The 17 months that John Bolton spent as advisor to US President Trump on national security affairs…a period of more than enough for Bolton to know a lot about the man who rules the largest country in the world.
During this episode, John Bolton reveals a lot in his memoirs about what is happening in the White House, and about US President Donald Trump, a man who does not know that Britain has a nuclear weapon, and believes that Finland is part of Russia.
This is how Bolton presents it, who reviews many internal and external issues, revealing Trump’s position on them and the way he deals with them, whether his policy with the European Union or China, as well as the Gulf and how he managed the Jamal Khashoggi case in order to protect the Saudi Crown Prince.
This episode presents a reading of the memoirs of James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in which Comey reviews the scenes of his relationship with US President Donald Trump, and raises the curtain on many details of Trump’s management of power.
In his book, Comey also provides details about the case of leaking emails of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, in addition to the most prominent case in the United States related to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections and the extent of Trump’s involvement in that case.
Forty-seven years after the victory of October 1973, the fourth military confrontation between the Arabs and Israel, many questions are still searching for answers: How were the scenes of the crossing plan? And what were the scenes of the Egyptian-Israeli negotiations like? And what is the secret of the dispute between Sadat and Lieutenant General Saad al-Din al-Shazly?
Today’s episode presents a reading of the memoirs of three leaders of the October War: Minister of War Ahmed Rushdi, Chief of Staff Saad Al-Shazly, and Abdul-Ghani Al-Jamsi, head of the Operations Authority. Each of them tells the story of preparing for the war, behind the scenes of closed military rooms, and the secrets of difficult moments throughout the days of the war.
This episode of the Memoirs program opens a discussion regarding the memoirs of General Mohamed Fawzi, the Egyptian Minister of War during the June setback, and sheds light on the behind-the-scenes and details of the political and military situation in Egypt shortly after the setback and during the War of Attrition, and how the Egyptian army that was destroyed was rebuilt in a few days.
The episode also touches on an important stage of victory, which is the “War of Attrition,” or as Lieutenant General Muhammad Fawzi called it in his memoirs, “The Three-Year War 1967-1970,” which contributed to confusing the Israeli enemy and paving the way for the liberation of Egyptian territory in the October 1973 War.
The October War of the year seventy-three was and still is a white spot in the history of the Arab wars against Israel, and while the details of the Egyptian narrative are unfolding day after day, some ambiguity still surrounds the Syrian narrative about the war, which is what this episode of the Memoirs program attempts to reveal. Through the novel of the first man in the Syrian army during the war, the memoirs of General Mustafa Tlass.
Through Tlass’s memoirs and other testimonies from Egyptian military personnel, the episode examines the reasons for the decline of the Syrian army after it achieved great progress in the first days of the war. It also attempts to answer the question: “Did Sadat deceive Syria in this war? Or did the Syrian military leaders commit mistakes that transformed Victory to defeat?
Bengkala, a small village tucked away in the jungles of Bali, is a demographic anomaly. Of a total of 3,000 people, 40 are Deaf. Their condition is linked to a recessive gene that’s been passed down through seven generations. Rather than ostracize Deaf community members, the people of Bengkala created Kata Kolok, a distinctly local sign language that’s spoken by 80 percent of the population.
Tanah Lot, which translates to “land in the sea” in Balinese, is one of seven ocean temples found along the southwest coast of Bali, Indonesia. Built around the 16th century to honor sea spirits, Tanah Lot consists of a unique rock formation with a temple sitting atop. During low tide, visitors can access the temple by foot; however, entrance inside the sanctuary is restricted to outsiders. Legend has it that unmarried couples who visit the temple leave cursed. Still, the stunning scenery has made Tanah Lot one of the most visited and photographed temples in Bali.
Hidden in the rock structures of the ancient Turkish region of Cappadocia, some of the world’s oldest Christian churches are carved in stone. The Göreme Open Air Museum is a cluster of chapels, monasteries, and churches that date back to the 4th century. These unique stone structures, formed from a 2.6 million-year-old volcanic eruption, house 10 separate churches that make up the museum. Inside each church, Byzantine-era frescoes adorn the walls. Thanks to its extensive history and unique geology, the Göreme Open Air Museum became one of Turkey’s first two places to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For three centuries, farmers living in the remote mountains of northern Turkey have communicated great distances by whistling. It’s a language called kuş dili that is still used to this day, though fewer people are learning it in the age of the cell phone. It’s also known as bird language, for obvious reasons. Muazzez Köçek lives in Kuşköy, and she is the best whistler in her village. Muazzez shows us how she uses varied pitch frequencies and melodies to translate Turkish vocabulary into whistles with meaning.
