My Mediterranean With Adrian Chiles

A colourful and thought-provoking two-part series in which journalist and broadcaster Adrian Chiles tours the Mediterranean experiencing religious festivals and learning about the similarities and differences between the three great religions which co-exist there.
　　Adrian is a fan of religion, holding the unfashionable opinion that generally it does more good than harm. He became a Roman Catholic nine years ago, but wonders out loud whether he could just as easily be Muslim or Jewish if he happened to have been born in, say, Istanbul or Jerusalem. On his travels, he comes to question whether he’s actually much of a Christian at all, but remains convinced that most quiet people of faith - of whichever religion - are a force for good but just don’t get enough coverage: “Jesus said the meek shall inherit the Earth; well they might, but they’re not getting much media attention along the way."
　　Adrian’s personal odyssey begins in Croatia, which is his mum's homeland. On the island where she now spends much of her time, he recalls going to church as a little boy with his grandmother, and being gently mocked by his atheist parents who called him 'holy Joe' whenever they caught him praying. His mum tells him she was turned off religion when, under pressure from the priest at her first confession, she lied by admitting to a sin she hadn’t committed. "How can I have got to 48 and a half," he asks her, "and only now be hearing this for the first time?"
　　Next, Adrian travels to Istanbul, where a Muslim family invites him to celebrate the festival of Eid, which he enjoys enormously, except for the part where he has to eat a lamb he’s just witnessed being sacrificed. He says: “I came here a Catholic; I’m going to go home a vegetarian.”