Afghanistan The Lost Mines of the Pharaohs - True Story Documentary Channel

to the ancient world the blue stone lapis lazuli was considered sacred this man Gary Bowersox has explored Afghanistan in search of the source of the precious blue stone [Music] he's traveled the same roads as some of the most famous figures from history such as Alexander the Great [Music] this is the story of one man's endeavor sneaking over borders and crossing the roof of the world to reach the oldest mind on earth [Music] the mine is 7,000 years old and it is still worked by hand today from this remote mine came the lapis lazuli to decorate deaf masks and the most precious items of the ancient Egyptians [Music] the events in this film took place before the tragedy of September the 11th Gary first came to the city of Peshawar in Pakistan in the 70s his goal was to buy gemstones for his business back in the USA gems are traded in Nanak Mandi the ancient salt market jewels and almost everything else have been bought and sold here for as long as anyone can remember gary has come to love this place and its people over the 30 years he's been returning Gary returns each year to visit the many friends he's made and to buy more gemstones in Namek Mandi business is still conducted discreetly and in a time-honored way behind closed doors there are many different gems to be viewed and bought Wow these are nice look at this but you know I'm also interested in Ruby have any Ruby yes yeah I'm interested in that I think we'll get that but what about the price things are done differently in this part of Asia the scarf is used to hide hands and fingers but send coded signals about the price this matere you see if you have my good friend you can't decide I know it's a problem let's just close it up and we'll settle the more I can see you're not settling this at all on the same street a hidden a series of underground rooms at the end of which lies an Aladdin's cave for of the most ancient of gemstones the gold and a Pharaoh's death mask was just a matrix to hold the most precious stone then though lapis lazuli [Music] [Music] this cellar contains 18 tons of lapis lazuli an unimaginable fortune in ancient times and even today valued in millions of dollars lapis lazuli comes in different shades the most valued is royal blue wetting the royal stone brings out the color and gives an idea of how the polished gem will look when Gareth eyes the rich blue stone to make rings and necklaces he continues an age-old tradition the first use of lapis was as jewelry lapis beads have been found in graves over 5,000 years old the ancient Egyptians knew only that the stone came from far away to the east through his travels gary has learned that the mine of the Pharaohs lies in Afghanistan and that the journey is a dangerous one but working and living in Peshawar has its own perils over the years that Gary's been coming to Peshawar he's witnessed riots and bombings and been kept awake by gunfire Gary came to depend on Greene's hotel as his safety zone even had his room room 101 conveniently close to the lobby and the British Airways office [Music] but in 1986 this office was blown up too close for comfort time to move Guerry finished his business and left town the next day Green's can be delightful when bombs are not going off and one of the nicest parts is this restaurant Lala's however all is not what it seems Lala's has long been the meeting place of spies plying their dark trade in this problem region today Gary's meeting with his old friend and guide could I Nizar Akbari Gary can remember the bad old days when Russia invaded Afghanistan then a table by the window was only for the May Eve bullets often ripped in from the street wide enough to give the nervous indigestion the restaurant of the spy is is not the place to discuss the trip to Afghanistan time to retreat to Gary's room who died I'm Gary have worked together for the last eight years they ventured into Afghanistan before and know the dangers well [Music] after a few hours sleep garyun could I look for a bus to take them north at the start of the journey to the minds of the Pharaohs the brightly painted buses only ply the streets of Peshawar what garyun could I need for the Jenica chakra is a plain but reliable minibus [Applause] the normal route into Afghanistan the Khyber Pass is not safe for in July 2001 the Taliban controlled that part of the country so the journey is north parallel to the border over the Lara Pass and on to Chitra [Music] Jenny's always start with doubts and questions why has Gary returned to this dusty alien world the plan is to go to Afghanistan to help friends there the miners and traders but how many will still be alive will garyun could I be able to get across the border [Music] but first they have to survive the journey to Chitral [Music] the road soon climbs into the mountains and deteriorates only in the summer months is the road passable and even then that can be trouble like a sudden thunderstorm rain high up in the mountains is whirring streams swell into torrents that can sweep away the road and anything on it sure enough just below the highest point the Lara Pass the road has been washed away [Music] once they're over the pass garyun coud I have