All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E17.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator] A once
lavish theater that saw
the house brought down.

[Landdeck] The decibels
were so crazy loud

that they were doing
physical damage
to the building.

[narrator] An ancient city
with a poisonous secret.

[Selwood] Those who
approached the deadly grotto
dropped dead immediately,

and were dragged away
to the underworld.

[narrator] And a war-torn
shell, given new purpose
by a blockbuster series.

[Pedrick] No spoilers,
but once you see it,
you can't unsee it.

[narrator] Decaying relics,
ruins of lost worlds,

sights haunted by the past,

they're secrets
waiting to be revealed.

they're secrets
waiting to be revealed.

On Cleveland's
Lorain Avenue,
is a forgotten treasure.

[Landdeck] There's some
older homes, there's
some empty storefronts,

and it's all just a little
bit run down.

and it's all just a little
bit run down.

[Mabry] Then you see
this marquee with the word,
"Variety" on it.

This could only be a theater.

[narrator] Despite
it's modern sign, the interior
has seen better days.

[Meigs] When you step
inside, it's like you're
going back in time.

[Mabry] You have
turnstiles, massive mirrors,
rusting machinery.

[Landdeck] There's plaster
that's peeling off the walls,

there's giant chandeliers.

[Meigs] The main hall
is kind of a beautiful wreck,

but clearly in its heyday,
this was quite the place.

[narrator] Having
entertained generations
in majestic surroundings,

a surprising event
would spell its downfall.

[Mabry] It was deafening.

I mean, there were
chunks of the ceiling,

literally raining down
on top of the crowd.

[Landdeck] The only
way he could stop it

was to run in and pull
the breaker, ending the power
for the whole thing.

was to run in and pull
the breaker, ending the power
for the whole thing.

[narrator] Rose Zitiello first
came to the Variety Theatre
more than 35 years ago.

[Zitiello] Past
the turnstiles here

where you would
have given the, uh,
attendant your ticket,

you would have walked
into this inner lobby.

And this is where
the concessions
were sold,

so the popcorn,
and the beverages.

[narrator] When
it opened in 1927,

[narrator] When
it opened in 1927,

the huge main auditorium
was the height of luxury.

[Zitiello] This
would have been
one of the aisles

to walk to one of your seats.

There was 1,900 seats
in this main floor.

You can still see some
of the velvet curtains,

and wall treatments still
hanging on the walls here.

[narrator] The house
was regularly packed out

to see the latest
vaudeville shows.

[Mabry] Vaudeville acts
included musicians, singers,
trained animals, magicians.

[Mabry] Vaudeville acts
included musicians, singers,
trained animals, magicians.

[Meigs] People
would pay their nickel
or dime at the door,

and get an evening of what
was literally, a variety show,
a little bit of everything.

[narrator] But the theater
hadn't only been designed
for live performances.

Vaudeville was competing
against a new and exciting
medium, moving pictures.

[Zitiello] So to my right,
here, is where
the magic happens.

It... This is the Peerless
Magnarc high intensity lamp.

It... This is the Peerless
Magnarc high intensity lamp.

[Landdeck] The first
film that they opened

at the Variety Theatre
was Hula with Clara Bow.

[Meigs] She was a big sex
symbol, and this movie
was a little controversial.

[Landdeck] She swims nude
in a lagoon, she wears pants,

she does a little striptease
behind a bush.

She's trying to seduce
a married man and wins,

which is not the way
it's supposed to turn out.

which is not the way
it's supposed to turn out.

[Zitiello] The crowd
was standing clear around
118th, up 119th

to get in this theater
to see that show.

[narrator] When movies
went from silent to talkies
in the late 1920's,

even more people
were drawn to the Variety,

and its success
attracted
a new owner.

The Warner Brothers studio
decided to buy it in 1929.

[Mabry] This
was right in the middle
of Hollywood's golden age,

[Mabry] This
was right in the middle
of Hollywood's golden age,

and everyone would
come to the Variety to see
the latest blockbuster movie.

[narrator] After decades
of entertaining the people
of Cleveland,

vast social and cultural
changes in the late 1940's

began to undermine
its success.

