Original subtitles

Escape with us on a 390-mile Andalusian voyage

around the south of Spain.

A round trip travelling back in time on a beautiful vintage train.

It's a wonderful way to travel.

From 20,000-year-old cave dwellings...

In prehistoric time it is music in the stalactite.

..to the height of Islamic Spain in the Middle Ages.

The Muslims, they knew algebra and they were able

to produce these absolute works of art.

And the lasting legacy of the different civilisations that

have made Andalusia the incredible melting pot it is today.

It's a combination of all the different civilisations,

so rich in culture, it's so unique.

This is no ordinary railway journey...

..this is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world.

Andalusia, in the south of Spain.

Our journey begins in the ancient city of Seville,

capital of Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain.

With the name Andalusia derived from the Arabic, al-Andalus.

Well, it was a Muslim kingdom, it's a region where for 800 years

the cultures of East and West have mixed.

And it's through the echoes of those cultures our train will travel.

We'll begin our voyage in the ultramodern Santa Justa

train station, home to the high-speed trains that head

north between Seville and Madrid.

Our train will head south and is neither fast or modern.

Instead, the only word to describe it is...

..luxurious.

Fittingly named the Al-Andalus,

this palace on wheels takes luxury train travel to another level.

The staff are getting the train ready for our round trip,

starting and ending in Seville.

Isabel and her team are giving the elegant suites one last wipe down.

The 14 beautifully restored carriages, modelled

on the iconic Orient Express, date back to the 1920s and '30s.

Built in France, they were used by members of the British

monarchy to travel between Calais and the French Riviera.

So we're preparing all the train,

all the staff for the passengers...

..er, champagne and food.

So when they come here, they have everything ready.

We'll be introducing them to the train, er, where they will

live for a whole week.

And that's what we're doing.

Today's driver is Jesus, a trained veteran with over

35 years' experience.

He is at the helm of a Renfe class 319 diesel

electric 2,000 horsepower engine, built in the early 1990s.

As the last suitcases get safely stowed away,

it's time for everyone to get on board.

This is something, it is a wish my wife fulfilled for me.

And isn't that great?

You know, it's just Spain.

It's more than culture, it's the food, it's the people,

it's, you know, this nostalgic type of train

which makes me extremely happy, in awe of this train.

From Seville, will travel to Jerez de la Frontera,

home of the fabled Andalusian horse.

From here, we will head towards Bobadilla,

where we make a detour to the beautiful town of Ronda.

We then continue to Granada to explore the geometric

patterns of Islamic art.

Then onwards to Cordoba where Spain's different cultures

moulded into one.

And finally, we return to Seville, completing the loop

where our journey began.

For the next week our 1,500 feet long train will be cruising

almost 500 miles through the cultures of southern Spain.

I would say Andalusia there is the heart of Espana.

It's a very warm place, it's got many warm

and charming people with it.

And we have a little bit of everything,

we actually see really amazing, pretty cities down here.

Amazing history from Romans to Arabs, from...

Actually it's a mixture of beauty itself.

With the sun setting, we are heading for the ancient city of Jerez,

home of both Sherry and that other great symbol of Spain,

the fabled Andalusian horse.

Here, tucked up in a siding, we'll spend the first

of our six nights on board.

It's the next morning and we're off to meet the horse of Kings.

The Andalusian horse can trace its lineage back some 30,000 years

and past kings hailed it as the premier warhorse.

It's even claimed that William the Conqueror rode one

at the Battle of Hastings.

Nowadays, the beauty of this incredible warhorse

displays its prowess in a more tranquil setting

at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez.

The school is famous for its all year-round performances

of How the Andalusian Horses Dance.

The weekly shows feature outstanding horsemanship

and dazzling displays of equestrian ballet.

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

And at the head of this cavalry is Belen Bautista,

the first woman to be admitted as an instructor at the school.

MUSIC PLAYS

Belen is still the only female professional rider

in the school's history.

