WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD: INTO AFRICA WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.: THE BLACK KINGDOMS {PART 1 OF 6} (TV)
Summary
Part one of six. The premiere in this documentary series where educator Henry Louis Gates, Jr. travels around different regions of Africa. In this episode, Gates travels through the regions of present-day Egypt and the Sudan that once comprised the ancient kingdom of Nubia. In Cairo, Gates visits the site of the Great Pyramid and talks to African-American tourists about their perceptions of Ancient Nubia. From Cario, Gates travels by train to Aswan. There he visits an ancient temple and speaks to an archaeologist about the Nubian nature of the representations made of the Egyptian pharaoh on the temple's sculptures. Next he visits the Aswan Dam and interviews local women about the impact its construction -- and the subsequent flooding of numerous sites and villages -- had upon the Nubians who inhabited them and their culture. Gates also visits the "temporary" villages the people were relocated to by the government after their villages were flooded as well the only surviving ancient Nubian village in Egypt. Gates then travels to the Sudan and meets with a Sudanese friend who takes him on a tour of the remains of the ancient kingdom of Meroe, its pyramids, and the ruins of what is possibly the oldest African university. Gates attends a Nubian wedding and discusses the warmth and hospitality of the Sudanese people. Next, Gates and an archaeologist explore the remains of the capital city belonging to the first black pharaoh. Then Gates visits an ancient Nubian village in the Sudan and speaks to the masters of the oldest Koranic school in Nubia about the government's plans to build a dam nearby that will flood their village and destroy the school. This episode ends in Kurma, Nubia's first capital and the oldest city in Africa, where the lead archaeologist gives Gates a tour of the site and explains the significance of the site to the study of ancient Nubian culture and world history.
(This joint BBC/PBS production was originally broadcast by the BBC in July 1999.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2003.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: October 25, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:53:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:75418
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Africa - Civilization; African-American Collection - News/Talk
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jonathan Hewes … Executive Producer
- Ben Goold … Producer
- Katrina Phillips … Associate Producer
- David M. Abraham … Production (Misc.), Series Consultant
- Nicola Colton … Director
- Antonia Hinds … Researcher
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. … Writer
- Ishmael Pamphille … Music by
- Ayub Ogada … Music by
- Spirp, Wix, Legwabe … Music by, Theme Music by
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. … Host