[Meigs] During this period,

a lot of the American middle
class was moving out of center
cities and out to the suburbs.

That spelled a real
problem for these great,
old downtown theaters.

That spelled a real
problem for these great,
old downtown theaters.

[Mabry] With multiplex
cinemas opening out
of the city center,

with multiple screens,
several movies playing,

the Variety just
couldn't compete.

[narrator] At the same time,
a new form of entertainment
was gaining the upper hand.

With the rise of television,
people were stayin' in,

and just weren't goin'
to the theater anymore.

[Meigs] They could see
great entertainers,
in their own living rooms.

[Meigs] They could see
great entertainers,
in their own living rooms.

[narrator] In 1954,
Warner Brothers
sold the theater,

and the coming decades
would see its fortunes
decline yet further.

[Mabry] The theater
was sold to different owners,

and it was really
startin' to fall apart.

[narrator] But
it wouldn't
go out quietly.

In 1976, a new owner
bought the Variety

with a plan
to reverse
its fortunes.

A burgeoning music scene
would provide him with a much
needed revenue stream.

[Zitiello] During the 80's,
there was quite
a Cleveland presence

of independent labels,
and, uh, punk rock bands,

and they actually found a home
here at the Variety Theatre.

[Meigs] Through the 80's,

the theater hosted
a whole series
of rock concerts, bands,

everything
from R.E.M.
to Metallica.

[narrator] One of these
shows would go down
in music history.

[Zitiello] One of the most
infamous events was
on December 2, 1984.

And on that evening,
everybody knew that
Motorhead was playing here.

There were at least 1,900
people on the main floor,

and a couple hundred
people more in the balcony.

[Landdeck] Now this
is a band that is proud
of how loud they are.

[Landdeck] Now this
is a band that is proud
of how loud they are.

[Meigs] The band's
volume reached a literally,
ear-splitting 130 decibels.

Which would have
set the record

as the loudest rock
performance ever measured,

beating a previous
performance by The Who.

[Mabry] They played song
after song at top volume,

and the audience kept wanting
more, so they kept playing.

[narrator] But the thunderous
noise of the band
inside this aging theater,

was a recipe for disaster.

[narrator] On the night
of December 2, 1984,
heavy metal band, Motorhead

were playing to a packed
auditorium at Cleveland's
Variety Theatre.

Their record-breaking
volume would literally
bring the house down.

The performance was so loud
that chunks of plaster
were falling from the ceiling.

The performance was so loud
that chunks of plaster
were falling from the ceiling.

[Zitiello] The maintenance
man sees the plaster falling,
and at that moment

he doesn't know if it's just
superficial plaster falling,
is it a structural problem,

does he have to get
this crowd outta here?

[Meigs] He tried to get
the band to turn down
to no avail.

[Landdeck]
They were loud,
they were proud,

they were gonna be
as loud as they could.

And it finally got so bad
that he went and he just
pulled the breaker,

and shut the whole thing down.

and shut the whole thing down.

[narrator] The damage
to the ceiling was,
in fact, only superficial,

but the fallout
wasn't over yet.

Incensed by the noise,
local residents took action.

[Meigs] They began
to complain, file lawsuits,

and eventually
the theater had to stop
hosting rock shows.

[Landdeck] One
of the neighbors
actually recorded

one of the concerts
from their house.

one of the concerts
from their house.

And it was so loud that they
could listen to every word,

and every beat
that was going on.

And they used that recording
as a tool to go to court
to shut the whole thing down.

[narrator] The theater
limped on until closing

as an entertainment
venue in 1990,

after struggling
to survive without
the income from live music.

Today, thanks to a dedicated
group of local campaigners,

Today, thanks to a dedicated
group of local campaigners,

the future looks bright
for the Variety Theatre.

[Landdeck] And they're
really enthusiastic

about saving this building
that was once so beautiful.

And making it, really
at the heart of a rebirth
of this neighborhood.

[Zitiello] With modern
technology, and sound
attenuation measures,

the theater can now
be restored for live music.

And without upsetting
our neighbors.

And without upsetting
our neighbors.

[narrator] Hidden
on the Italian
island of Sicily

are traces
of a bitter conflict.