When not performing, Belen's days are spent training

the seven horses she looks after,

aged 5 to 15.

Eso es.

Like any athlete, the horses have to train every day.

The older ones that still perform in the weekly show need to stay fit.

And the younger ones have a lot to learn.

APPLAUSE

For Belen to become a rider and a trainer at the school

was a lifelong ambition.

The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

is considered to be one of the finest equestrian schools in the world,

attracting elite riders from all over Europe and beyond.

APPLAUSE

This incredible breed of warhorse may have even

helped in the invasion of Britain some thousand years ago.

Back on our luxury train heading for the beautiful town of Ronda,

we are riding on lines that helped the British

with another altogether more peaceful invasion -

tourism.

Mr Henderson was so enamoured by the landscape of Ronda

that he decided to build a hotel up here.

We're on a scenic railway journey, travelling in a loop

through the south of Spain

on one of the most beautiful trains in the world.

Having left Jerez,

our train has to climb to 2,500 feet

up into the hills and the incredible town of Ronda.

One of Andalusia's famous white towns,

or as they are called in Spanish, Pueblos Blancos.

From Jerez we head back towards Seville

and change direction to travel east to Bobadilla.

Here we cut south to Ronda

travelling along a railway line built by the British.

And from Ronda we head back to rejoin the main line

and continue our journey east towards Granada.

After Bobadilla,

our train steadily climbs for 30 miles

into the hills of Ronda.

It's gorgeous. A lot of olive trees.

Many olive trees.

There are more olive trees than you could imagine.

Split in half by the El Tajo Gorge,

the town is joined by its famous bridge, the Puente Nuevo,

arching above the river Guadalevin some 400 feet below.

In the past, this incredible rock was as remote as it is beautiful,

but that changed with the help of both the railways

and another rock cut off from the rest of Spain -

Gibraltar.

Yorkshireman Manni Coe has lived in the region for the past 20 years.

Ronda was totally cut off from the rest of Spain

and the rest of Europe.

The train lines had started to come down in as far as Madrid

and then as far as Bobadilla out to the east,

but those tendrils of development,

the Industrial Revolution,

had not reached this far,

so the town of Ronda understood the importance of the railways,

so they fought tooth and nail to develop a plan

to bring the railway into their town.

By the 1890s, Rondenos, as the people of Ronda are known,

wanted to get connected to the rail network

to get visitors into their town.

Oddly, the intended market was not the Spanish, but the British,

especially from nearby Gibraltar,

which was equally hard to reach.

So the British knew that if they could get a train as far as Gibraltar,

then all of a sudden Gibraltar was also connected

to this European rail network.

Because at this time in history

the only way to get to Gibraltar was by sea.

With that in mind, the British were so keen to get the line built

that they even bankrolled it.

We call the railway from Ronda to Algeciras Mr Henderson's railway

because Mr Henderson was the CEO of the company that built it.

So this line brought a land connection to Gibraltar

and it was the British engineering know-how,

because they had already built trains in India, in South America,

it was their know-how and the engineering expertise

that they could bring to the project that made the project passable.

To avoid upsetting the Spanish authorities,

Mr Henderson's line began at Algeciras

just across the bay from Gibraltar,

a ferry taking its passengers to and from the rock.

Then all of a sudden people from all over Europe started to come

to Ronda, the romantic travellers of the Victorian

and then the Edwardian era.

The British start to come here

and discover this incredible town with fresh mountain air.

In some ways, for good or ill,

this was the beginning of the British love of Spain

as a holiday destination.

So Mr Henderson, he was so enamoured by the landscape

of Ronda that he decided to build a hotel up here.

It was designed by architects out of London

and in the early 1900s a British hotel

was opened in Ronda on a lofty cliff

and all of a sudden the garrison

and the officers from Gibraltar had somewhere to go for the weekend.

They were encouraged to come up to this wonderful

fresh air of the mountains.

It was great for rheumatism and tuberculosis,

and it was a place where British people stationed in Gibraltar

could come for rest and relaxation.

