October 05, 2012 IT'S RICHARD ENGEL’S HIDDEN PLANET WEEK ON ROCKCENTERNBC.COM Raja Ampat: The Underwater Eden to Premiere on “Rock Center with Brian Williams” iPad App, then RockCenterNBC.com
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NEW YORK - October 5, 2012 – Next week, while "Rock Center with BrianWilliams" is pre-empted for the Vice Presidential debate on Thursday,October 11th, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent's Richard Engel's Hidden Planet returns for an entire week of riveting adventures. In an unexpecteddeparture from his usual beat of war-torn territories and areas of conflict,Engel sets off on journeys of discovery to find the most awe-inspiring, rarelyseen locations around the globe.

Only on RockCenterNBC.com and the newsmagazine's iPad app, Monday, October 8th kicks off "Rock Center's" Hidden Planet weekas Engel travels to Tanzania, a land where mankind is believed to have begun.

Engeljourneys through the land's volcanoes and valleys, hunting and engaging in rituals with the Maasai and Hadza tribes.

The Maasai tribe lives at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They live off the land and are one of 120 tribes in the region. The Hadza tribe lives just 25 miles from where man's first footsteps were discovered. Researchers believe the Hadza have lived in the region for 15,000 years, maintaining a hunter gatherer existence.

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On Tuesday, follow Engel to Egypt, where he journeys through a network of underground tunnels beneath the Step Pyramid of Djoser located 19 miles south of modern-day
Cairo in the Saqqara plateau, Egypt's oldest pyramid complex.

In part twoof this Hidden Planet episode, Inside the Pharoah's Secret Tunnels, Engeljourneys into the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The pyramid's construction began in 2589 B.C., shortly after the 20-year-old Pharaoh Cheops ascended to the throne.

Cheops' burial place turned out to be the biggest one in history. Engel climbs through the hidden chambers and\ passageways of the ancient pyramid, revealing secrets about the largest pyramid of the Giza Necropolis and the Pharaoh it was constructed for.

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On Wednesday, Engel travels to Mali, on the edge of the Sahara desert, to discoverthe city of Timbuktu.

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ALL NEW --

On Thursday, Engel, goes to Jerusalem to visit the most consecrated and contested religious landmark, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Built bythe mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulchercommemorates both the Hill of Crucifixion and the Tomb of Christ’s Burial. Thechurch has historically been controlled by different denominations within theChristian faith including: Catholics, Armenians, Greek Orthodox, SyrianOrthodox, Coptic and Ethiopian, each claiming ownership to part. Muslimfamilies have held on tightly to the key that opens the main door since 1187 and have traditionally sat in the entrance itself. While the doors are nowopen, the families still manage the church and mediate between the differentdenominations that lay claim to this holiest of sites.

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ALL NEW

-- On Friday, Engel, heads to a land that time forgot. Raja Ampat, the 4 main islands off the West Papuan mainland in Indonesia surrounded by 1,500 smaller islands spans 10 million acres of land and sea that explode with brilliant
green forests and vibrant blue waters. Known to many as an underwater Eden, Engel takes a dive into these waters that
have the most biodiversity on the planet.

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David Corvo is the senior executive producer, Rome Hartman is the executive producer and Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of “Rock Center with Brian Williams” (Wednesdays at 9p/8c). Follow us at RockCenterNBC.com, facebook.com/rockcenterNBC and @rockcenterNBC.