[Nubia] So this
is an idyllic
part of Sicily,

looking out towards
the Mediterranean Sea.

[Auerbach] A modern
road cuts its way
through the countryside,

and there's a dusty rise.

and there's a dusty rise.

And if you look closely,
it seems there's something
built into the hillside.

[Nusbacher] Somebody has built
infrastructure to defend this
place against a modern attack.

[narrator] 50 miles east
is a church that at first,

doesn't appear to bare
any scars of this conflict.

[Nubia] Like
a subterranean
world, another Sicily

lays under this church.

[Nusbacher] You see
evidence of ancient devotion,
ancient fear of death,

and then airplanes.

[Auerbach] Although these
places are 50 miles apart,

they were part
of a make or break
moment in the war.

[narrator] This moment relied
on a grand deception.

Unlike anything that
had been attempted before.

[Nusbacher] Nobody would ever
believe somebody could try
something so desperate,

[Nusbacher] Nobody would ever
believe somebody could try
something so desperate,

and that's just what
they were counting on.

[narrator] Roberto
Piccione, is a historian

who has lived in the ancient
walled city of Syracuse
for more than 50 years.

This is the church
of San Filippo in the middle
of the old Jewish quarter,

and underground, there
is something special.

and underground, there
is something special.

[Auerbach] It seems
to be going
down and down

until you're in this, this
labyrinth that might stretch
underneath the entire city.

[Piccione] About 2,000 years
ago, this was an aqueduct,
a Greek aqueduct.

[narrator] But there are signs

that these tunnels were put
to a very different use
nearly two millennia later.

[Piccione] Here we can see
a Messerschmitt, German
plane, an Italian plane,

[Piccione] Here we can see
a Messerschmitt, German
plane, an Italian plane,

and a Stuka.

And here we can
see a parachute.

This kind of draw
just described what
the people saw everyday.

[narrator] From early 1943,

they saw their city
mercilessly bombed
by the Allies,

and fled to these catacombs
to wait out the onslaught.

and fled to these catacombs
to wait out the onslaught.

[Nubia] It must have been
terrible to have been
in these air raid shelters,

and to hear the sounds
of war all around you.

And to be afraid of the bomb
that lands to the side of you,

may in a minute, land
right on top of you.

[narrator] After
months of terror,

on the night of July 9th,
the cacophony ended.

So when the bombs stopped,

uh, I think that the people
asked themselves
now what is going to happen?

uh, I think that the people
asked themselves
now what is going to happen?

And what happened
was the invasion.

[narrator] 50 miles west,
Italian troops tasked
with defending a key route

into the islands interior,
waited nervously
in the Ponte Dirillo bunkers.

[Piccione] Here we are inside
the Ponte Dirillo position,

and here there were
about 30 men.

and here there were
about 30 men.

We had only light defense,

so machine gun,
and gun, and there was
only one small cannon.

[narrator] The soldiers
here were about to face

the largest Allied invasion
force deployed in the war.

Yet, this place
was barely defended,

and is one of the few remnants
of Axis defenses on Sicily.

You have to ask
the question, why do
the Nazis fortify France

ahead of the 1944 invasion?

But they're not nearly
as intensive about
fortifying Sicily?

[narrator] It can, in part,
be explained by a daring
Allied deception.

[Auerbach] You have
a dead body released
from a submarine,

[Auerbach] You have
a dead body released
from a submarine,

fake documents,
it's really like something
out of a James Bond film.

[narrator] In 1943,
with the Nazis desert army
defeated in Tunisia,

Allied military strategists
were looking for a way
to invade fortress Europe.

[Auerbach] The only
problem was that the Italian
and German forces

knew that the Allied attack

would have to come
somewhere along
the Southern European coast.

would have to come
somewhere along
the Southern European coast.

[narrator] Sicily was
the obvious choice,

but a battle against
a concentrated Axis force,
could be disastrous.

So the Allies turned
to deception on a grand scale.

Operation Mincemeat.

[Nusbacher] A Spanish
fisherman, fishing off
the southern coast of Spain,

pulls a badly decomposed
dead body out of the water.

pulls a badly decomposed
dead body out of the water.