Ronda continues to be popular with British holiday-makers.

These days people can drive,

but making the journey by train feels far more special.

When you're travelling by rail normally the train lines

they cut through some of the most beautiful landscape

and you see parts of the country

that you would never, ever see if you were on the road.

Travelling by train in Spain is a delight.

It's an incredible network.

High-speed trains between the major cities and then all these

tiny, little link trains

that link the cities by a regional service.

Back on board,

our Al-Andalus train is the kind of thing

the generals and admirals once stationed in Gibraltar

might have considered fitting transport

when they headed inland for a bit of R&R on Mr Henderson's line.

HORN TOOTS

Our next stop is Granada,

a 90-mile ride from Ronda.

Enjoy.

But first we travel over 20,000 years back in time

to explore the Cueva de la Pileta.

BIRDS TWITTER

No-one had heard of the cave until 1905

when Jose Bullon, a local farmer,

stumbled upon more than 300 cave paintings near his home.

That farmer was Tomas's great-grandfather.

Tomas's great-grandfather knew

he had discovered something very important.

This is the living room.

In the prehistoric time there is many families in the cave.

The first occupation is 40,000 years

and the last occupation is 3,000 years.

The time is possible by carbon dating.

The cave paintings hidden deep within its chambers depict

what life was like in the past.

It's very interesting the symbolic painting.

The time in this painting is 22,000 years.

It is possible the animals, like deer, like a bull.

Normally it's painting the hunting, representation of hunting.

Neolithic paintings. The time is 5,000 years.

But in the new time it's different, the painting like writing.

Calendars, stars,

animals, persons,

but normally it's very, very symbolic.

The interesting in this painting is

they are not normal in Europe, not normal in Spain.

It's normal in the North Africa, Sahara, Tanger,

the same paintings, same time.

Those ancient images may seem almost alien to us,

but deep in the cave there is something that instantly

chimes as human,

a musical instrument.

And now it is a very interesting room. This is the organ room.

The stalactites are broken.

Many are broken but it is possible natural,

probably earthquake and broken.

In this area it's different.

In this area it's broken and it's erosion, it's clear erosion.

The professional discovered in this erosion bones,

animal bones.

The interpretation by long study, long meditation,

the interpretation is clear.

In prehistoric times it is music by animal bones.

Music in the stalactite.

DIFFERENT TIMBRES

We will never know who first played those stone drums.

What we do know is that they were once played

by the most famous drummer on Earth,

none other than Ringo Starr.

Ringo Starr touched music in the stalactite

and it's interesting the different sounds.

It was in 1964.

The guide of the beetle is my grandfather,

Tomas, Tomas Bullon is the guide in 1964.

Leaving those incredible sounds behind we have

a ticket to ride on to the great city of Granada.

The onboard entertainment might not rival the Beatles,

but it seems to be going down well enough amongst our fellow passengers.

APPLAUSE

We've travelled for nearly 90 miles and have reached

the outskirts of Granada,

where once again music resonates from a cave.

FLAMENCO SINGING AND CASTANETS

For over 50 years visitors have been flocking to a small cave

owned by Enrique Carmona and his family.

They come in search of Andalusia's very soul -

Flamenco.

APPLAUSE

The Caves of Sacromonte still echo to the rhythms

of passionate flamenco performances,

but in Enrique fears for its future.

What about Enrique? Has he ever performed?

Enrique prefers to stay in the background

looking after the family business,

making sure today's visitors enjoy the sold-out performances

as much as flamenco aficionados did in the past.

With our ears still ringing to the beats of the music,

our train is about to arrive in Granada,

where we will spend another night on board.

And in the morning, we'll take in the wonders of an art form

that gave the world not only one of its greatest palaces,

but an understanding of the mathematics of the universe -

the Alhambra.

Geometry is very important because it's the infinity

and it can just keep going on and on and on.

