All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S12E01.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng].1

[narrator] A complex
that hosted
an unlikely Cold War matchup.

[man] It was
a real barn burner.

The fact that the Soviets
could match them
is really quite impressive.

[narrator] A British facility
caught up in a battle

between trade unions
and the Iron Lady.

She was determined
to use every weapon
in her arsenal to crush it.

[narrator] And a Gothic tower
in Memphis,

plagued from its inception.

[woman] This is where
they made a crucial mistake,

and it was one
that would haunt the building
for the rest of its life.

[opening theme music playing]

[narrator] In Vilnius,
Lithuania's capital,

a derelict structure
evokes memories

of a remarkable
sporting moment.

[man] We come across
this plaza,

but it's kind of
falling apart.

Looming over all of it
is a grand building

with a very distinctive
design,

almost like a spaceship
that's come and landed here.

[man 2] It's concrete.

It's brutalist in style.

It has all the feelings
of a Soviet building.

[narrator] Inside, it quickly
becomes apparent
this is some type of arena.

[man] In some ways,
it recalls a little bit,

Lincoln Center
in New York City,
the great concert hall,

or even
the Sydney Opera House.

This is a building
with real aspirations
for greatness.

[narrator] Built to showcase
Soviet excellence,

an American billionaire
ensured it would host
a unique Cold War showdown.

[man 2] Landing deep behind
enemy lines,

this group of Americans
were treated as heroes.

The players must have thought
this was the strangest thing
they'd ever seen.

[narrator] July, 1988.

Thousands of Lithuanians

have gathered
outside the building,
filling the plaza.

[translating from Lithuanian]
There were
a lot of militias everywhere,

and a few checkpoints.

[narrator] But
these aren't protesters.

They're basketball fans.

Desperate to get inside
and catch a glimpse
of NBA superstars,

making a rare appearance
behind the Iron Curtain.

Gintaras Krapikas
was one of the lucky ones.

We all knew
about NBA basketball.

However, we never had
the opportunity to watch it.

No television here
ever broadcast it.

And it was like a myth.

It was incredible
for the fans to be able
to watch them play live.

Everyone was just in awe.

[narrator] But how
did an NBA team

come to play in this arena
during the Cold War?

Its seeds were sown
back in the 1920s,

when Lithuanian Americans
imported basketball
into the country.

Journalist Vidas Maciulis

has been covering
the nation's favorite game
for 60 years.

[translating from Lithuanian]
In Lithuania,
we call basketball

our second religion.

Everyone loves it.

Everyone respects it,
and it's 102 years old.

[narrator] The sport
caught on quickly,

and Lithuania was crowned
European champions
in 1937 and 1939.

But these glory days
were soon cut short.

[Sascha] In 1940,
shortly after World War 2
had broken out,

the Soviet Union
occupied Lithuania,

and the national team
was absorbed
into the Soviet system.

[narrator] By the mid-1960s,
Soviet communism
reached its zenith.

[Jim] The Soviets
were ahead in spaceflight.

Their political systems
seemed to be gaining power
around the world.

Their sports teams
were some of the best
in the world.

The Soviet leaders
really wanted to project
this image of success

to the rest of the world
and to their own citizens.

[narrator] And they embarked
on a series

of ambitious projects
across its empire.

Here in Lithuania,
construction began in 1965
on this,

the Vilnius Palace
of Concerts and Sports.

It hosted a range
of events and sports,

including the country's
beloved basketball.

[speaking in Lithuanian]

I see the main V.I.P stand.

I was there many times.

[narrator] Sitting alongside
Soviet leaders,

it wasn't always
the most relaxed atmosphere.

We were too reserved to clap.

We were too shy
to cheer for the team
that we supported.

And we were afraid to cheer
for the musical band.

[Sascha] In the 1980s,
with the Cold War
beginning to thaw,

the Soviet leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev,

instituted a series of reforms

that promoted
a new level of transparency

and openness
across the Soviet Union.

[Jim] Gorbachev chose
to release the pressure
where he could,

almost like letting some steam
out of a boiler
that's close to exploding.

So he began
to allow cultural exchanges.

[narrator]
In the United States,

Ted Turner,
a media mogul and owner
of the Atlanta Hawks,

was closely watching
international affairs.

[Jim] Turner was
a real character,
real entrepreneur.