And the body
is wearing the battle dress
of a Royal Marine major.

[Nubia] He had
on his person,
a number of plans.

[Auerbach] When
the German commanders
heard about this discovery,

they thought they
had hit the jackpot.

This was worth
its weight in gold.

[Nusbacher] What
the Germans
have got is a plan

for the invasion
of Southern Europe

through Greece
and the Balkans,
and it's a lie.

through Greece
and the Balkans,
and it's a lie.

[narrator] The bogus
plans said that any troops
moving towards Sicily

were simply a decoy.

[Nubia] The Axis powers
moved their attention
away from Sicily,

and many of their
armaments, too.

And they weren't ready
for an attack there.

[Auerbach] You had two panzer
divisions being relocated
from the Eastern Front.

You had seven divisions set up
in Greece, you had another
ten set up in the Balkans.

You had seven divisions set up
in Greece, you had another
ten set up in the Balkans.

It was a massive
redistribution of forces

for an invasion that was
gonna come in a completely
different place.

[narrator] Sicily's physical
defenses were also neglected.

The bunkers at Ponte Dirillo
are one of the few remaining
signs of war on the island.

[Nubia] It doesn't appear
as if it's a place ready

to defend itself
from a major assault,
and it wasn't.

to defend itself
from a major assault,
and it wasn't.

[narrator] July 9, 1943,
in the dead of night

thousands of Allied
paratroopers descend
onto the island.

Their mission,
to secure key positions
like Ponte Dirillo.

The Americans landed
from, uh, from these hills
that we can see in front.

There was a total
of about 100 paratroopers
from different groups

There was a total
of about 100 paratroopers
from different groups

that attacked
this strongpoint.

All these marks
are American bullets
everywhere.

[Auerbach] After
a very short,
but fierce battle,

they manage to capture
the bunker complex.

It was supposed
to take an entire infantry
regiment to capture this,

but that hadn't even
landed in Sicily yet.

[narrator] When the main
landing force arrived
on the nearby beaches,

Axis opposition
on Sicily's southern shores
was soon washed away.

[Piccione] They had witnesses,

like my father
told me that it was
impossible to see the sea.

Everywhere there were landing
craft, mercenary ships.

[Auerbach] Over
the next three days,
the invasion involved

3,000 ships,
150,000 Allied troops,
and 4,000 aircraft.

3,000 ships,
150,000 Allied troops,
and 4,000 aircraft.

And opposing them was
a relatively modest German
force of only two divisions.

The German leadership still
thought that the main attack
was gonna come elsewhere.

[narrator] In just under
six weeks of bitter fighting,

the entire island
was controlled
by Allied troops.

[Auerbach] Operation
Mincemeat wasn't
the only reason

that the Axis were defeated
in Sicily, but it was a really
important aspect of it.

that the Axis were defeated
in Sicily, but it was a really
important aspect of it.

[Nusbacher] They don't have
an easy time of it, but they
have a much easier time

than if the Germans
had concentrated force
there to stop them.

[narrator] The success
of this invasion helped
turn the tide of the war.

[Nubia] For the first time,
the Allies were beginning
to take back Europe.

[narrator] Today, a memorial
stands at Ponte Dirillo

in tribute to the U.S. troops
who gave their lives there.

For Roberto, these sacrifices
must never be forgotten.

[Piccione] It doesn't matter
if they were British,
American, Italian or German.

They were young
guys that lose
their life in Sicily.

So it's important
to remember
this part of history

for avoid that this
will not happen again.

for avoid that this
will not happen again.

[narrator] In Croatia,
on the outskirts of Dubrovnik,

is a once opulent
structure that fell victim
to tragic circumstance.

[Bell] Just a short distance
from one of the oldest
cities in Europe,

perched on the side
of a cliff, is a very big,

perched on the side
of a cliff, is a very big,

and very modern
looking building.

It doesn't appear
to be in too bad shape,

but the closer you get,
you realize that's not
at all the case.

The whole thing's
an absolute mess.

[narrator] Amidst
the destruction are traces
of a glorious past.

[Wawro] There seems
to be sorta this
panoramic restaurant,

and then a terrace
with swimming pool.

