All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S07E09.Fortress.Of.The.Sky.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Toma ward (narrates):
In the United States

an eerie relic festers in
the back woods of Arkansas.

There's colourful cartoons
that are slowly fading.

It's almost like you can
hear the children laughing

from like 20 years ago.

In the middle east

an ancient bastion
shrouded in myth.

It's only very recently

that we've been able to unveil

some of the mystery
behind this place.

The closer you look
in to those inscriptions

the more detailed
knowledge we gain.

A sinister collection
of buildings

in the Albanian mountains.

But something's
not quite right here,

this doesn't look
like a cared for space.

There are iron bars on the
window, the, the paint is all drab.

And in the heart of england

a subterranean labyrinth
hiding a dark purpose.

Part of it's been painted white,

part of it's been
left bare brown rock.

There has to be some
significance to this.

There's even an area that

it was designed for people
to sleep like a dormitory,

it's like they were preparing
for the end of the world.

Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

In Arkansas
densely forested hills

hide an unexpected rural haven.

The ozarks

are america's forgotten
mountain range.

It's a beautiful idyllic area

that most people are
barely aware exists.

In the middle of that

we come across this
strange little outpost.

This place is gorgeous.

You've got creeks and streams,

there's a forest, woodlands.

So, it's hard to get a handle
on what this place really was.

At first it appears to be
some kind of ghost town

but amid the tranquil beauty

more dilapidated structures
hint at this site's true nature.

You've got broken
scaffolds, metal frames,

offices with papers
strewn all about the place.

Buildings over grown with weeds.

You can just tell how busy
this place would have been.

This place is vast,

there are space for
a lot of people here,

there's even a
little train line.

The railroad track weaves

a course around this
400 acre complex.

There's definitely
a certain amount

of make believe
to this whole site.

Why is this place abandoned?

Because outside of it
it looks like paradise.

A parched slide
and forlorn water mill

are some of the reminders
of the sites lively past.

But it seems any
success was short lived.

This is dog patch usa,

once one of the nation's
most unusual theme parks.

You know that back in it's day

it would have been
a noisy place to be,

kids full of excitement
queueing up

desperate to get inside.

But now that's all gone.

Eddy sisson helps to look after

what's left of this once
bustling amusement park.

Ever since he first
came to dog patch

he's been fascinated
by it's history.

This part of the site is
where you would buy tickets

and purchase memorabilia,

it would be your first
place you would go to.

For the people who
came here at its peak,

the next stage in their journey

was a magical descent
in to an imaginary world.

So, after you buy your ticket

you would hop on this tram

and you could see
everything that awaited you.

But what was so entertaining
about this far away funfair.

This site has a theme

and that's the key
to understanding

what this place was
about and why it was here.

Dog patch is an amusement park

like no other in
america before or since.

It's a theme park so in one
sense it's like Disneyland

but there were a
few major differences,

instead of mice,

fantasy castles and big rides,

you had hillbillies,

a few arcades and
a lake full of trout.

It's doors first
opened to the public

on 18th of may 1968.

In the heyday of the park

there would be just
tonnes of people,

kids going back and forth

and people eating,

people buying tickets,

people browsing at the
dog patch memorabilia.

There were just you know,

maybe 800 people in
this building at one time.

But why were people

so keen to come visit these
log cabins in the woods?

The story of how it came
to be dates back 3 decades

before the first visitors came.

It's sort of a landmark

to a massive cultural
shift in america.

This park was culturally related
to one specific time period.

It reflected an america

in which people were
moving from the agricultural

and the countryside's
in to the cities.

The park took inspiration
from an unexpected source.

A cartoon strip
known as lil abner

which made fun of that change.

Today it's hard to remember

or to even imagine

how influential newspaper
comic strips were

in the mid 20th century.

Lil abner was one of the
most popular comic strips

and it's creator al capp
was a huge celebrity.

He used to go on
the tonight show,

he was friends with presidents.