With CNN,
he invented the whole idea
of 24-hour cable news.

And he had
a real idealistic streak.

And he especially was focused
on doing what he could

to sort of bridge this divide
between the West
and the Soviet Union.

[Sascha] In 1988,
The Atlanta Hawks set off
to cross the Iron Curtain

and play a series
of three exhibition matches

against the Soviet
national team.

[narrator] The second
of the three matches
would take place here.

Excitement spread throughout
the basketball crazed nation.

I couldn't believe it.

I started looking
for tickets very early

because I realized
what it meant to Lithuania

and what it meant
for basketball.

And I did well
because the tickets

were almost impossible
to come by.

[narrator] Although the arena
only held 5000,

over a million people
competed for tickets.

[Jim] In fact, it said
that they went

for the equivalent
of a month's wages
on the black market.

So the authorities
decided to also sell tickets
to the practice sessions,

and the citizens of Vilnius
just packed the stands,

watching these players
practice in absolute silence.

It was as if
they were in church.

The players must have thought
this was the strangest thing
they'd ever seen.

[narrator] On July 27th 1988,

the two teams
stepped out onto this court

for the much anticipated
showdown.

It would prove
a classic encounter,
won by a slam dunking legend.

[narrator] In July 1988,

NBA stars
of the Atlanta Hawks,

found themselves
behind the Iron Curtain,

playing a series
of exhibition games
in the USSR.

Game 2 was held
in the basketball mad country
of Lithuania.

[Jim] It was
a real barn burner.

This is a real
hard fought competition.

This Soviet team,
these guys were not pushovers.

[narrator]
On the Atlanta Hawks,

was All Star
Dominique Wilkins,

one of the greatest
slam dunkers in NBA history.

There were moments
where our jaws dropped,

because we were so impressed
by the opportunities created,

the bravery
and the athleticism

that we haven't seen
or faced before.

[Sascha] The Soviet team
just kept coming back.

They were known
for their extraordinary level
of physical condition.

After a nail biting match,
the buzzer went,
ending the game.

And the score
was knotted at 92-92.

[Jim] Now it was time
for another shock
for the American team.

The Soviets thought,
"Okay, that's fine.

"The game's a tie.
Isn't that nice?"

And the Americans were saying,

"There's no ties
in basketball."

[Sascha] Eventually,
the Soviets relented,

and they agreed
to extend the match
into overtime.

[narrator] At this point,

NBA legend Dominique Wilkins
took the initiative.

Then in overtime,

their biggest star,
Dominique Wilkins,
took the ball,

and in a short time
scored 8 points.

And after
a very intense fight,
won the game.

The final score
was Hawks, 110.

USSR, 105.

[narrator] The Hawks' victory
was a highlight
for this facility.

But soon after, the palace
became the focal point

for a rising
independence movement.

The Soviet house of cards
came tumbling down.

[Jim] After the fall
of the Soviet Union,

Lithuania is broke.

And they don't have
the money to support

their reconstructed
national basketball team .

[Sascha] The 1992 Olympics
were coming up,

and it was the first time
in almost half a century

for Lithuania to play
its favorite national sport
as an independent country,

Gintaras was
one of the players

who answered
the fledgling nation's call.

[translating] The team
came to play
for their country for nothing,

for no salary.

[narrator] As well as
playing for free,

the team desperately searched
for sponsors to help them
fulfill their dreams

of representing their country
at the Olympics.

And this becomes
kind of a cause celebre
for many people in the US.

A lot of NBA players
thought very fondly

of the Lithuanians
and their team.

So they lobbied to raise money
to help them compete.

[Jim] The Grateful Dead,
of all bands,

takes an interest
in the plight
of the Lithuanian team.

They contribute money
for new uniforms,

and hire a great designer
to design this new kit.

[translating] It was
an incredible experience
to play for Lithuania,

wearing the T-shirt
that said, "Lithuania."

[Sascha] At the Olympics,
the Lithuanian team
did really well.

They made it all the way
to the semi-finals.

[Jim] It's only when they
come up against
the American Dream Team

that they're defeated.

In the end,
they came away
with the bronze.

[translating] We had
a huge motivation
to become better,

and we wanted to show that
to the whole world.

Olympic Games
and becoming independent
gave us that chance.

[narrator] This was
a turning point

for Lithuanian
basketball players,

proving themselves
on an international stage.

