Mediterranean with Simon Reeve - Season 1 (2018)

The birth place of western civilisation which is once again at the heart of global conflict. In episode one Simon travels from Malta along the coast of southern Italy to Albania - a journey that takes him to the dark heart of the Mediterranean. Driven by a surge of tourists, modern-day Malta is booming. But beneath the picture-postcard image lies a country accused of being a home to money-laundering and organised crime, where journalists can be murdered by car bombs. In Italy's Deep South Simon finds a land in the grip of Europe's most powerful mafia, and accompanies police through an extraordinary warren of underground tunnels used by crime bosses on the run. Simon then travels around the Eastern Mediterranean, from the island of Cyprus to the troubled Middle East, before crossing North Africa and ending his journey on the more familiar coasts of Spain and France. Bounded by three continents, the Mediterranean has shaped so much of our history. But's it's a region of wild extremes, where extraordinary wealth meets shocking poverty.