Lil abner was set

in the fictional appalachian
village of dog patch.

It was an over the top portrayal
of rural folk living in the region.

Of course al capp's vision
of life in the appalachians

was a very demeaning
hillbilly stereotype

but it was also one that

people kind of
loved and embraced.

So, when they heard that

there was a theme
park based on dog patch

that was very appealing
to a lot of people.

At its height,

the cultural phenomenon
attracted a readership

of over 60 million people.

It wasn't so much
about the rides,

it was more about the setting
and the atmosphere it provided.

This is a slightly different take
on your average theme park.

For many visitors this
was a chance to be

a part of a world they
had grown up consuming.

From catching a
fish in the trout pond

and having it cooked
in the parks restaurant.

To watching artisans

producing traditional
crafts in the cabins.

Guests were transported
in to al capp's imagination.

It looked just like the
dog patch in the comic,

there was a waterfall,

some scruffy hills,

there were even a few caves

where you could imagine
maybe somebody was off

brewing up some moonshine.

There was a waterfall,

a trout farm, there
was camp grounds.

One of the largest structures

that remains here is
the old tower standing tall

with the long
slide flowing down.

We've all been to
fairgrounds as a kid you know,

this is exactly what you
want, fun and games.

In its first year,
300,000 people

came to enjoy the
hillbilly theme park.

When it opened it
opened to great success.

It made a lot of money, it
was a very popular theme park.

Lil abner the brand
was going really well,

there was plans to open a
chain of themed restaurants

and there was a TV
show in the pipeline too.

What may seem a strange
premise for an amusement park today

somehow worked...

But dog patch was about to go on

an economic
rollercoaster all of its own.

By the 70s things were changing,

there was the energy crisis,

the price of gas went sky high,

the economy was
really struggling,

unemployment was
high, inflation was high,

people weren't as inclined
to take long road trips.

As profits plummeted the
park was put up for sale.

The new proprietors believed
they could turn it's fortunes around

but the odds were
stacked against them.

In the '80s the park was sold

and purchased by a
company that specialises

in building and
branding theme parks.

The new owners
really thought big,

they put in bigger rides,
they put in a music venue.

At first it seemed that

dog patch's prospects
had been revived.

So, it's pretty insane that
3 dog knight, Tina Turner,

Dolly Parton, all
performed on this stage.

The Dukes of hazard
people they got them to come

and sign autographs and

you know that
wasn't a normal thing

in Arkansas to have
people come you know,

huge Hollywood stars.

The parks owners even
attempted to install a ski resort

to make this a year
round destination

but as the 1980s wore on,

no matter how hard they
tried to attract new visitors

there was one
overriding problem.

Al capp retired from
making the comic character

lil abner in 1977.

So, within a few years
you don't have children

growing up on lil abner anymore,

they're not clambering to
their parents to go to dog patch

because they've never
heard of dog patch.

A brand like Disney spends
millions of dollars a year

reminding everybody about
those iconic characters.

You know originally dog
patch was over 800 acres

which was larger than
Disney world when it started.

Disney land has become
huge, trumping everything.

Unable to adapt and keep
pace with the changing times

the park fell in to bankruptcy.

And in 1993 it's gates
finally slammed shut.

It's sort of sad to
walk this ground today

because the basic
idea wasn't a bad one,

a lot of people love the idea

of being in the
heartland of america,

being in a rustic setting,

celebrating some of the
traditions of rural life or country life.

Dog patch maybe gone forever

but the area's natural beauty
could one day bring back the crowds.

Recently the derelict site has
been bought by new owners.

With the hope of making
use of its fish filled lakes.

This feature is
the key to all of it,

if you can attract
people here to fish then

that's the starting point,
the idea can grow from there.

Maybe there is life
left in this place yet.

Near the city of Birmingham

a quiet wilderness is hidden
away from prying eyes.

This place is
rural, it's remote,

it seems as if there's
not a lot happening here.

That's exactly what
you're supposed to think.

