Episodes
Southern Russia
August 20, 2017
Levison experiences breath-taking landscapes, bizarre ruins, and a sufi ceremony and crosses Chechnya - now ruled by a terrifying strongman - into Dagestan, where terrorists hide out in the mountains.
Dagestan to Azerbaijan
August 27, 2017
In Dagestan - which the Foreign Office warns against visiting - Levison experiences warrior clans' hospitality, stunning beauty and ancient cities. Then it's on to country-of-contrasts Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan to Georgia
September 3, 2017
Levison and Rasheed head into the remote mountains on the journey to Igushetia, accompanied by a government minder as the area has had problems with Islamist terrorist attacks. Walking through what feels like an unknown paradise untouched for hundreds of years, Levison finds piles of bones - the remnants of ancient Ingush burial ceremonies - in centuries old fortified towers.
Armenia to Iran
September 10, 2017
Levison meets nomadic shepherds and dangerous dogs in the Gobustan desert, climbs to a castle halfway up a cliff, visits Stalin's birthplace and meets a hermit monk who lives atop a 45-metre monolith.