another six hours of dusty twisting roads plenty of time to worry about the next stage the border crossing into Afghanistan finally they arrived in Chadron what a miserable long day 17 hours from the shower she should crawl up for that 40 past 10,000 442 switchbacks then a minibus has to break down the road washes out got a Pulis naked thing out of the ditch we're lucky to be here but actually worse is coming now we have to figure out how we're going to get across that border and Afghanistan up those mountains the news in chitral is not good the border on the Pakistan side has six guard posts all will have to be crossed discreetly and in the dark so while kadai fans out more about the guard posts Gary checks out Chitral Chitral has been a strategic town for centuries controlling one of the oldest trade routes from Asia to Europe [Applause] the many different faces in the bazaar Tajiks mongols Pashtuns and Caucasians are evidence of the great movements of people that are swept through here over the centuries one such the kailash people live nearby in the valleys the border afghanistan they have their own distinct customs and religion as they're not Muslim the women do not cover their faces the women's dance celebrates the changing seasons the Kalasha claimed descent from Alexander the Great who crossed the Hindu Kush over two thousand years ago their looks and distinct dress hint at a southern European connection and it may well be true Alexander's march eastward took many years and his oda troops retired on the way could some of Alexander's men have stayed in the mountains and married local women studying the women you could convince yourself that they looked Mediterranean if so then the bones of the Kalasha ancestors exposed in their traditional burial boxes contain the genes of the men of Alexander's army after three days chilling out in jetrel suddenly it's time to pack the police have heard of Gary's plan to cross the border it's time to leave town judai disguises the Western luggage in local sacks and they're hidden under boxes could I will travel with the luggage leaving Gary to meet him at the border [Music] well there goes CUDA in the bags now comes the tricky part Pakistan doesn't really like us crossing this border even though we have legal visas so the plan is that Khun I will take the bags and check out all the guard posts if I have to we'll have to run around one and we'll end up meeting at the border and get on the horses and go into Afghanistan the load is full of potholes and it twists and turns as it climbs into the mountains the journeys of the border pistache teen takes six bone-jarring hours it's a tense time as garyun could I could get arrested and Gary deported whatever happens if they're caught the journey to the lapis mine will be over for this year [Music] things I'm not going to plan there are too many guard posts and garyun good I run out of time last night ended up being a lot longer than we thought it was going to be we had to run around three post and we ended up the light coming up about 5:30 this morning we had to stop because our driver got stopped by military and they wouldn't allow anybody on the road until 6:00 a.m. so what happened was we ended up following a water channel across the mountain [Music] so we continue to walk until the light came up and then we found this room to stay in through the day then we'll continue our journey tonight after it gets dark up over the door path but first there are the last the most dangerous checkpoints [Music] local clothing the shalwar kameez and atcha trolley cap helps disguise the furtive figures but here garyun could I have no alternatives they have to sneak past the posts and hope the guards are not too watchful [Music] the last and most difficult guard post is behind them but garyun could I have no time to relax the border is five hours away at the top of the Dora Pass there's a 5,000 foot climb before Gary and Gouda are truly safe horses organized by Kodai are quickly loaded and the long trek begins the climb will be a difficult one up steep trails made more dangerous by the dark [Music] on a previous expedition gary's horse slipped and fell on top of him both horse and man were lucky to escape without broken bones the Dora purse has always been an important trade route for silk and gemstones in the past and more recently for weapons for the forces fighting in Afghanistan it's wise not to ask too many questions of fellow travelers in the night at sunrise Gary and Cody are still struggling up the slope [Music] finally Afghanistan behind me is Pakistan this is the door pass at 14900 feet because of the border problems we didn't get out of Shasha deem till 3:00 this morning we had a ride all night tired it's now cold but we're now here in Afghanistan [Music] after the long climb the horses need a rest but first garyun could I want to get a few yards between themselves and the border [Music] [Applause] [Music] elated by being back in Afghanistan and having the border behind them perhaps also a little high because of the extreme altitude they begin to relax [Music] four could die this is a homecoming and a chance to see his family Gary hopes to meet up with his old friend Ahmed Shah Massoud the leader of