Wild Arabia Welcome to Arabia – “an exotic but forbidden land”, according to the voiceover. Really? Are we still talking about it that way? If you’re going to enjoy this series about the local wildlife and customs – and there’s plenty to enjoy – you’ll need to get used to the kind of ripe turns of phrase that narration-writers love, about a “mighty sea of sand” and a place of “magical secrets”.
But the filming is so gorgeous and majestic, it will probably overwhelm you anyway. There are desert creatures you may never have heard of – a Rüppell’s fox, for instance, pursuing a jerboa (a little rodent that hops like a kangaroo), or a dhub lizard that changes colour in the sun. You’ll learn to distinguish your oryx from your ibex – both beautiful huge-horned antelopes, and when the latter start headbutting, it’s a stunning sight. And at the end there’s a Bedouin camel-racing scene that is surprisingly moving.
1/3. New series. Documentary revealing the connections between the wildlife, landscape and people of the Arabian peninsula. The first edition features animals including oryxes, jerboas, horned vipers and scorpions, and a journey with the Bedouin - camel-riding nomads who are the only humans to have mastered the art of survival in the desert.
Narrator Alexander Siddig
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