Nubia

 

Interesting BBC documentary on the lost kingdoms of Africa. This four part series starts in Nubia, the extinct kingdom which once encompassed the present day Egypt and Sudan put together. 

Interesting to note that there are apparently more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. The documentary shows the ancient rock drums which were used by people to communicate with each other, the rock cut paintings of cattle, the hieroglyphics depicting the life in ancient Nubia more than 5000 to 7000 years ago. 

The whole area was full of vegetation and life and commerce in those days but desert started creeping up over the years and centuries making it what it is today. The presenter goes to a few village settlements to understand their life and the history of the area. 

Apparently frequent battles used to take place over the vegetation of the land and there was one cremation spot where apparently more than 200 men and 5000 heads of cattle were sacrificed. The documentary is a mix of commentary and interviews, so its a good series to watch.   

Murder in Mesopotamia

Agatha Christie is on familiar ground when she covers murders in rural England which is her speciality - unfortunately "Murder in Mesopotamia" is a story based in Iraq on an archeological site - a murder takes place and Hercule Poirot is travelling some place nearby - so he comes in and solves the crime in his inimitable style - Christie maintains the suspense till the end in every book of hers - same is true of this one as well. Goodreads 4/5

The Sacred Bones

The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes is a fast paced historical fiction book dating back to the biblical times. An explosion takes place below Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a melting point for three religions viz. Christianity, Islam & Judaism. An ossuary is stolen from that place which contains sacred bones, some fragments,  a scroll etc. The ossuary is ferreted out of Jerusalem into the Vatican to be examined by America's top forensic scientist Charlotte Hennessey alongwith Italian anthrolopologist Giovanni Bersei. As they proceed to examine the skeleton, they slowly come to realisation that it could be something very paramount. Meanwhile the Islamic faith ask a British archaeologist Graham Burton to examine the site which was bombed for clues. The plot unravels quickly with deep explanations about the biblical importance and significance of Jesus Christ crucifixion and resurrection after three days.  Vatican priests are involved with Islamic leaders and Jewish police in this plot. The narrative is bilinear involving the investigations at the Vatican level and at the Jerusalem level. But the biblical facts are little difficult to understand for somebody like me. But its a courageous book just like the Da Vinci Code of Dan Brown. I cannot comprehend what would have been the reaction had such a historically controversial fiction book been written about my religious gods. Goodreads 4/5