[Pedrick] Inside
all the rooms
look identical,

[Pedrick] Inside
all the rooms
look identical,

and they've been stripped
bare, except for a few broken
toilets, and old bathtubs.

[Bell] But the views
out are still fantastic.

It's picture postcard stuff
everywhere you look.

[Wawro] You can tell
in its day this place
was spectacular!

[narrator] Yet,
the architectural style

suggests a building
only four decades old.

[Bell] And that makes
you think that
something very sudden,

[Bell] And that makes
you think that
something very sudden,

and quite terrible
happened here.

[narrator] But from the ruins,
a pop culture legend was born.

[Pedrick] A lot of people
know Dubrovnik from the series
Game of Thrones.

[Bell] This is where one
of the most shocking scenes

in the entire
series was filmed.

[narrator] In the Croatian
city of Dubrovnik,
is a once lavish structure.

Ivan Vukovic grew up nearby,
and has many fond memories
of the time he spent here.

This is a place
where I came
with my parents.

It was my playground,
it was a part
of my childhood.

Everybody loved to come here
because it was a pure luxury,

Everybody loved to come here
because it was a pure luxury,

and look at it now.

It's like the days
of glory are over.

[Pedrick] When construction
began in the mid-80's,

Croatia was
actually still a part
of Socialist Yugoslavia,

and it was approaching
a pretty important
juncture in its history.

And this building
has really come
to represent that.

[narrator] Croatia
was one of the wealthier
Yugoslav nations,

[narrator] Croatia
was one of the wealthier
Yugoslav nations,

and this construction
was part of an ambitious plan

to further boost
the local economy.

[Vukovic] It's very unusual
to get something like this

in the times
of the 80's
or before,

because at that time,
everybody had to be equal.

That's some
of the theories
of socialism.

[Pedrick] Under
socialist rule,

the focus was on primary
and secondary industries
like mining and factories.

the focus was on primary
and secondary industries
like mining and factories.

[Bell] This building
was designed to make
money for the country,

but in an entirely
different way.

This was built
to attract wealthy,
Western tourists.

[narrator] This is
the Hotel Belvedere.

It first welcomed
guests in 1985.

[Vukovic] Uh, this place
is one of the rooms

of 200 in total
of Hotel Belvedere.

of 200 in total
of Hotel Belvedere.

I found one list,
who was here, how
much money they spend,

and the date is July 25, 1990.

They are mostly people
coming from the west, Spain,
U.S., United Kingdom.

Croatians never had
a hotel like this.

[Wawro] This place had
everything, it had an indoor
pool, it had an outdoor pool,

[Wawro] This place had
everything, it had an indoor
pool, it had an outdoor pool,

it had international cuisine,
it had a discotheque,
it even had a helipad.

[Pedrick] I mean, imagine
what it would have been like.

Looking out over the Adriatic,
drinking a cocktail,

it must have been fantastic.

[narrator] It wasn't just
wealthy Western tourists lured
in by all the luxury on offer.

[Vukovic] My mother could
come and spend her money

to buy some exclusive
things in exclusive shops,

to buy some exclusive
things in exclusive shops,

and my father was freaking out

while he was sitting
in his tavern just
one deck below.

In its first six years
of operation,

it gained a reputation as one
of Europe's finest hotels.

[narrator] The future
was looking
very bright, indeed.

[Bell] But by 1991, a new
Yugoslav leader was emerging.

[Bell] But by 1991, a new
Yugoslav leader was emerging.

One that would tear
apart the Balkan States,

and usher in the end
of Hotel Belvedere.

[Wawro] Slobodan Milosevic's
idea is that he's gonna
concentrate Yugoslav power

in his own homeland of Serbia
and it's capital, Belgrade.

And he's going to take power
from the other regions,

like Slovenia,
Croatia, Montenegro
and transport it to Serbia.

[Pedrick] As far
as Croatia
was concerned,

there was no way they were
going to let that happen.

there was no way they were
going to let that happen.

They wanted independence.

[Wawro] Civil war ensues,

and there's battling
over every key area,
including Dubrovnik,

which the Serbs
want because
of its tourist potential.