It's day four of our week-long railway journey across Andalusia,

travelling through the heartland of Islamic Spain.

The next stop is the ancient city of Granada.

Granada was the last of the Moorish kingdoms and perhaps the greatest.

Central to the city is the massive Alhambra, a world Heritage site.

While much of Europe was in the Dark Ages,

the Muslim period in Spain is often described as a golden age.

It was a time of great cultural and scientific advancements,

in particular in the field of mathematics.

In fact, this entire palace can be seen as a homage to maths.

It's a place that has inspired artist Munira Mendonca so for years.

The Muslims are known for their geometry

because actually the Alhambra is totally based on geometry.

Every building...

..is based on a size.

and the next one is geometrically the next size.

As far as the work here goes...

..they just new mathematics, they knew algebra,

they knew all these sciences,

and they were able to produce these absolute works of art.

The idea of basing the design of the palace on the science of geometry

has its roots in the Islamic belief

that God is beyond human understanding.

In the Islamic religion, figures aren't used,

animals aren't used too much, in these times it was...

Geometry is very important because it's the infinity

and it could just keep going on and on and on.

And many of the inscriptions in the Alhambra are poems,

parts of the Koran, different inscriptions, depending on...

You know, some are praises to the Sultan

who built that part of the palace, etc.

I love the calligraphy and it's all around the Alhambra,

which is 'wala Ghalib illa Allah'.

And it means 'There is no victory except with God'.

And that's like the motto of the Alhambra.

And then the geometrical designs.

We can also find there, that's the coat of arms of the Nasrid rule

when the Muslims were here in Granada.

It's just full of beauty everywhere you look.

At her studio overlooking the Alhambra,

Munira uses Islamic patterns in her intricate work with leather.

This is one of my favourite pieces.

I love it and I actually think it's the best piece I've ever done.

It's from the Lions Court of the Alhambra.

Because I live here and I have the palace just up the road,

any time one needs a bit of inspiration

I just walk up to the palace and visit and something comes up.

Living in Grenada is absolutely fantastic.

Anybody who is artistic or creative in any way,

there's just endless inspiration here

and it abounds everywhere,

as you've seen on the buildings, in the Alhambra.

Just walking around town, there are just little details

that one can become inspired by and it's a gift to live here.

I love it.

As we leave Granada on the railway,

that great symbol of the Industrial Revolution,

it's worth remembering that none of it would have been possible

were it not for mathematics,

which entered Europe via the great Muslim cities like Granada.

The journey is wonderful. It's extremely interesting.

It's more than culture, it's culture and fun.

And, you know, it takes me really away.

Looking out of these windows

and seeing the landscape of Spain is just magnificent.

From Granada, our train heads north past Linares-Baeza

and from there we continue towards Cordoba,

travelling through Andalusia's beautiful olive country.

This area is known as Spain's 'cradle of olive oil',

a sea of trees stretching beyond the horizon,

making this beautiful landscape the perfect setting

for another delicious meal served on board,

naturally finished with a drizzle of local olive oil.

The food on the train has been superb.

It's been fantastic. A lot of fish.

Really getting a chance to sample the food in this area.

We get fresh Mediterranean seafood all the time.

It is just delightful.

Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.

Fish has always been part of the Spanish diet,

but before Christopher Columbus set sail to the New World,

great staples like potatoes and tomatoes were unheard of.

And at our next stop on the outskirts of Cordoba,

there is a small restaurant

dedicated to telling the history of the world on a plate.

Meet Paco Morales, chef patron of Noor and gastro archaeologist.

Noor means 'light' in Arabic

and Paco's philosophy is to bring Andalusia's past up-to-date.

His dishes celebrate the legacy of Islamic Spain

and only use ingredients that were available

during specific times in history.

The latest menu is intended to show the changes that happened

soon after Columbus arrived back from the New World in March 1493,

not just for the cooking of Spain, but the entire world.

We continue with a signature dish of the Noor house.

Pistachio karim with green apple dices

covered in black bread and smoked herring caviar.