Arvydas Sabonis
was one of
the first Lithuanians

to join the NBA.

First drafted in 1986,

the Soviets refused to let him
leave for the US.

It wasn't until
nearly a decade later,

that he finally
joined the league.

But players like Sabonis
helped pave the way
for the many Lithuanians,

including his son,
to become NBA stars.

And although the palace
fell into disrepair

and closed in 2004,

the match
against the Atlanta Hawks

is fondly remembered
as the high point
of this stadium's history.

I was in the peak years
as an active athlete,

looking at those players
who played like that
gives you motivation.

And that match
is the most memorable for me.

[narrator]
In the English village
of Clipstone,

a towering structure
stirs memories

of a fateful battle
with a powerful leader.

[man] We're in the center
of England,
near the city of Nottingham.

It feels quiet and rural.

[man 2] On what looks like
the village green,

are two enormous
metal monuments
reaching into the sky.

[man] It feels quite odd
that these vast structures

are marooned
in the middle of a field.

Could this have once been part
of a much larger operation?

[narrator] Delving into
the bowels of this beast,

a strange sight
appears underground.

[man 2] Directly beneath
the tower,

is a large circular pad,

possibly concealing something.

[man] Exploring this place,
you'd have no idea

of the riches
that are buried beneath it,

or the controversies
that would surround them.

[man 3] This structure
symbolizes one
of the greatest

social battles
in Britain's history.

It was a brutal fight
between capitalism
and socialism.

Margaret Thatcher
verses the trade unions.

Many have never forgiven
the Iron Lady.

[narrator] For nearly
30 years,

Doug Broadfoot
relied on this facility
for his livelihood.

When Doug first worked here,
this was part of an industry

Britain couldn't
function without.

Coal had powered
the Industrial Revolution,

and hundreds of coal mines
were scattered
across the land.

[man] So much so,
that in the 19th century

it was mining two-thirds
of the world's coal.

[narrator] This is
the Clipstone colliery.

When it opened in 1922,
it proved to be
a coal mining powerhouse.

It quickly became
one of the most
productive mines in Britain,

extracting more than
4000 tons per day
by the 1940s.

[narrator] But this was
a decade of dramatic change.

In 1947,

as part of the post
World War 2 shakeup,

the coal industry
was nationalized.

The first day of a new era.

Its new owner
was the British government,

and they wouldn't always
see eye to eye
with the powerful trade union,

which represented
around a million miners.

[Dominic] The National Union
of Mine Workers, or N.U.M,

who had long represented
miners across the country,
supported the nationalization.

But eventually,
the two sides would come
to an almighty clash.

[narrator] In the 1950s,

these two giant towers,
or head stalks,
were installed.

At the time,
they were the tallest
in Europe

and allowed access
to deeper coal seams.

An elevator shaft
would take the men

more than
3000 feet underground.

[Rob] The elevator
could travel up to
27 miles per hour.

Just imagine hurtling
at that speed for that long,

down towards
the center of the Earth.

[narrator] And down
in the depths,

the conditions were brutal.

You could be killed
by cave-ins,
dangerous gases, fire.

And even a condition
called black lung.

[Doug speaking]

[narrator] Despite
digging deeper
to save their jobs,

by the 1980s,
Doug and his colleagues

were increasingly in fear
of the mine closing down.

Coal was being replaced
by new energy sources,

such as nuclear, gas, and oil.

[Rob] By 1984,
the number of British miners

had fallen from over a million
50 years earlier,

to barely 200,000.

[Luke] As the numbers
of unemployed rose,

the miner's union
was gradually becoming
more radical in its outlook.

[Rob] More and more pits
were being closed,

setting the stage
for an almighty war
between the miners

and a new Prime Minister
famous for getting
her own way.

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher
was elected prime minister.

She planned
to close inefficient mines,

and begin to depend
on cheaper imports.

[Rob] She also believed that
trade unions like the N.U.M
had too much power.

She became determined
to break their influence.

[narrator] Ready for battle.

In March 1984,

Thatcher announced
a new wave of pit closures,

with the loss of 20,000 jobs.

It triggered a strike
which quickly spread
around the country.

Miners arrived at Clipstone,

to find picket lines
of strikers,

blocking them
from going to work.

[Doug speaking]

[narrator] Initially,
three-quarters of miners
across the country

joined the strike.