the Northern Alliance but right now they need to find a place for the horses to rest and while the horses relax and feed Gary reflects on a past journey he made over the roof of the world my first trip over Dora pass was during the Soviet occupation a matter of fact I just found these bullets on the ground right here it was a total war zone Mizzou Massoud had a command post up here right at the end of the lake there was a chai Khanna which means teahouse or a place to stay and the Soviets had their post at the other side of Top Connor which is the mountain in the distance there when we got to the chai Connor we found out that it was a bad situation we'd have to climb up over the top of it you can see a little bit of the snow cap now but it was very snowy the time we did it and we had a start in the dark and I was fortunate cuz when I got the top I met an Afghan who had just been shot at and he showed me which route to go to avoid the angle of the Russian bullets the Russians left 12 years ago but Afghanistan remains a dangerous place of more immediate concern the chai Khanna at the end of the lake is deserted and garyun could I have to hurry another 10 miles before they find a place to stay the night is spent in an old Russian army tent over the years its canvas walls must have sheltered a motley crew of gun runners and spies all sneaking into Afghanistan today things are a little karma at least here the most important thing now is for gariand who died to get fresh horses for the journey onto the mind bearing horses can be quite a performance doing a deal is a central part of Afghan life it's taken seriously and we cannot be hurried each horse has its own let's go on all day I just sit and relax and like could I handle this thing oh yes the journey for the next three days is over high passes along remote valleys unmarked by roads to the village of s casa [Music] the trail across the Hindukush the killer of Hindus is a real test of legs and lungs [Music] the air is cold and thin and painfully short of oxygen [Music] occasionally the path widens and is lined with white marble builders [Music] this is a part of the Silk Road a great transcontinental trade route that stretched from Europe to China [Music] gary is traveling the same path that countless traders have walked for centuries little seems to have changed since unknown and unnamed traders crossed these mountains carrying the sacred lapis to the Pharaohs thousands of years ago over the centuries there have been many other travelers Marco Polo traveled through this region in 1272 on his incredible journey to China he accompanied his father and uncle both venetian craters they spent many years in the service of the great Mongol ruler the Kublai Khan [Music] Marco told that the gems hidden amongst these remote peaks it is a fact that in the same country in a mountain are found the stones from which is made lapis lazuli of the finest quality in the world [Music] even though he spent a year recuperating from an illness Marcopolo never discovered the location of the lapis mine [Music] gary is a trader an adventure at like Marco Polo and is literally traveling in his footsteps hundreds of years later but he faces problems that Marco never had the Russians have left a deadly legacy of land mines the skeletons of unwary horses litter the sides of the trails whole mountain sides are lethal and you don't leave the trail unless utterly compelled two people have abandoned this region of Afghanistan even the Chicanos are deserted and there is little food to be found after days of hardship garyun CUDA reaches casa even though the russians bombed it to rubble the people have slowly rebuilt the houses and their lives the horses need some loving care and maintenance and the local blacksmith sets about making some nails for their shoes his craft is as essential and relevant today as it's always been in this remote corner of the world new shoes and rest will help the horses but Garion kudiye feeling the strain - I'm really tired were filthy look at these clothes we came from the Pakistan border two 12-hour days one 14-hour day we walked until we had blisters on our feet and our legs were sore and we rode horses until we had blisters on our bottom and then we reversed it and walked again then we wrote again but now we are here at as Garza which is a crossroads in Afghanistan going north we have Sarah sang the lapis mines going west we have mines near Panjshir Valley so what we're going to do is probably leave the horses here there is exhausted as we are but now if you'll excuse me I've got accept I'll figure out a way that I'm gonna get in this cold water and take a bath the water is icy snow melt from the highest mountains enough to make you go numb and blue in minutes but as all the dust and sweat washes off the feeling of cleanliness is indescribable and after a bath in the river and a good night's sleep it's time to move on Escada has catapulted garyun who died into the 21st century they can travel by pickup truck but as a road to the Panjshir well a load of sorts and the vehicle of sorts to merge they even have a couple of hitchhikers there are a few problems with the highway to the Panjshir and they soon become apparent at the first river crossing