The Queen of Sheba
Michael Wood in Marib
Michael begins his quest with an exotic and mysterious woman of power - the Queen of Sheba. Immortalised in the Hebrew Bible, the Muslim Koran and in many Christian traditions, the tale of the Queen's journey to Jerusalem to meet (and sleep with) King Solomon has been told and retold for nearly three thousand years, right down to Hollywood. In Africa and Arabia it is still told today, and one of the features of these films is their use of storytellers to counterpoint Michael's travels on the ground.
His journey starts on Easter night in Jerusalem and takes us round the Red Sea to Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the lost world of Axum, the little-known first civilisation of Black Africa. In the Yemen Michael explores the stunning monuments of Marib, the earliest civilisation of Arabia. Still virtually unknown to the outside world these are sure to prove eye openers to the TV audience.
But Michael is also looking for a living story, and on the journey he discovers the legend of the Queen of Sheba alive in Arabia and Ethiopia, where she is still viewed as the mother of the nation, whose son brought the mythical Lost Ark of the Covenant back to Axum - where it still resides today!
"Hollywood made Sheba the lover of Solomon", says Michael, "and they made her white. In Africa she's black-and a woman of power; in Arabia she's half woman half demon. But the tale of her transformations -from exotic and mysterious alien to eternal female, from fantasy mother and lover, to cloven footed demon- is a parable of so many women of power throughout history!"
The series continues as the Michael embarks on a Himalayan quest to find the origins of the myth of Shangri-La
Queen of Sheba Gallery