There's this mysterious door
in the middle of the woods,

you start to wonder

if there's another
world behind that door.

And in a way there is.

This complex has
endless tunnels,

some of them interconnect,

some of them dead end,

they also vary
considerably in size.

It's like a massive
underground labyrinth,

dropping a trail of breadcrumbs

is not going to help you find
your way out of this place.

But distinctive features soon
emerge from the darkness.

There seems to be two
halves to this tunnel network,

part of it's been painted white,

part of it's been
left bare brown rock.

There has to be some
significance to this.

In the lighter tunnels it
gets a little more civilised.

There are office cubicles

that have machinery
stashed away in them.

There's a kitchen area,

there's even an area that
it was designed for people

to sleep like a dormitory.

It's like they were preparing
for the end of the world.

With enough space
to house hundreds

if not thousands of people

what was this place built for

and why plan to live
down here in the dark?

For any lone visitor

these cold empty halls

make for an unwelcoming
scene even the owner,

sid Robinson still finds the
experience disconcerting.

I find the place
it's very eerie,

such a vast space of darkness

especially if you just,
you're there with the torch

and it has this presence

I can't put my finger on it

but yeah it's not comfortable.

But the sense of
unease is nothing new.

Working down here

especially during
the excavation stages

I know from having
interviewed people,

spoke to men who worked here

they said it was horrific

and it was the
most scariest time,

they would take a week
or two to get used to the,

the pitch black and the noises.

Originally built and paid
for by the British government

it was then turned over
to a private company,

rover for use as factory space.

In the early 20th century rover
employed thousands of people

and they built some
pretty famous vehicles

like the rover 10,

the meteor and the light 6.

Rover made most of the cars
they manufactured in house,

they made the chassis,
the engine, even the wheels

and in doing so they
established themselves

as a trusted British
automobile manufacturer.

But why would they put
a factory underground.

Rover may have been
a car manufacturer

but they weren't making
automobiles down here.

This was a shadow factory.

Known as Drake low tunnels,

this was once a secret
facility designed to keep britain

in the fight against the Nazi's.

Now, Germany didn't
really have the capacity

at least at the beginning
of world war two

to mount a sea borne
invasion of britain

but a necessary precursor
was control of the skies.

After the first world war

the government had
seized the initiative

and began preparing
for this looming threat.

Outsourcing is a big
part of their answer.

The air ministry
decided to start

co-opting car manufacturers

in what they called a
shadow factory scheme.

The government
approached car companies,

companies like rover
and they made a deal,

they would build
the new factories

and they could
build cars in them

but if war ever came

those factories would get
converted to air craft making.

In theory it was a good plan,

but sites like this
were only built

after a major flaw
in it was realised.

The first shadow
factories were built

right in the shadow of
existing car factories.

And this made them
vulnerable to bombing attacks,

Germany just bombed
the hell out of them.

The fate of the country
was hanging in the balance,

to find a solution they
had to start digging.

So, in 1942 about
halfway through the war,

rover and it's employees

were moved to a
new locale, Drake low.

There was no
caves as such to start

with this is all
totally man made.

They had at the
time 2,000 people

working down here,

doing the excavation for them

and creating this like
fabulous underground factory.

We don't actually
go down any steps,

it's built straight
in the side of a hill

so it's all on one
level, made a lot easier

for the trucks carrying
the materials in and out.

Designed in a
repetitive grid system,

four quarter of a
mile long tunnels

formed the core of the
underground network.

With rows of perpendicular
routes cutting through them

in total it offered up

the equivalent of
around 4 football pitches

worth of bomb
proof factory space.

Rover were producing parts

for the rolls Royce
Merlin engines

which was the engines
they used in all of the aircraft

during the war period

so it was a very very critical

and crucial part of the operations
of the war effort at the time.

With men being sent
out to fight on the front,

new opportunities
opened up at the factory.

But where was all the man power

going to come from
to build these engines?