this is a typical Afghan water trap we just got across with our light Dale Caldwell this fellow knowing he'd break the bridge went to go around and his engine went out of the water this poor fellow is probably going to be here several hours now last year I was stuck here for three hours because the larger truck tried to make it and broke the bridge apart from the water claps the only other minor interference is the slight unevenness of the road the road passes and human village it's changed little since Alexander the Great's army marched through here 2,300 years ago the battered and spluttering Toyota is struggling to repeat Alexander's heroic journey to Alexander the peaks of the Hindukush were the mountains of the edge of the world they marked the end of the earth [Music] in the Greek legends that Alexander had grown up with Zeus had tortured Prometheus in these very mountains Prometheus sinned have been to give humans the secret of fire and the arts of civilization Alexander's goal was the conquest of the known world [Music] he recruited men for his army wherever he went Afghans joined the forces and just as today they must have been fearsome warriors [Music] Alexander's army stretched for miles and it may have taken 16 days to cross these mountains [Music] [Music] Gary's concerns appear trivial compared to those of Alexander the problem today is the Toyota and the driver he gets more restless and difficult the further he is from home gary faces a wheezing diesel engine and a temperamental driver Alexander had an army of thousands when he climbed these slopes the Toyota gasps for hair as it climbs towards the 15,000 foot and German parts [Music] the toy hunter doesn't like it it's had a full life and now comes with a manual cooling system which meets operating every heart are the top of the pass the landscape is completely barren and the wind is icy cold for once Gary and the driver are in agreement they have to get down to the Panjshir Valley before nightfall nothing will stop them now [Applause] the Pangaea Valley is vast it stretches 70 miles and there are numerous side valleys and side valleys of side valleys there are few entrances and the place is a natural fortress gary has traveled here before and Pangea brings back mixed emotions he's seen Afghan friends killed by Russian bombs this was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting yet the Panjshir is a paradise of sports small fields of wheat and barley ripened in the late summer Sun the valley floor is lush because ancient canals bring water from the side valleys for irrigation life has changed little despite the recent Wars the crops are still gathered by hand thrashed and winnowed as they have been for thousands of years [Music] what in stark contrast to the timeless work of the seasons Russian tanks lie scattered in the fields the legacy of three failed attempts by the Russians in the 1980s to capture the valley this man Ahmed Shah Massoud and his small band of Mujahideen kept out the Russians and after them the Taliban the Panjshir has proved to be a graveyard for military ambition Massoud had a vision for his beloved country everyone as far as Jim latesh soiree Afghanistan's future is good it has natural resources like gemstones and its position is strategically important Afghanistan will have a bright future Massoud never lived to see his hopes realized he was killed by a suicide bomber shortly after this interview [Music] Ahmed Shah Massoud was Gary's friend together they plan to bring some prosperity to these people gary continues their work to help the people help themselves and their country [Music] that night Gary and could I stay with friends in the village of kenge they're treated to the renowned hospitality of Afghan people Gary's friends are miners and he's come to see the emerald mines that lie high in a valley near the village gary is working to improve the mining techniques here some plans are discussed at amaura's long hike up to the mines the rusted tanks in the valley are not the only legacy of the Russian invasion the hillsides are still scarred from the many bombs dropped by Russian planes this is a Soviet bomb obviously unexploded during the war probably 1985 to 1988 they were dropping many of these in this area when they exploded it would end up with about a 15-foot diameter hole and many of the miners would find emerald crystals in that pocket or hole that had dug if that didn't happen and it didn't go off like this one they would take the powder out of it and use that for their explosives in the mines they had to be very careful when a couple people actually went to heaven this way by the bombs exploding so it was quite dangerous the miners have a nasty habit of setting off explosives with little or no warning which adds a fleece on to the exhausting claim the hillside is honeycombed with mine shafts the tunnels follow the veins of emerald bearing rocks into the mountainside each mine is independently owned and the - set off their explosives whenever they wish there's only the most basic communication with other miners with no warning of explosions entering a mine can have its dangers the miners still use powder gathered from unexploded Russian bombs sadly men do get injured and