich with vodka as the base, using the falafel spices... this is so nuts! yeah. i mean, falafel cocktail? yeah. oh, that is good! you know what? that's like a drink that also feels like dinner. yeah, i like this better than the arak. and it's the night life that's really putting beirut back on the map. the music hall is one of the capital's most famous venues, hosting a cabaret packed with an eclectic mix of musicalforms. i said, "i'm going to get a place
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where you have extremes, there could be classical music and then something that is totally punk or very kitsch." i always like to mix things to be very eclectic. i tried to work on cultural entertainment — usually those two words do not meet. because entertainment is night life and alcohol, and culture is museums and theatres. with its bill celebrating both the city's pre—war golden age and contemporary music trends, the music hall offers a vision of beirut comfortable with its past and living in the moment. and if you are thinking
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of heading to lebanon, here are the travel show‘s top tips for things to know before you go. lebanon is an all—year—round destination with relatively mild winters and warm summers. but if you want to stay clear of the crowd, it is best to avoid august when things get busy. while most of the country is probably safe to explore, there are some areas that have travel advisories against them, like the border with syria, so it is always test to check with your own government's online advice first if you are planning a road trip. for some of the best views of the country, check out one of lebanon's most popular attractions,
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the teleferique aerial cableway, just north of beirut. the gondolas will take you 650 metres up and you will get breathtaking views of the bay ofjounieh and the surrounding city, all topped off by the statue of our lady of lebanon and the stunning basilica. and if you are more into snow than sea and sun, then don't forget that lebanon is home to the middle east's biggest ski resort. you will find almost 50 miles of piste, up to around 8,000 feet, on the slopes of mount lebanon. the town of mzaar is the main resort, where you'll also find a buzzing apres ski scene once you've hung up your skis for the day. still to come on this week's travel show: say cheese! lucy is testing out some of the latest gadgets on her hike around the english countryside.
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and i will be finding out about one man's mission to create his own fortress. so stick with us for that. today i am in the beautiful north downs in surrey for the day to escape the hustle and bustle of london and test out a bunch of gadgets during my hike around the countryside. first up it is this — the gotenna mesh device. it pairs to an app on your phone using bluetooth, then uses walkie—talkie radio frequencies to send text communications when you are out of phone signal. i have one device for me, and one device for my colleague tom here, who is going to help me test them out. we're both on a mission to find a good spot. mobile reception is pretty patchy but to make sure it definitely works, we've put our phones into aeroplane mode.
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time to go. let me know if you find a good spot for lunch! in open areas, the devices can work up to four miles apart, and up to half a mile in denser locations. the battery life is about 2k hours. but it's not cheap. a pair will cost £199. tom has just sent me a message in the app, it looks like we have the perfect spot for lunch, which is perfect because i am pretty hungry. it is worth noting you cannot make phone calls with this device, but you can share and access gps location data alongside a map. so i know exactly where to go to meet tom. now i know what i am going i have more time to test out my other gadgets, and ijust happen to have the latest gopro action cam. i am quite excited to try this out, mainly because its killer feature is image stabilisation which will give me super smooth video. like with previous versions, it also has voice control, but does it work? gopro, take a photo!
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it is counting me in. i am filming myjourney to tom sped up by x15. this gopro costs £379 or you can get one with slimmed down features for half the price. gopro, stop recording. the gopro hero 7 black is expensive but this is more than just an incremental update. for your money you are getting 4k video, the ability to live stream to youtube or facebook, you can shoot super stabilised timelapse videos and chuck in the ability to automatically adjust the settings based on your surrounding, and you are looking at gopro‘s best action cam yet. for something a little more retro, i have the latest snap—to—print cameras, the kodak minishot and polaroid 0nestep plus, which is what i'll start with. tom, i know you hate this, but you are the subject of my photo, so say cheese. this camera prices at £119 99, it has standard lens and a portrait lens, plus there is a partner app available. admittedly, photo quality was not
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as impressive as we were hoping, but after a few attempts we discovered you need to place the photos face down in order for them to develop, for around 5—10 minutes. but even after doing so the photo quality still wasn't that good. for a polaroid, that's a bit disappointing. we did test the camera indoors and the photos came out much better. i also like how it captures moments in the iconic polaroid square frame. now it is time to test out the kodak. selfie? yeah. let's do it. despite what the name implies, is not that mini, but needs to accommodate the cartridges which contain the paper. from £69.99 from kodak, it is one of the cheapest instant cameras on the market. it also has a 1.7 inch lcd viewfinder so you can check your picture before you print a credit—card size photo. it's certainly not quiet, and also, design—wise,
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it's lightweight and a bit kiddy—esque, but that's indicative of how easy it is to use. the screen is nice, i like that you can see what you are doing, it walks you through the printing process, and your photo is out in less than a minute. certainly quicker than the polaroid. photo quality... not the greatest, but it definitely fares better with close—ups. 0verall, both cameras fare better with close—ups, with the kodak much better for the outdoors. to close this week, i'm at beiteddine palace, one of lebanon's historic castles. many of these fortresses are left over from the crusades. but beiteddine was built later, at the end of the 1700s, in tribute to the country's ruler, emir bashirshihab ii. it's only an hour out of beirut, but nestled in the mountains it's a world away from the city's hustle and bustle.
