Stairway to Heaven | Rebuilding the Minbar of Saladin

'Stairway to Heaven' is the story of an ancient and magnificent work of sacred art, whose loss not only shook the art world, but triggered the shocking realisation that traditional Islamic knowledge and skills have all but vanished. In 1969, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was attacked by a fanatic, and in the blaze that followed, one of the world's most precious works of art, the minbar of Saladin, originally installed in 1187, was destroyed. The minbar lay in ashes. Fortunately, some black and white photos survived, which showed an intricately constructed pulpit from more than 16,000 hand-carved pieces of walnut, ivory and ebony, held together without glue or nails. Using sacred geometry and the richness of symbolism, the minbar was a masterwork of Islamic art. Thirty years later, the royal family of Jordan, as the traditional guardians of the Al-Aqsa mosque, decided to reconstruct the minbar. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Sir Kenneth Branagh, 'Stairway to Heaven' chronicles the journey to recreate the Saladin minbar and its final restoration in the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, as well as how the consequences of a tragic event have come to symbolise the renaissance of Islamic art around the world. With HM King Charles III (then The Prince of Wales), HRH Prince Ghazi, Sir Christopher Frayling, Dr Khaled Azzam, Professor Keith Critchlow and Dr Minwer al-Meheid. Director of photography: Michael Miles Sound (UK): Anthony Meering and Darrell Briggs Sound recordist (Jordan): Maggi Kabariti Dubbing mixer: Nick Roberts On line editor: Siôn Penny Film editor: Roy Deverell Music composed by: Malcolm Laws and Nainita Desai Production co-ordinators: Ailsa Fereday and Karen Silverthorne Assistant producer: Clare Lynch Production manager: Janina Stamps Head of production: Pat Footer Written by: Lynette Singer Executive producer: Tom Shebbeare and André Singer Producer: André Singer Released by DCD Classics, part of DCD Media plc. The film would not have been possible without the generous support of the King Abdullah II Fund and Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel. Produced by West Park Pictures in association with The Prince's Charities Events Limited. Made available to Community Jameel by kind permission of the owners, The Prince’s Charities / The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund / The Prince’s Foundation.