"During the 10th century, people routinely journeyed from one end of the huge Arab empire to the other--and even into non-Islamic lands far into the north and east. Who were these travelers, what did they seek? This program captures what it was like to be a pilgrim in a caravan bound for Mecca, an official carrying out the Caliph's orders, a scholar seeking knowledge, a merchant in search of new markets, and an explorer charting the seas. Some of the era's most memorable personalities--mathematician al-Khuwarizmi, the chronicler Abul Hasan Ali al Mas'udi, the cartographer al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Hawqal--are profiled"--Films for the Humanities & Sciences web site.

On container: "The golden age of Arab civilization." Film originally produced in 1999.