Michael Palin: Into Iraq TRAVELOGUE 9PM, CHANNEL 5
On the final leg of his journey through Iraq, Michael is heading south from Baghdad towards the Persian Gulf. First, he visits Babylon – ‘I never thought I’d say, “This is Michael Palin in Babylon!”’ – and discovers that the magnificent walls were built in the 1980s on top of the old city. Saddam Hussein also had a palace built there, now abandoned – and termed by Michael as ‘the apogee of vanity’ because of its vast size and extravagance. He also visits Karbala, a hugely important pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims, where the shrine to Imam Husayn is dazzling. But one of the things that most impresses Michael isn’t architecture but the engaging pupils in a Baghdad school – the future of Iraq. ★★★★ JP