WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Discover Wonders of the World
ASIA
We travel to Babylon in Iraq, to search for the elusive remains of Nebuchadnezzar's Hanging Gardens, which might have not have been his at all. We'll also try masguf and tepsi, Iraqi specialties which have been enjoyed for centuries.
This episode, we're heading down the Turkish Coast to Bodrum, formerly called Halicarnassus and home of the long-lost Mausoleum, symbol of should-have-been-forbidden love. We'll also check out the thermal springs at Pamukkale and eat swordfish kebabs!
This week, we sail to Turkey to visit the great temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which at its peak was one of the world's largest and richest cities. Since the temple is gone, we'll tour the ruined city and eat a seafood feast.
Near the shores of the salt-saturated Dead Sea, the Israelites wrote the world's most read book. Garry Stephens of the History in the Bible podcast helps us examine historical accuracy, while Lara Rodin and Noah Lew help us visit Israel. Plus falafel!
The Jews had been exiled, came back, were exiled again, and have come back again. Through the process they changed a temple into a book, redefining religion. We'll see the Western Wall and talk Israeli breakfasts with Lara Rodin and Noah Lew, and Garry Stephens of the History in the Bible podcast helps us examine the biblical history.
Looming over Confucius' home province of Shandong, Mount Tai is the holiest place in Daoism, which means we can tackle both great philosophies while discussing feudal China and Shandong cuisine.
Holiest site in Hinduism, Varanasi's riverside ghats are a swirl of color, faith, life, and death. We discuss the vedas, the great epics, and the development of Indian civilization with Vivek Vasan from the Historical India podcast. While you listen, why not cook up a little Empress Dal?
The prince who became an enlightened holy man, the Buddha took India by storm. We'll cover him and his contemporary Mahavira and two kings who followed their teaching while building India's first great empire: Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka. It's storytelling time! Vivek Vasan helps out again and shares his mom's litti chokha recipe as we visit Bihar to see the great temple by the Bodhi Tree.
Is this burning an eternal flame? Why yes. Yes, it is. Nestled in the hills of Lycia in southwestern Turkey, the Yanartaş of Mount Chimaera is a series of methane-fueled fires that have burnt for at least 2500 years. Lycia has a fascinating history and is well worth a quick detour from our narrative, so let's take a look.
Joining us is Roxanne from Mythology Translated, to share the myths of the chimaera and other fine folks. We'll also talk Ionia, to set us up for the great conflict between Persia and Greece.
And we'll have some sweet, sticky halva! Oh, and Santa Claus shows up. Sort of.
They stand row on row in silent guard of a long-dead autocrat. The Terracotta Army, built to defend the tomb of China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, are the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century.
Joined by Abel Kay, we look into the story of the Emperor who unified China, and the ruthless path he took to do it.
We'll talk about scheming merchants, pretend eunuchs, beheaded generals, assassins, scholars buried alive, rivers of mercury, and the secret to immortality. Sound like enough for you?
We'll also explore Xian, imperial city, and sample some biang biang noodles and lamb bread soup.
On the way, there might be a detour to Indianapolis, because why not?