Where else but the kitchen.

Women literally went from
cutting cloth to make dresses

to cutting steel
to make bombers.

Across britain numerous
shadow factories

many of which were built
underground made the difference.

The battle of Great
Britain was won

because they had the
aeroplanes to fight off the Germans.

Without the
products of Drake low

the outcome of world
war two for britain

might have been
very very different.

But there were corners of
Drake low's underground maze

that seemed to
tell a different story.

There are these dormitories

and what looks like

broadcasting equipment

which makes no sense

for a factory producing
aircraft engines.

Clearly something else
happened here as well.

The use of atomic bombs on Japan

did more than just end
the second world war,

it set in motion a new
threat to britain's security.

Just 4 years later in 1949

the Soviets detonated
their first atomic bomb,

the cold war was underway.

By the 1950s britain is not only

testing out it's own h bomb,

it's making extensive plans

for how to carry on

with government in
the event of an attack.

As the nuclear age developed
through the 1960s and 70s,

Drake low was called
back in to action,

the bomb proof tunnels
were critical once again.

Britain created
a new initiative.

Initially called regional
seats of government

and the idea was you
would divide the country

in to 12 districts.

The rsgs were designed

as a way for the
British government

to continue to operate in
the event of a nuclear attack.

Parliamentary members

would take shelter
at the headquarters

of these different regions

and would be able
to govern there

assuming anyone
actually survived the attack.

Drake low was going to house
the headquarters for district 9.

We have the BBC
broadcasting suite

so that a regional
government headquarters

like this could communicate

with all the other regional
government headquarters

around the country.

But computers and
communication equipment

were just the final step.

More importantly the site itself
would need a major overhaul.

When they updated the site

they sealed off part
of the tunnel system

and then they installed
new ventilation,

air conditioning,
heating system,

they updated the wiring, alarms,

put blast proof doors
on for the entrances...

The way there.

Focusing on a smaller
section of the tunnels,

the plan was to make this
area safe from nuclear fallout.

The sand stone rock
might have protected

those inside from a
nearby detonation.

But questions remain

over the likelihood of
survival beyond that.

You know, you'd think
alright it'll be sealed

in every little nook and cranny

well although they bricked
off the old factory area,

at the end of the main corridor
was the original factory doors

which were wooden

and then they had
two little wooden doors

separating this
bunker from the factory.

So, should the fall out be

sort of making it's way
round through the countryside,

it would quite easily
come through you know,

round the edge of the door frame

or around through the
ventilation system someway

even though they
got these special filters

to recirculate the air,

by no means was
this place air tight.

While Drake low was a
vital part of britain's defence

in the second world war,

the rush to put
something in place quickly

ahead of the next threat,
may not have paid off.

With Drake low you're
trying to do it on the cheap,

it's just obviously
not going to work.

But you know, at least the
tunnels got a new paint job.

Fortunately the site never faced

the ultimate test and
was finally shut down

and sold off in 1994.

Today parts of Drake low tunnels

have been opened
up to the public.

Offering a glimpse in to
britain's underground efforts

to protect the country
throughout the 20th century.

Among the craggy peaks

of the Israeli
occupied golan heights,

an ancient structure keeps
watch over the landscape.

It's formidable,
it sits high above

one of the most
fiercely contested areas

on the face of the earth.

It's an exceptionally
dramatic setting.

And wherever you look there
seems to be more tunnels,

more corridors and walls
that are extraordinarily thick.

The imposing ruins
spread along the Ridge line

for almost a third of a mile.

Walls have crumbled

but it's just
marvellously intact.

Below ground the
curious maze continues.

There's a tunnel
that leads in and out

through a hidden entrance

and then there's this
subterranean area

that looks like
it's been flooded.

Guarding this
geopolitical flash point

the deserted structure
is clearly defensive.

But who built this
fortress and why?

Stories are told
about this place,

of links to the Bible,
of the tower of babel.

This is even today a
place of myth and mystery.