[narrator] At 6:00 a.m.
on October 1, 1991,
the siege of Dubrovnik began.

[Bell] It was attacked
from the land, from the sea,
and from the air

[Bell] It was attacked
from the land, from the sea,
and from the air

by the Yugoslav National Army.

[Vukovic] I remember clearly
that day because it was sunny,

and I asked my mother,
"What is that thunderstorm
coming from the south?"

Because I was a kid,
I was 11 years old,

unfortunately the war started,
hell broke loose.

[narrator] Strategically
positioned on the route
to Dubrovnik's old town,

Croatian troops rushed
to fortify the hotel.

Croatian troops rushed
to fortify the hotel.

[Bell] If Yugoslav troops
broke through here,
the city would fall.

[narrator] In October, 1991,

the Hotel Belvedere had become
a key defensive position
during the siege of Dubrovnik.

Croatian troops were holed
up inside, as the Yugoslav
military advanced.

[Vukovic] There was
lots of direct hits

from the cannons
from their navy,

and lots of the mortars
were falling around.

So when you walk around hotel,

you don't see any,
any window that
is still in one place.

It's all shattered
glass around.

[narrator] Dubrovnik's
vicious bombardment
lasted seven long months.

But the hotel was never
taken by Yugoslav troops.

[Vukovic] We now had
Croatia won the war,

[Vukovic] We now had
Croatia won the war,

so you have to be, like,
relieved, or happy, and then
you see the aftermath.

Many people lost
their lives for freedom.

It was very, very hard
because when the war ends,
it takes time to recover.

Yugoslavia built it,
and then Yugoslavia
destroyed it.

[Wawro] After the war, there's
some thought to restoring
the Hotel Belvedere,

but the damage
was so extensive

that it was decided that
it was just not feasible.

that it was decided that
it was just not feasible.

[narrator] Even after
the bombing stopped,

terrible dangers remained
for many years to come.

[Vukovic] So after
this hotel was abandoned,
this became my playground.

I was playing here in these
bushes, and I saw something
which looked like a toy.

I picked it up, and took
it to my dad's place.

My dad said, "Don't
move, it's not a toy,
it's a cluster bomb."

My dad said, "Don't
move, it's not a toy,
it's a cluster bomb."

There's no need for me
to play any lottery,
to win any jackpots,

because I survived
the cluster bomb.

I think I won my jackpot.
Like 40-something years ago.

[Pedrick] If there's
something eerily familiar
about the amphitheater,

that's because in 2013,
it became the location
for something different,

when Game of Thrones
came to town.

when Game of Thrones
came to town.

[Bell] This is where Oberyn
fought The Mountain
in what was an epic battle.

[Vukovic] The scene
was called "Trial By Combat",

and they'd been fighting
in this area, where all
the extras were cheering,

and being on the side
mostly of Oberyn Martell.

[Pedrick] No spoilers,

but this scene was something
that once you see it,
you can't unsee it.

[narrator] The original
Game of Thrones series
may now be over,

[narrator] The original
Game of Thrones series
may now be over,

but the hotel's final chapter,
is still yet to be written.

[Bell] In 2014,
it was bought
by a Russian oligarch

for 12,000,000 Euros.

And he has plans
to turn this into a grand
seven star hotel,

so it's glory days
may yet still return.

[Vukovic] I would love
to see it brand new.

To look at it through
the brand new window,
brand new balcony,

To look at it through
the brand new window,
brand new balcony,

and still having this
amazing views of the city,
and surrounding areas.

[narrator] In Western Turkey,
mysterious white rocks
jut out over the landscape.

[Mitchell] From afar,
these rocks look
soft and ethereal,

like something out
of a fairy-tale.

[Selwood] It's creased
with stalactites,

and tessellated
with hundreds of pools
of sparkling turquoise water.

[narrator] Though striking,

these rocks are hiding
something even
more extraordinary.

[Selwood] Behind this
glistening hillside is
a whole hidden world.

A world that dates back
over 2,000 years.

[Mitchell] If you just happen
to be driving on the wrong
side of the road,

[Mitchell] If you just happen
to be driving on the wrong
side of the road,

you wouldn't even
know that it existed.

