Tame Iti and his colleagues weren't the only ones on trial for the past five weeks. The terrorism claims in the still-unresolved Urewera case have revealed deep divisions over Maori and Pakeha

This mountain village has an abundance of greenery despite its hostile desert surroundings thanks to the village falaj - a centuries-old irrigation system, bringing water from the mountains to make the arid landscape flourish.

In Oman's harsh mountains water equals paradise, turning desolation into lush gardens, Jim Eagles explains.

This coastal city has been turning out sea-going vessels for thousands of years.

Jill Worrall visits an Omani shipyard which has been turning out vessels for thousands of years.

Sultan Qaboos ibn Said (whose family has been in power since 1747), is the current ruler of Oman and is revered and loved throughout the country, perhaps in part because he has funded projects such as this glittering mosque, which was opened in 2001 after a six-year building project and can accommodate 20,000 worshippers.

There is much being said, blogged, filmed, and even drawn, about the situation in Syria, where death is a daily fact of life.

On a trip to Oman, Jim Eagles heads to the 'Grand Canyon of Arabia' and navigates sheer drops and rock falls to visit an abandoned cliff face village.

This area, often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Arabia, once supported dozens of remote mountain settlements. In the early 2000s however, the Oman Government moved all the inhabitants to less remote sites with easier access to modern services, leaving the villages to ghosts and foreign trampers.

Fortunately, there are still places in the Middle East that remain oases of tranquillity amid those deserts of dissatisfaction.

Cathrin Schaer visits a country which appears different from the headlines.