I happened to catch this show, oddly enough, in the emergency room of our local hospital where I was waiting for the outcome of a family emergency. As we waited we watched Istanbul unfold before us. Host Eric Geller is quite good at his job. His enthusiasm for history and discovering what lies under the modern city is very contagious. And, his disappointment at not being able to go further into the ruins of the Hippodrome made me feel disappointed, too.
The only off note is that the meetings with various city officials and archeologists seemed a bit contrived, as I suppose they were. No one is going to let a camera crew go somewhere and get hurt and show it on TV, at least in a program of this sort.
On the whole, Mr. Geller made me want to go off to Istanbul and find the sites he went to and talk to the people who live in the houses and work in the shops, especially the rug market over the cistern.
The only off note is that the meetings with various city officials and archeologists seemed a bit contrived, as I suppose they were. No one is going to let a camera crew go somewhere and get hurt and show it on TV, at least in a program of this sort.
On the whole, Mr. Geller made me want to go off to Istanbul and find the sites he went to and talk to the people who live in the houses and work in the shops, especially the rug market over the cistern.