It's only very recently

that we've been able to
unveil some of the mystery

and get to the real
story behind this place.

This commanding stronghold

dates back to the end
of the 11th century.

Lior shelef has
long been exploring

this mythical clifftop bastion

for many years.

When I first came here as a boy

I was fascinated
by the fortress.

The size of it and all
the mystery around it.

Who built it?

Why did they want
to build it here?

Especially here?

This is nimrod fortress.

It's named after the
biblical character nimrod,

who was believed
to have been the king

who ordered the construction
of the tower of babel,

that extraordinary structure
that stretched from earth

right up in to the heavens.

There was a legend
circulating that nimrod

had been bothered
by a mosquito in his ear

so in an act of regal arrogance

he cut off his own head

and replaced it with one of gold

and that er, as sort
of divine punishment

for this act of arrogance

he'd been buried in the
valley beneath this fortress.

Those who built nimrod

did not take the defence
of this place lightly.

It's huge, you can
see it from everywhere.

The rocks are big,
they're curved big,

everything here is big.

It's big because this
is the business card

of the people that built it.

They want people from
all around it to see it

and then they wouldn't
dare to come near it.

What's amazing to
see, and interesting,

is the amount of effort
that was done in creating

such an accurate spot

for the Archer to stand,

overlooking the exact angle

he needs to watch.

And if you stand
here with your bow,

and you're aiming
to the exact point

you need to see in the valley,

it's just breath-taking.

Wow.

This castle was built
for military effectiveness,

many of the details of
the military architecture

are incredibly well preserved,

there are the multiple layers
within the castle of fortifications

within fortifications
to withstand

repeated waves of attacks.

The forts layout betrays
it's specific purpose.

The fortress is built
as an army base.

You won't find here beds,
you won't find rooms here.

You won't find
quarters, there's nothing.

This is an army base

and it's built only
for this purpose.

But who or what

was this army protecting?

The strategic significance

of this nimrod castle is that

it lies on this high
ground, locking access

from the mediterranean
coast inland to Damascus.

Any invading force
would land at tyre

and make their way
through the golan heights

before taking Damascus.

They chose to build a
fortress specifically here...

Because it makes sure,

it prevent from anyone
to attack the people

that will go from Damascus

which is about that
way, and the port of tyre.

Damascus was a key seat

in power at the time

and the main road to Damascus

was a fundamentally
important military highway.

Late in the 11th century
crusading Christian armies

came from the west

intent on recovering

the so called holy
land from islamic rule.

The crusades were a defining

part of the medieval world
and of the medieval mind.

Western Christian
knights rode east

partly to contain islamic forces

which were
expanding in the region

but also to retake and
conquer as Christian

all those holy
sites from the Bible.

This whole area
was a battlefield

and you see crusader castles

speckling this region

where the crusaders would create

these strongholds to defend
and to advance their cause.

So, at the turn of
the 20th century

when western
archaeologists first arrived,

they were quick to assume
that the beautiful fortress

had been built by
their own crusaders.

They assume and
they want to believe

that this is a
crusader's fortress.

Actually, until 1987,

history books that were written

about this fortress describe it

as a crusader's fortress.

Nearby castles around
the golan heights

seem to confirm
their assumption.

If we look to the east,

we can see first
of all beaufort,

a crusader's fortress
that sits in Lebanon.

Not that far from us, and hunin,

another crusader's fortress...

And this helps us to understand

why people thought
for so many years

that this fortress is actually
a crusader's fortress.

But details scattered around

the fortress suggest an
altogether different story.

The first clue that

we have here in
the north west tower

is this inscription in
arabic that gave us an idea

why this fortress
wasn't built by crusaders.

This was built by
the islamic forces.

In 1187,

saladin a brilliant
military strategist

from modern day Iraq
swept across the region

and conquered many
crusader strongholds.

Saladin and his heirs

begin building fortifications

to hold back this Christian tide

and nimrod is an
islamic designed castle.

