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Dan Cruickshank goes in search of the Ark of the Covenant – the legendary great gold box that held the original Ten Commandments handed down to man by God. His journey takes him from Jordan to the Holy Land of Israel and Palestine and finally to Ethiopia – Africa's Garden of Eden.

His journey has all the hallmarks of an endurance test. The astonishing city of Petra – so fine and intricate in its decoration yet carved directly out of the rock face – must be reached by donkey along a precipitous gorge. Then Dan must get past the Guardian Monk of Ethiopia, who allows no-one to pass, and riskiest of all, he must climb the vertical cliff at Debre Damo to reach the treasures hidden inside the monastery on top of the mountain.

Along the way, Dan encounters prehistoric skyscrapers and the most powerful ruler in Africa, King Lalibela. His ultimate prize is unexpected – to be cleansed of all shame by an ancient relic that wields its mystical powers beneath the Star of David. And the Ark of the Covenant? Maybe he finds it, maybe not, but at least he escapes without being turned into a pile of ashes.