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legend has it that once this unique palace was completed, the emir ordered for the architect to have his hands chopped off to prevent him from building anything as beautiful ever again. the building was restored in the 19505. ziad's father was part of the restoration team. good to meet you. welcome! my father was here, he was 20 years old. so he worked here when he was very young? very young. this is moussa al maamari. when moussa was working on the palace, he discovered a plot of land just a few kilometres away, and had an idea. a few years later, in 1962, he laid the foundations of his very own landmark, moussa castle.
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this is incredible. how long did it take your father to build it? it took him 73 years of work to fulfil his dream. imagine! 73 yea rs ? 73 years. and did he build it himself? himself, stone by stone. as you can see every stone has a different design. moussa drew the plans, laid the bricks and perfected the carvings of his very own 3500 square metre castle. he wrote here, "i entered as still young, and get out as an old man." to tell us that he spent all his life in doing this. inside, the surprises keep coming.
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over 30 rooms, there are more than 150 life—size stone and plaster figures, posed in dioramas depicting life in historic rural lebanon. look at that, this is amazing. this is a village scene from moussa's early life. and he made it all by his own hand. the statues, everything. ziad takes me downstairs to see where it all began, moussa's classroom. when he was a child he was caught sketching the plans for his dream castle. his teacher responded by beating him and tearing apart the drawing. my father stood up and collected the pieces of the drawing and he told them, "you are going to see this real one day." let me show you the drawing. look at this! the original tears...
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that's right. it looks exactly like it. you see, it's similar. very similar. this is a work of art! yeah. your father sounds like the sort of person that i like, because when somebody tells him he can't do something, it makes him even more determined. determined, yes, this is the story of my father. moussa was set on avenging this childhood humiliation. he built a small door at the castle‘s entrance so his teacher would have to bow to him when he finally visited. and if you need any more proof of moussa's resolve, inside is a display of his own personal armoury. a massive collection of weapons. something tells me that moussa was a man not to be messed with. i've never seen so many guns in my life! since it opened to the public
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in 1969, the castle has grown to become a big tourist attraction. in the summer, ziad estimates that they regularly welcome more than 1000 visitors a day. this afternoon, moussa's wife is among them. sadly, moussa died earlier in the year, injanuary. but his family are determined
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to keep his legacy alive. beiteddine palace, which yourfather helped to restore, is more than 200 years old. do you think in 200 years‘ time, people will still be coming to visit moussa castle? ah, yes. for sure. this place has been absolutely out of this world.
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it is hard to believe that one man built all of this by himself. but i am afraid to say that is your lot from us this week on the travel show. catch us next week when. .. christa is behind the wheel in paris as one of france's most iconic cars celebrates 70 years on the road. so make sure you join us for that if you can, and don't forget you can keep up with us in real—time by following us on social media. but now from me, ade adepitan and all the travel show team here in beautiful lebanon, bye! hello there.
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there is a strengthening easterly wind coming around the area of high pressure to the north of the uk and we will drag in cold air through the day. there might not be an awful lot of frost to start the day. maybe some early sunshine. i think the cloud will build. we will push the showers from the east coast and blow them further west on the strengthening wind. taking a closer look at the showers in the afternoon. frequent showers through the english channel into the south—east of england. we have the winds. it will be gusting around a0 miles an hour plus around the north sea coasts of england and you can see wet weather into northern england. showers or even longer spells of rain turning wintry via ground later. because it is an
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easterly wind, eastern scotland will see most of the showers. western scotland, fewer showers and sunshine. it is a similar story at thing across northern ireland. it is worth looking at those temperatures again. lower than they were on monday. six or seven fairly typical. when you add on the strength of the wind, this is what it will feel like, significant windchill for the east of england in particular. those showers will continue into the evening. as the air gets cold or will fall as sleet or snow. more particularly late on across wales, northern england and into scotland. as the winds drop further south, and as the cloud breaks, we may run the risk of some icy patches here as well, and temperatures not far away from freezing. it is more of a south—easterly wind on wednesday and that means the wetter weather will be pushing northwards into northern ireland and into scotland, where there will be more sleet and snow over the hills. a few showers to the south—west. 0n the whole most of
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england and wales will be dry. there will be more sunshine on wednesday. still cold, temperatures not changing much. it won't feel as cold because it won't be as windy. into the week, low pressure across the south—west of the uk, high pressure to the north—east, so dragging in the south—easterly wind. not as windy for northern areas on thursday. we will probably drag in cloud from the north sea, it could bring a few showers, not many, these are likely to be of rain, it will be dry in scotland and northern ireland, western areas may have some sunshine. temperatures creeping up a little bit, eight or nine. not quite as cold. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a blow to peace prospects in yemen, as fighting breaks out in the port city of hudaydah. millions are facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. it's often called the forgotten war, but everyone i've spoken to here is crying out for help,
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pleading with the world to finally take notice. one of the world's most prominent business leaders, nissan's carlos ghosn, is arrested injapan, accused of financial misconduct. more central american migrants reach the us—mexico border. many are claiming asylum. we report from the border town of tijuana. a volcano in guatemela erupts for the fifth time this year, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
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