At Clipstone, Doug himself
was in the minority

as most chose
to continue working.

[Dominic] Thatcher
seized on this by idolizing
the working miners,

describing them as heroes
who simply wanted
to go to work

rather than submit
to the threats
of the strikers.

Reports appear of those
who have been intimidated

because they seek
to go to their place of work,

-to pursue their occupation
and to support their family.
-[crowd applauding]

[crowd clamoring]

[narrator] As well as
attempting to divide
the miners,

Thatcher mobilized
an army of police.

The dispute was threatening
to escalate into all-out war.

[dramatic instrumental music]

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] In 1984,

Clipstone coal mine
was at the heart

of a battle between
British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher

and the coal miners' union,
or NUM.

The Iron Lady
unleashed an army of police
to crush a national strike

and break the pickets.

[Rob] They set up roadblocks
throughout Nottinghamshire

to prevent any suspected
strikers from traveling.

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] Clipstone
continued to operate
under police protection,

and the entire village
was locked down.

[Doug speaking]

[Luke] Some
criticized Thatcher
for using the police

as a paramilitary wing
of the state.

[Doug speaking]

[narrator] Scenes of violence
played out on TV screens
every night,

shocking the British public.

[newsreader] Nearly 300
were arrested

and more than 200 pickets
and policemen injured.

But an ugly streak of violence

has disfigured
our television screens
night after night.

[narrator] Many strikers
felt the police
were unnecessarily brutal,

with beatings
and random arrests,

something Doug
personally witnessed.

[Doug speaking]

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] Thatcher
had also changed the law

so that strikers' families
were prevented from receiving
emergency benefits.

[reporter] The Leightons
and other striking families
have flocked together

to make sure
they have all they need.

[narrator] The families
of strikers like Doug

were forced to rely
on the NUM's
charity soup kitchens.

[Rob] But the union's
charity funds
had almost run out.

More and more desperate miners
were starting to return
to work.

[narrator] The strike
had lasted an entire year.

In the years after the strike,
the pace of closures
was accelerated,

with many pit villages
falling into deep poverty.

[narrator] Clipstone survived
this turbulent period
and continued operating,

but with
a much smaller workforce,

before closing down in 2003.

Today, there are just
a handful of coal mines
in Britain

employing less than
500 people.

But Clipstone
is set to find new life

as an event center and museum.

In southwest Tennessee,

a monolithic structure
towers over a city
with a proud musical heritage.

[instrumental country music]

[Hadley] Memphis
is a bustling town
on the Mississippi River,

and it's filled
with country music
and blues and jazz.

And it's a really vibrant,
happening city.

More than anything,
it is known as the birthplace
of rock 'n' roll.

Right in the heart of it all
is this towering monolith.

It is an imposing structure.

It looks strong and sturdy.

Trying to piece together
what this place was used for
isn't easy.

There are dentist's chairs,
old medical equipment,

signs for attorneys' offices,
collection offices,

There's even a bathroom
with leopard print wallpaper
on the walls.

[narrator] Once known
as the Queen of Memphis,

this place attracted
rock 'n' roll royalty.

[Stuart] He had
a company called Stars Inc.
on the 19th floor,

and he was the manager
of Elvis Presley
and Johnny Cash.

[Michele] This was
the biggest, the best,

the most luxurious building
Memphis had ever seen.

[narrator] It was designed
as a monument to success,

but its founders sowed
the seeds of its destruction
at its inception.

[Alicia]
This is where they made
a crucial mistake,

and it was one
that would haunt the building
for the rest of its life.

[dramatic instrumental music]

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] Like many locals,

Stuart Harris was drawn
to the mystery of this vast,
cavernous structure.

He still remembers
the day it was closed down.

[Stuart] The building
was abandoned
when I was nine years old.

And I always wondered
what was going on in there.

It stood out to me
as being very unique.

It felt almost like
a 30-story haunted house.

[narrator]
While it looks monolithic,

it's packed full of surprises.

[Stuart] So, after decades
of wondering what the inside
looked like,

I had an opportunity
to visit it.

And it was so mysterious
and, in some ways,
not at all what I expected.

When it was built,
this lobby was neo-Gothic.

It was very grand.

High ceilings,
bronze rosettes,
leaded glass.

No expense spared.

[narrator] The concept
was a city within a city.

An office block
that had everything
a worker might need,

all housed in one building.

