Series examining Albert Kahn's 'Archives of the Planet' photography project. The documentation of the break-up of the Ottoman Empire after WW1.
The French millionaire Albert Kahn and his photographers, captured in film and pictures the emergence of new nations in the middle east after the fall of the Ottoman empire. This BBC Four documentary includes images and film of Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey in the early 20th Century and features historians talking about the creation of greater Lebanon, Israel and Turkey, as well as the Greco-Turkish war.
(However they fail to mention that one of the main reasons for the presence of the Greek army in Western Asia Minor was because Greece had been promised by the Western Powers (mainly England) territorial gains in that region if they joined WW1 on the side of the Allies, which they dutifully did. One can only wonder why this is not revealed...
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Unfortunately this can only be viewed by residents of the UK, as it's on the BBC Iplayer site, so apologies to all Non Uk residents who wish to watch it...
The closing sentiments of the documentary are, in my opinion pretty relevant to the current situation in Cyprus, as it talks of the senseless pain caused to peoples separated by amongst other things, War, the emergence of new nations, and the misguided notion that it will prevent future conflicts...
