Season 1
- 1From Byzantium to Constantinople5 Dec 2013
- 2From Constantinople to Istanbul12 Dec 2013
- 3Capital of a New Empire19 Dec 2013
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore traces the sacred history of Istanbul. The Turkish capital was once described as the 'city of the world's desire', having been the focus of three faiths - Paganism, Christianity and Islam - and the stage for some of the fiercest political and religious conflicts over the past 2,500 years.