[Stuart] It had a cigar stand,
a newsstand, barber shop,
beauty shop,

lawyers, dentists, doctors,
everything you could
possibly imagine.

[narrator]
$2.5 million were pumped
into its construction,

which began in 1928.

Its owners
were two wealthy Texans,

Ross S. Sterling
and Wyatt Hedrick.

They decided
to merge their last names,

and the Sterick Building
was born.

900 offices
accommodating 5,000
office workers,

spread across 29 floors.

It was born
in the Roaring Twenties...

[upbeat jazz music]

...an era sometimes known as
the Jazz Age.

[Hadley] Memphis
is absolutely booming,

and it's the center
of the cotton trade.

Between 1880 and 1920,
over 70% of the cotton
in America

was harvested
within 200 miles of Memphis.

And that meant a lot of money,
and a lot of jobs,

and a lot of new buildings.

[narrator] This real estate
boom was seized on
by Sterling and Hedrick.

And being Texans,
and Texans either go big
or go home,

they decided they were gonna
make a splash,

and they picked
the busiest corner
in central downtown,

the corner of Madison
and Third Street,

which is now BB King.

One of the things
they added were
eight high-speed elevators.

These elevators were manned
by eight ladies in dresses
and bows

who would greet visitors

and act almost as a concierge
to take them to whatever floor
they were visiting.

By the '40s and '50s,
this building is absolutely
at full occupancy.

[narrator] Among
these occupants

were some famous
rock 'n' rollers,

[narrator] A dilapidated tower
in Memphis,

designed as a city
within a city,

once hosted an eclectic mix
of businesses.

Sterick was home
to lots of local
radio stations,

and it was also where
Bob Neal, a famous early DJ,

had his offices and studios.

He had a company
called Stars Inc.
on the 19th floor,

and he was the manager
of Elvis Presley
and Johnny Cash.

[narrator] He set up
the King's first live
performance here in Memphis

and put on local variety shows

where you can see
these soon-to-be
global superstars

for just 50 cents a ticket.

[Stuart] Bob helped Elvis
found Elvis Presley
Enterprises,

and is the managing company
of Graceland,

Elvis's mansion
in South Memphis.

[narrator] But with Elvis
clearly heading
for the big time,

Neal, tired of life
on the road,

decided not to renew
his contract,

and the now-infamous
Colonel Tom Parker took over.

Times were good, and the owner
of the Empire State Building
bought the tower.

But urban depopulation
that impacted cities
across America

in the 1960s and '70s

was compounded in Memphis

by the assassination
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
in 1968.

[dramatic instrumental music]

[Alicia] As more people
began to leave the city
and move to the suburbs

or take
their offices elsewhere,

it really began
this process of a death
by a thousand cuts.

[narrator] In 1973,
the bank foreclosed
on the property,

and it was taken back
by the lender.

This brought attention
to the original contract

signed by Sterling
and Hedrick in 1926.

And it was
far from conventional.

[Hadley] So, incredibly,
they didn't buy the land

where their skyscraper
would be.

They simply leased it
for 99 years.

[Stuart] If anyone wanted
to make improvements
to this building,

why would they wanna do that
when, in 2025,

all of the improvements,
every dime they spent
on the building,

would go
entirely back to the family
that owned the land.

No one was willing
to make that investment.

[narrator] But Stuart is part
of an ownership group

that has managed
to break the curse
of the 99-year lease.

[Stuart] In 2023,

we were able
to come to an agreement
with all parties

to dissolve
the entire lease structure

and create a fee simple
structure of ownership,

so that lease
is no longer standing.

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] Plans are under way
to convert the tower
into an apartment block

combined with hotels
and restaurants.

[Stuart] We really hope
that it's gonna be
a catalytic project

that really radiates
activity from here
around the neighborhood,

and really affects the core
of downtown Memphis.

[tense instrumental music]

[narrator] On the outskirts
of Kuala Terengganu
in eastern Malaysia

the bustling urban sprawl
quickly gives way to nature.

[Alexis] You don't have to
stray too far from the city

before things
start getting very remote.

I'm talking hot, dense jungle.

[Sascha] In a small clearing
set back from a winding river,

you come across
a curious collection
of wooden buildings.

[narrator] Seven
different structures
set on stilts

are connected by walkways.

[Alexis] The construction
looks old-fashioned,

but the fact that it's made
of timber makes it really hard
to date it.

