Inside the Middle East

Episode 42

Hosted by Hala Gorani, Morocco

MARRAKESH REVIVAL

With its snake charmers and storytellers, Marrakesh has long been an offbeat destination for travellers. Now hotels, holiday homes, and golf courses are transforming the ancient city into a mass tourist destination. Some residents fear the development may be too much, too fast. Hala Gorani takes us to the streets of Marrakesh's old Medina, where thousands of old-style Moroccan homes, or "riads," have been converted into hotels for tourists.

CITY IN THE DESERT

A bold vision - sprung out of the Saudi desert. A skyscraper-studded financial center… a beach resort… an industrial district… an education zone, and a residential area for almost two million people. And that's not even a complete list of all the offerings. This ambitious project - King Abdullah City - will rise out of Saudi Arabia's desert along the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah. With investments exceeding 26-billion dollars, it's the largest private development in the Kingdom's history. The Saudis envision the city as an economic epicenter for its booming youth population. Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has this up-close look at the city's progress.

WEST BANK STORY

If you watched the Academy Awards this year, you may have noticed that the Academy honored a short film about the Middle East. What you may not know is that the film was very controversial -- a musical comedy about tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. The student film was made by an American who was warned that taking a humorous look at a serious conflict might ruin his career in Hollywood. Peter Viles has a look at the Oscar-winning best live action short,"West Bank Story," and the idealistic American who made it.