‎Ottoman Empire by Train - Apple TV

TV Show · Documentary · History

After exploring the mysteries of Ancient Egypt, Alice Roberts takes to the railways again to explore a more challenging and mysterious empire. The scale of the Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, over 70 countries and lasted 600 years. Alice starts her journey near the Syrian border, traversing Turkey before entering the Balkans and finishing up at the empire's westernmost point, Budapest.

2024 · 46m

Starring Prof Alice Roberts

Director Paul Crompton

EPISODE 1

The Whirling Dervishes

Professor Alice Roberts begins her Ottoman adventure in Adana, near Syria. She explores the architecture of a historic mosque, uncovers the amazing tombs of the Ottoman elite and finds out about the origins of the delicious, sweet treat Turkish delight. She then takes a train across the Taurus Mountains to Konya, where she learns about the culture and religious importance of whirling dervishes.

45m
EPISODE 2

A Tale of Two Cities

Alice Roberts is on a train to Ankara during the next leg of her Ottoman adventure. She visits the tomb of Ataturk, the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, who saw out the end of the empire. Next, she hops on a train to visit the tomb of Osman, the empire's founder, in Bursa. Alice witnesses two cities and two historic leaders at either end of the Ottoman Empire, 600 years apart.

45m
EPISODE 3

Ships in the Night

After a week in deepest Turkey, Alice Roberts finally arrives in Istanbul to learn about how clever Ottoman tactics were required to wrestle the supposedly impregnable city from the Romans. She learns about the Ottoman's genius architect and civil engineer Mimar Sinan and haggles with a rug seller in a local bazaar. She then boards a sleeper train to head towards the city of Sofia.

46m
EPISODE 4

Controlling Europe

Entering the Eastern European region of The Balkans by sleeper train, Alice Roberts heads towards Bulgaria's capital city Sofia. She learns how the empire was controlled from Istanbul and how today the city's landscape and architecture is almost entirely Soviet. In Serbia, she takes the train to Nis to see the shocking Skull Tower, used by the Ottomans to deter rebellion.

46m
EPISODE 5

Choosing the Wrong Side

In the final leg of her epic journey, Alice Roberts takes the train to the western point of the Ottoman Empire, Budapest. She learns how the mighty empire came close to conquering most of Europe before finally coming to an end. In the Romanian city of Timisoara, she undertakes a forensic mission for any Ottoman remnants, believing most things, but not everything, was destroyed.

46m

Ottoman Empire by Train

3m

Prof Alice Roberts

Host
Paul Crompton

Director
Steve Havers

Producer
Paul Heaney

Producer