In order to explore one of Sri Lanka’s most unique and ancient sites you will have to climb up—way up. Perched atop a rock plateau, 660 feet in the air, are the ruins of the 5th-century fortress of King Kasyapa, known as Sigiriya. The large rock it sits on was formed from hardened volcanic lava dating back to prehistoric times, while the fortress is entirely surrounded by what are believed to be the world’s oldest landscape gardens. Today, Sigiriya is distinguished as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and remains the most visited attraction in Sri Lanka.
Easter Island isn’t the only place in the world with massive, mysterious, and ancient stone faces. On the highest peak of eastern Turkey’s Taurus mountains, sits Nemrut Dağ. In 62 B.C., King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene ordered the construction of this site—which contains a temple, a tomb, and a house of gods—to commemorate himself. The tomb is flanked by 30-foot statues of the king, as well as pairs of lions, eagles, and various gods. At one point, the heads of these sculptures sat on top of the stone bodies, but they now lie scattered throughout the site. Lost for centuries, Nemrut Dağ was excavated in 1883. Now, it sits as a testament to an ancient culture and the grand ambitions of a self-obsessed king.
Anura Wijewikrama fishes two hours each morning and two hours each evening. And like his grandfather and father before him, he does so on handmade stilts driven into the sand. He is one of the few still carrying on the practice, which is exclusively found in the stunning waters of Sri Lanka. What started as a World War II-era reaction to food and boat shortages is now done to keep the tradition alive, with stilt fishermen like Anura taking on other jobs to make ends meet.
The town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka is home to the largest cave complex in the country. With a labyrinth containing over 80 documented caves, five in particular stand out from the rest. Unlike the others, these five have been converted into sprawling temples where visitors can view golden statues, depictions of Buddha, and over 1,500 different paintings. The temple caves have been around for 22 centuries; thanks to conservation efforts, they will be around for many more to come.
Deep inside the Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis, Turkey, lies the country’s most relaxing site. From a distance, Pamukkale’s cascading white pools resemble a castle of fluffy cotton. But a closer look reveals the pools to have limestone walls and turquoise, mineral-rich water. The inviting pools are said to contain healing properties that improve the skin, eyes and blood pressure. Come and relax in one of these 17 natural hot springs, just as the Greeks and Romans did centuries ago.
Jami Ul-Alfar, known locally as “the red mosque,” is a sight to behold. Outfitted with a distinctive red-and-white pattern, the mosque is one of Sri Lanka’s great architectural wonders, attracting worshippers and tourists alike. First commissioned in 1908, the structure was influenced by Indo-Saracenic architecture, a hybrid of Indian and Islamic styles. Today, the mosque has become the primary place of worship for Sri Lankan Muslims, capable of accommodating over 10,000 worshippers across its six floors.
Eighteen stories below ground in Turkey’s Cappadocia region, the ancient city of Derinkuyu remained hidden for centuries. The underground city was rediscovered in 1963 when a man knocked down a wall in his basement and stumbled across a hidden room. From there, an excavation revealed the impressive network of tunnels connecting ancient churches, schools and living quarters. In total, the city likely could have protected 20,000 people and their livestock from wars and natural disasters.
Ankara might be the capital city, but Kahramanmaraş is Turkey’s undisputed ice cream capital. Atilla Kanbur is the fourth generation in his family to make delicious Turkish ice cream, churning out 5 tons of the sweet stuff a day. What’s so special about Turkish ice cream? It’s stretchy, it’s sticky, oh, and it doesn’t melt.
Typically eat eggs, or a bowl of cereal for breakfast? There are so many other tasty options. In this episode of “Around the World,” Great Big Story senior producer Beryl Shereshewsky makes wake-up calls to seven people in seven countries to find out what they eat to start the day. Among the dishes featured: Vietnam’s súp lu’o’n, a spicy eel soup; mandazi, an airy deep-fried dough from Kenya; and a plate of Kuymak from corn flour in Turkey, and a plate of scrumptious catfish and grits made to perfection in the United States.