For centuries before the colonial era, Europeans were fascinated by tales of Africa: the elegant stone-built trading cities of the east coast; the legendary gold mines of West Africa; the Christian kings of Ethiopia, who were sought as allies against the Islamic world. Today, the rest of the world is rediscovering the continent's rich history. In this series, Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of Harvard's Department of Afro-American Studies and one of America's leading intellectuals, sets out along the highways and mountain roads of 20th-century Africa in search of its past. Gates travels by boat, train and four-wheel drive to reach centuries-old towns and ruined palaces-the legendary places he heard about as a child-finding clues, and sometimes uncomfortable truths, in the modern cities and suburbs.