We recommend eating it from exterior to the inside using the spoon

and you will see how useful the bread is for this dish.

Enjoy.

When it comes to pudding, Paco is keen to reflect

Andalusia's Muslim past and its love of geometry.

Mmm. Delicious.

Back on board our Al Andalus train,

we've now travelled more than 300 miles over six days.

Our train glides across Andalusia's beautiful olive country

towards the ancient city of Cordoba,

where we will spend one last night on the train.

And after a good night's sleep,

tomorrow morning we will head into the centre of Cordoba

to explore where Spain's great civilisations of the past

moulded into one at Cordoba's incredible Mosque-Cathedral.

We are on the final stretch of a week-long railway adventure

across southern Spain...

..on the beautiful Al Andalus train.

It's a wonderful way to travel, to be relaxed,

not having to drive yourself from village to village.

And it's been wonderful to sleep on at night.

And the staff have been so accommodating and enjoyable.

After six days travelling through a land

steeped in the echoes of past cultures,

our next stop, Cordoba, seems to be the place where they fuse.

Entered by its Roman bridge, the Puente Romano,

our view is dominated by the city's great mosque,

built 800 years later.

And hidden within its high arches and intricate geometric patterns

is something totally unexpected.

A Gothic cathedral of unrivalled splendour.

Africa Menendez has loved this city since she first laid eyes on it.

Cordoba isa marvellous city with a very long history.

It was founded by the Romans a long time ago

and you can feel these different civilisations

and cultures in all the streets that can be seen around the town,

in the old section and the new section too.

I arrived here in 1994 to work as a guide here in Cordoba.

And yes, I am still here!

I think I am going to die here!

The city's most prosperous period was during the Caliphate of Cordoba,

when it was a leading education centre

and the most advanced and cultured city in Europe.

But to the north,

Christianity was becoming dominant and was soon seeping south,

destroying the Muslim cultures that had reigned for so long.

And in 1236, Cordoba fell.

But strangely, its religious centre, the great mosque, survived.

One of the reasons why the building was not destroyed

when the town was conquered, they thought that it was such

a marvellous place that it deserved the honour to be kept.

And then they just, in a way,

they started to feel that the building was so unique because

of the huge dimensions, because of the sort of design

inside the building.

So instead of destroying the mosque,

the new Christian rulers of Spain simply built a vibrant cathedral

without walls, nestled within the tranquillity of the old mosque.

An idea perhaps unique in the world.

They considered that this is the best city where you can see

the combination of the whole different civilisations.

It's so rich in the culture, it's so unique.

And when you enter,

especially in the building where we are standing now here,

the surprise is so big

because of the contrast from the outer section and the inner section.

Over 500 years later, Cordoba's past lives on.

We have visitors from Islamic countries,

they are also very surprised about the town,

about the similar things between the different things that they

can find here and that they have in their own countries,

and especially in the buildings.

Every year nearly two million visitors flock to Cordoba to soak up

this unique fusion of cultures that is the beating heart of this city.

So you can go through the streets and you can feel, yes,

you can feel that sort of shawl of the different civilisations

that has been here,

that has been here from the 2,000 years of history of this town.

I don't really think that the people appreciate

this example of the multicultural life of Cordoba.

I think that that something that makes richer

the culture of the whole country, actually.

Because it's something that you can

find in a lot of different cities in the country of Spain,

but especially here because of the influence, such a strong influence

of the Islamic civilisations and the combination with the Christian ones.

Back on board our train, we are leaving Cordoba

and heading to our final stop, Seville,

where our luxury railway journey began seven days ago.

After 73 miles and two hours of leisurely travel,

our train pulls into Seville station.

Our trip has come to an end, and what a journey it's been.

We have travelled across the whole of Andalusia.

And along the way we got a real taste of this wonderful

part of Spain.

From the beautiful countryside...

..the rich cultural heritage...

..the incredible food...

..all while travelling on this extraordinary train.