[narrator]
In this tropical climate,

nature is rapidly reclaiming
what once belonged
to the jungle.

[Katherine]
So, some of the planks
have rotted away.

The structure
is starting to collapse.

And it's just really hard
to tell what it was used for.

[Lucienne Loh] However,
when you enter the building,

there are surprising signs
of modernity.

You look around and you see
beautifully tiled bathrooms,

a fridge,
even an air conditioning unit.

It's also filled
with the remnants
of what looks to be, perhaps,

some textile industry.

[Katherine] This was much more
than just a home.

This was one man's dream
to safeguard
his nation's heritage.

[narrator] But when
tragedy struck,

his vision was shattered.

[intriguing
instrumental music]

[Syed Mohd Hanafiah]
I first came here in 1992.

There was nothing
but the jungle.

[narrator] Syed Hanafiah
is a carpenter

and helped construct
this complex
with Tengku Ismail,

the man behind
a bold and unusual vision.

[Hanafiah] Tengku Ismail
was warm and friendly
to the people,

approachable and very easy
to talk to.

[narrator] He may have been
a man of the people,

but he came from royalty.

Tengku actually means prince,
which is what he was.

He was a prince of the local
Terengganu royal family.

[narrator] While
his great grandfather,
Sultan Zainal Abidin III

had ruled over the entire
Terengganu province,

Ismail was far removed
from the direct line
to the throne.

[Alexis] Tengku Ismail
was born in the 1950s,

and being the second cousin
to the ruling sultan,

you know, he was in no danger
of becoming king.

But he still grew up
with all the trappings

of being
in an aristocratic family.

[narrator] That included
living in his great
grandfather's royal palace.

There, he fell in love
with the traditional Malay
architecture and culture,

including songket,

a traditional cloth
sewn in silk or cotton,

then highlighted with gold
or silver thread

to create
a silky metallic fabric.

[Alexis] In 1970,
that passion took him
to the Osaka Expo in Japan,

where he not only
represented Malaysia,

but he also displayed
the songket cloth
for the world.

[narrator] While in Japan,
he took the opportunity
to visit the Nijo-jo Palace,

built in 1603.

It was
a transformative moment.

[Loh] He was so impressed
by what he saw

and the way that these wooden
structures were preserved

that he decided
he would do the same thing
for his own cultural heritage.

[intriguing
instrumental music]

[Hanafiah] Tengku Ismail
once lamented to me

that the traditional
Terengganu houses
were going extinct.

He wanted to preserve them.

[narrator] So, he decided
to salvage traditional
Terengganu homes

and unify them
into one structure.

to imitate
an 18th century royal palace,

just like the one
he grew up in.

The ambitious project
was called Pura Tanjung Sabtu,

which is a combination
of the local village name

and the word for palace.

In 1992, he began
scouring Terengganu

for these traditional
wooden houses.

These very old houses
are put together
with no nails, no screws.

It's just been
all cut and built
by very skilled workers.

So, what he has to do
is take them all apart,

transport them to his space

and, then,
put them all together.

[Sascha] So, the carpenters
have to be extremely skilled

at cutting
the different wooden pieces,

so they slide together
and fit snugly without seam
or lock.

[narrator] Part of
Ismail's project

was attempting to revive
his beloved songket.

[Alexis] On the ground floor,
he had an entire area

dedicated to the manufacture
and display of the fabric.

[narrator] When complete
in 1996,

it opened
as his personal residence,

but also a museum and a hotel.

[sweeping instrumental music]

And in 2007, his efforts
appeared to have paid off.

He was nominated
for the Aga Khan
Architecture Award.

The awards
celebrate design excellence

in societies
with predominantly
Muslim populations.

[Sascha] Tengku Ismail
described it

as one of the happiest moments
of his life.

Finally, it seemed
as if everything
was coming together.

[narrator] In June, 2011,
the prince traveled to London

for a popular international
weaving exhibition.

Held at the School
of Traditional Arts,

and supported
by King Charles III's
charitable foundation,

his songket collection
was a central feature.

But, tragically, the prince
died of a heart attack
before he left London,

and his beloved palace
has since fallen
into disrepair.

[Sascha] There was some talk
of turning it into
a heritage site

that tourists could visit.

But until someone's willing
to fund that enterprise,

it will continue to decompose.