PLACES THAT DONT EXIST: SOMALILAND (episode 1 of 5)

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• published: 11 Nov 2011
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Please visit www.simonreeve.co.uk for more information. Simon Reeve travels to a group of unrecognised nations -- countries so obscure they don't officially exist -- in this five-part BBC TV series, shown on BBC2, BBC World and by broadcasters in more than 40 countries. On his journey he visits little-known parts of the world including Somaliland, Transniestria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ajaria, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Somalia, Moldova, Taiwan, and the former Soviet republic of Georgia. In this series, Simon Reeve is taught to fish by the President of Moldova, becomes an unofficial Somali diplomat, and finds himself crammed into a lift with the President of Georgia. He visits a little-known country stuck in a Soviet-era time-warp, and a mountainous state which claims to have the highest rate of longevity on the planet. Simon also discovers abandoned missiles capable of destroying skyscrapers, al Qaeda terrorists in an African jail and the mass graves of children killed by soldiers. Simon meets a blonde popstar who's a crackshot with an AK-47, a mournful guitarist, and a Taiwanese boy band. He climbs the world's tallest building, visits the site of the battle in Black Hawk Down, is electrocuted in Mogadishu, finds 5,000 year old rock paintings, buys himself a new Somali passport from a man called Mr Big Beard, and is held as a spy by the Transniestrian KGB. Snake blood is on the menu in Asia, rock-hard yoghurt in the Caucuses, camel milk in Africa and two bottles of cognac when Simon is forced to celebrate independence with a Communist politician. He meets a villager who sold a kidney to buy a cow, and children forced to live in freezing railway carriages. Amid the minefields of Nagorno-Karabkh, Simon is pelted with snowballs by refugee children. But in the sweltering heat of Mogadishu he needs a dozen armed gunmen just to stay alive. ------------------------------------ Reviews of the series: Daily Telegraph: An 'exemplary series...riveting...eye-opening...remarkable...superb' Evening Standard (London): 'Compelling television, lifted way above a worthy travelogue by Reeve's obvious, sincere interest in the people and places he encounters' Daily Mail: "Unmissable...makes the blood boil...It would be good if this brave programme stirred a few consciences. Shaming." The Times: A 'consistently informative series...Reeve is an ideal guide -- brave without being macho, amused without being frivolous and always informative' Globe and Mail (Canada): 'Places That Don't Exist is outstanding television. That's because Simon Reeve, the host/reporter, is endlessly curious and incredibly brave. When we last encountered Reeve he was showing us around "the Stans," countries such as Kazakhstan, that few outsiders visit. It was an excellent series, exceptionally revealing of both the general and specific. Reeve is now one of the great TV figures. A smart and cheerful Englishman, he's a combination of Michael Palin and serious political reporter.' ------------------------------------ SIMON REEVE is an adventurer, TV presenter and New York Times bestselling author with a passion for travel, current affairs, history, conservation and the environment. He has been around the world three times for the BBC series Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and Tropic of Cancer, and has travelled extensively in more than 100 countries. Simon's last journey around the Tropic of Cancer enthralled millions and was described by The Times of London as: "a real gem...Reeve is in a class of his own". Readers of a leading travel magazine voted it their favourite TV series. Simon, who is an ambassador for the nature conservation organisation WWF, has been awarded a One World Broadcasting Trust award for an "outstanding contribution to greater world understanding". His books include Tropic of Capricorn (published by BBC Books), and The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the future of terrorism, which warned of a new age of apocalyptic terrorism, and was the first in the world on bin Laden and al Qaeda. Originally published in 1998 it has been a New York Times bestseller. Simon has contributed to other studies into organised crime, terrorism, biological warfare and corruption. His book One Day in September: the story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre was published in 2000. The film of the same name, narrated by the actor Michael Douglas, won an Oscar for best feature documentary. ------------------------------------ You can find out more information on Simon's journeys, and see more of Simon's films, at his website: www.simonreeve.co.uk or at www.youtube.com/shootandscribble Thanks for watching!