大象传媒

Jeremy Bowen on Turkey's dramatic changes under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has undone Ataturk's legacy of a secular state with the army at the centre of power. "For the first time since Ataturk died in 1938, the Turks have a charismatic leader who is remaking the country," he says. "Erdogan's loyalists are delighted with their new country....The secular half of the country is in despair."

Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life.

Producers: Ben Crighton and Cara Swift.