This castle was built by
one of saladin's nephews

in anticipation of
yet another battle.

They knew what it took to
succeed in this hostile terrain.

As hidden features
at this site confirm.

An elaborate water system

kept the fortress well
stocked even under siege...

And that wasn't
the only contingency

if the castle was surrounded.

So, this is the secret passage,

an interesting way to
run away from the fortress

if you need and to
smuggle some things

if you are under attack.

And they build a secret passage

in a very interesting way.

It was hidden by a huge bush

and basically no-one can see it

if you didn't want to.

Nimrod fortress
was built to stand up

to the waves of waring crusaders

coming from the west.

But saladin and his dynasty
were looking in the wrong direction.

In the mid 13th century their
defences essentially reversed

to deal with an influx
of mongol invaders

from the east.

But after years of
conflict with the crusaders,

nimrod was eventually taken

without a single
stone being thrown,

the mongols were so feared

that the occupants surrendered

and were happy to
simply be spared their lives.

The mongols were soon
driven out of the fortress

and it returned to islamic rule.

When ottoman forces
finally took over in 1517...

Nimrod was no longer
in a strategic location.

During the ottoman period,

one of the towers, a
four storey structure

that was quite luxurious enough

for anybody to have
lived in normally

was converted and
used as a prison.

But the shattered remains that

litter this rocky outcrop

were not the work of
any marauding army.

A huge earthquake
that happened here

broke a little bit
of the fortress,

but not too much, as we
can see the rocks around us,

there's a little bit of ruins.

As if prophetic,

nimrod's fortress was
shaken by an earthquake

just as nimrod's tower was
toppled by the forces of god.

Following the earthquake,

nimrod fortress was
finally abandoned

to the elements.

Nimrod fortress has
stood for nearly 1,000 years

overlooking a region that
continues to be contested.

And the legacy of
its ancient origins

can still be felt to this day.

For centuries the
crusades were seen

as a dusty old subject

but now you can open a newspaper

and read that very
same language,

crusade, holy war,

jihad, martyrdom,

those ideas that were
current at the time,

this castle was built
are still relevant today

in our modern world.

On a mountain in
northern Albania,

a complex of buildings

balances precariously
close to the peak.

This place is definitely
out of the way,

it's miles and miles
from the nearest town.

The buildings here
are established,

but the road is anything but.

It's basically a dirt road
cut through the mountains.

There's little to suggest what
this location was used for.

But at its centre
an austere building

appears to offer up some clues.

It's a very unusual place

to find a building
quite like this.

It looks like your stereotypical
baddies headquarters.

There's a definite
structure to this place.

This set up isn't
incidental it had a purpose,

there was investment
here and many people

several thousand
feet above sea level.

So, what was this sinister
collection of buildings

teetering on an
Albanian mountainside?

Zenel drangu was 24
when he first arrived here.

Zenel (translation): "I
came here and I saw people

"gathered in the terrace

"and I sincerely thought

"this looks like a zoo."

That was back in 1972

when this place had been
in operation for 4 years.

But what was it built for?

When you look a little closer

it's clear that it was
actually a mining operation.

If you've got a massive
mining operation here

it makes sense that
your work force live here.

We often think of mines

as pits sunk deep
into the ground.

But here thousands
of feet up in the air

there were resources so rich

that it was worth
climbing up the mountain

to get to them.

They were digging for iron,

copper, zinc,

and if they were
lucky a bit of gold too.

Zenel worked here as a miner,

he remembers the
mines vast scale.

Translation: "About
900 of us worked here...

"So 3 shifts...

"All divided in groups

"that would take the ore out."

This was a huge operation,

it would have needed a lot
of manpower to run this place.

But there are signs that
this was no ordinary mine.

Something isn't
quite right here.

It's almost like
they didn't care

for the welfare of the
people who lived here,

there's lots of barbed
wire and iron bars.

Workers like zenel
were not here by choice.