many emeralds are smashed to smithereens by the overzealous use of explosives the green stain marks the m/l bearing rock by tracing this back into the hillside the miners know where to set their explosive charges one of carries goals is to train the miners to work more safely to use less explosive and to use longer fuses but Afghan men can be very independent and stubborn the result of all the explosions can be stunning large raw emerald crystals gary buys the miners emeralds and sells them in the west in his dealings gary is continuing the long tradition started by the ancient lapis lazuli traders we're now leaving Pinscher valley to go back up over angela and pass to ask our sir where we left our horses and shelah there rested and then we're off to the lapis mine [Applause] this is the last stage of the long journey the trusty toyota takes gary and crew died to escazu from there progresses by horse to Saracen and the lapis mine [Music] the final days are through the formidable valley of the kocha this always gets my heart pumping when i come back here again and visit the lapis mine we're now at the entrance of the coach of ali and i'll get to see the miners it was really nice people always excited to see you serve your lunch and everything you can do that they like to take you up in the tunnels the afghan people in general are pretty much like that yesterday a man brought apricots from his own place a man I never met before came down from his home service a big bowl of so not only do we have beautiful country we've got some really nice people the landscape has become more extreme there is little vegetation the mountains grow higher and steeper [Music] for thousands of years caravans of donkeys brought lapis along this trail from the mines on the start of the long journey to Egypt [Music] [Music] at last the mine is sighted after weeks of travel garyun could I race the last mile [Music] finally the ancient lapis mines you can see the trailing here going for about a mile they're very high up the ridge but before I'm going to climb in any of these tunnels I certainly want to take a rest in the village over here so higher the lapis mines but they remain locked in snow and ice for most of the year the miners can only work in the summer over the centuries the miners are built a village on the far side of the powerful cutter River garyun could I have the rest of the day to relax tomorrow they face the formidable claim to the ancient mines that night Garion Cudas horsemen joined the miners to celebrate and sing traditional songs the horses will rest tomorrow the path to the mine is too steep and narrow the only way to the mind of the Pharaohs is on foot forget lapis-lazuli still holds many mysteries and the following morning finds Gary wondering about the history of this most ancient of gemstones was there a curious individual who ventured up the steep slopes following the line of rubble to find where the stone had fallen from did someone walk along the river wondering of the beauty of the water polished blue stones was that how the source was found we'll never know it happened so long ago the moment of contemplation over it's time to climb to the mine of the Pharaohs the climb is the hardest and most dangerous yet [Music] in places the path is only inches wide as it zigzags back and forth across the precipitous rock walls that guard the mind [Music] [Music] there are a few men working many have gone to fight in the Civil War against the Taliban those that remain welcome gariand who die and lead them into the caverns there are many passages inside the mine the oldest goes deep into the mountainside for over half a kilometer the caverns are stained with soot the result of thousands of years at work an army of ghosts inhabits these passages [Music] the lapis-lazuli was mined by hand brushwood was hauled up the slopes and fires lit against the rock holy water caused the hot rock to crack and release its precious blue stone [Music] the unwanted rock was carried out from deep within the mind just as it has for centuries the back-breaking labor continues today the mile-long streak of rubble marks thousands of years of human effort to extract the precious blue stone of the Pharaohs a Gary the end of the journey is near [Music] there's a bay rich laughter / alive [Music] [Applause] [Music] there is it Pharaohs ransom the mine is so remote so difficult to reach and so hard to work that it will remain for all intents and purposes timeless as much a part of the world of the Pharaohs as of today [Music] perhaps it's best that way the lapis was sacred and it should remain precious almost unattainable except for the most intrepid and daring the future of Afghanistan is uncertain Gary's work with gemstones may help whatever the future Gary will return to this enchanting country [Music] you

Channel: True Story Documentary Channel

Views: 7,573

Keywords: documentaries, odisea, documentalesgrandes, documentales, la noche temática, documentos tv, la2, full, documentary, films, true, story, afghanistan, lost mines, pharaohs, treasure, stones, blue stones, egypt, finding lost stones, documentary films

Id: oJK0y0X-PJg

Length: 52min 12sec (3132 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 15 2019