Over the sun-baked brow of the hill the horsemen came... to plead, in the ancient ways, for the life of a boy.

Once, the flag followed the missionary, and trade, the flag... Now, in Saudi Arabia, trade came first, and came alone.

Over "empty nothingness" curves the arch of Ctesiphon... the last surviving monument of another city lost in time.

Through the deserts of Sudan and Egypt the river flows... and some 38 million people turn to watch its passing.

Limited as they may be, plants are found in the desert... and hidden in the sand are glimpses of unexpected beauty.

The Egyptians used it; the Chinese printed cloth with it... the ancient, lovely and difficult art of wood engraving.