This is spac prison,

one of the most notorious
labour camps in Albania.

Translation: "Here at
the camp inside its core

"where we are now
we had 5 rows of fences

"and every 10 metres
there were the sentry boxes

"and guard posts
of the soldiers."

This horrifying gulag

dates back to 1968

and the notorious reign of
communist leader enver hoxha.

Albania had been
a communist country

since the 1940s

but after the death of Stalin,
Albania's leader decided

that the Soviet union
was straying too far

from the core
values of communism

so severed all ties
with the Soviet union

and with China and
decided to go it alone.

The aim seemed to be

for Albania to become a
shining example of communism

whether it's
citizens like it or not.

All criticism of the state

was forbidden and perhaps

the very worst
example of criticism

was trying to leave
which was strictly illegal.

In 1972,

zenel fell foul of
the brutal regime.

He fled from Albania to
neighbouring yugoslavia

but was soon extradited
back to his homeland.

Translation: "I was sentenced
to 20 years at the age of 24,

"a sentence that I served here."

The regime relied on it

not being questioned
or criticised

and if you did you ended up

being put away in places
like spac for re-education

where you were shut
away from public view.

Zenel suffered alongside the
rest of those incarcerated here.

Translation: "The
situation was difficult,

"conditions were inhumane,

"it's that hard in
the mines gallery

"cause you have
all sorts of gases,

"smoke and smells,

"almost like that
of rotten bodies.

"It smelled acidic."

The facility was effectively
a slave labour camp,

the inmates were forced to work

inhumanely long hours

with unrealistically
high productivity quotas

for the mining.

And the prisoners spartan

living quarters
offered no respite

with up to 54 men
sleeping in each room.

The rooms are very
small, almost like cages.

I mean there's basic living
but this is something else.

Another terrifying
aspect of life

there was that the authorities
offered time off sentences

for those who agreed to
spy on their fellow prisoners,

so you didn't only
have to watch out

for the guards and the warders.

Translation: "I said
nothing to my co-workers

"because you never know

"what kind of people
you'd run in to,

"somebody could be a good person

"but somebody else
could easily be someone

"who would report
you to the command."

But these draconian measures

could not break
the prisoners spirit.

On the 21st of may 1973

the inmates of spac
prison stage a revolt.

The prisoners had
just had enough,

they'd had enough
of being incarcerated

in dreadful conditions
for trivial offences

and they fought back.

They seized the wardens guns,

they fortified the prison
and they took control.

The rebellion was
bold and brave,

but it had a fatal flaw.

They were stuck up the
mountain with only one road down.

Waiting at the bottom
was the state police

but they didn't need
to storm the prison

and risk their own lives,

all they needed to do

was cut off the
prisons water supply.

The police cut off
the water supply

from the bottom of the valley.

And it was only a matter of time

before the rebellion
was quashed.

Zenel had just
arrived at the prison

and did not play an active role.

But he witnessed the surrender.

Translation: "So, after 3
days they cut the water supply

"and the food and
they had nowhere to go

"and the prisoners surrendered.

"They handcuffed
all the prisoners,

"in fact 80 of them

"were given additional
25 year prison terms.

"4 of them were then
executed by firing squad.

"And they showed us their
pictures to stoke more terror."

Zenel had to make a decision

about how to
survive in this place.

Translation: "I thought
about my family,

"that I would not want
to bring any harm to them

"because if I had
tried to escape

"the way many others had escaped

"they would exile my family.

"In fact they would take
revenge on my family."

Spac continued to operate

as a labour camp

until the fall of the
Albanian communist party

in the early 1990s.

Almost 20 years later
a private company

started to mine here once more.

Having suffered
the brutal conditions

of spac prison for 14 years,

zenel now hopes

that it will one day become
a national monument.

Translation: "Let's
hope we will one day fix it

"so that visitors
who might come,

"especially young ones

"would know what this
nation went through."

Captioned by
ai-media ai-media. TV