[Bell] It exudes
a mysterious charm.

There are these tumbled
down stone buildings.

[narrator] This city
was once renowned
across the ancient world.

People travelled
hundreds of miles to come
to be buried in this place,

because of the magical
powers people
said it possessed.

This site helps develop one
of the most powerful religions
of the modern world.

[narrator] Until
recently, it has been
shrouded in secrecy.

[narrator] Until
recently, it has been
shrouded in secrecy.

[Selwood] This ancient city
has a poisonous secret,

one that laid buried
for thousands of years.

[narrator] Dr. Inci
Turkoglu is a historian

who has been working
to piece together the truth
about Hierapolis.

[Turkoglu] This is
the modern city gate,

and from it starts
the main artery of the town.

This city was full of people.

This city was full of people.

A lot of textile
business
and industry,

and there was
also a very strong
tourism business.

[narrator] The city grew
because of the mysterious
white rocks that surround it.

[Mitchell] These otherworldly
formations are travertines,
and they're limestone cliffs

that slowly formed
over 400,000 years due
to bubbling mineral springs.

[Selwood] As the water
flows down the hillside,
it degasses,

[Selwood] As the water
flows down the hillside,
it degasses,

leaving behind
a bright white trail
of calcium carbonate.

It's this process that
creates the wonderland
of pools and terraces.

[narrator] Said
to possess
healing powers,

when it came under Roman
rule in the 2nd century, BC,

Hierapolis drew visitors
from across the empire.

[Selwood] This was the health
resort of the ancients.

[Bell] The rich came here
and the frail came here
to spend their final years.

[Mitchell] Because
of this, the necropolis

reflects the cultures
of many different regions.

[Bell] This is one
of the largest cities
of the dead

to have ever existed.

[narrator] But the popularity
of this city had a more
bizarre side to it.

One that has remained
a mystery for centuries.

[Bell] Legend says that this
place houses a mysterious
portal to the underworld,

[Bell] Legend says that this
place houses a mysterious
portal to the underworld,

and apparently,
it's not all just hearsay.

[narrator] Once
a thriving
spa resort,

the ancient city of Hierapolis
in Turkey had a darker
side to its prosperity.

[Selwood] It was said
to be the location
of a gate to hell,

a portal to the underworld.

Where the toxic breath
of the three-headed
hellhound, Cerberus,

Where the toxic breath
of the three-headed
hellhound, Cerberus,

flowed out of the ground.

Claiming unsuspecting
victims on behalf
of his master, Pluto.

[Bell] Legends say,
those who dared
to approach the grotto

dropped dead immediately,
and were taken away
to the underworld.

[narrator] Known
as Pluto's gate,

pilgrims travelled from far
and wide to watch its priests
performing arcane rights.

[Turkoglu] The main,
uh, focus involved sacrifice
of animals, especially bulls,

[Turkoglu] The main,
uh, focus involved sacrifice
of animals, especially bulls,

to the god and goddess.

[Mitchell] An important
part of the ceremony was
dragging in the live animal,

and then dragging out
the dead animal.

[narrator] It wasn't only
animals that entered
this gate to hell,

but the priests themselves.

[Turkoglu] What they did was,
they walked into the cave,
and they came out alive.

And this was very shocking
for the common people,

because no other living
beings came out alive.

[Bell] The priests sold
birds and other animals
to the visitors,

so they could try out
for themselves to see just
how deadly this area was.

[Mitchell] It's hard
to imagine these dramatic
scenes even being real.

Surely, they're just a fable.

[narrator] It's existence
was debated for millennia.

Until a series of miraculous
discoveries were made
in the early 2010's.

[Turkoglu] The head
of excavations
started, uh, surveys,

[Turkoglu] The head
of excavations
started, uh, surveys,

and when they reached, uh,
town, they found the arch,

and they found the, uh,
inscription stating that
it was dedicated to Pluto.

[narrator] The myths were,
indeed, based on fact.

[Turkoglu] There is a round
arched, uh, gate, a doorway,

uh, where the poisonous
gas come out.

And, uh, the would find,
uh, birds fallen dead
on the ground.

And, uh, the would find,
uh, birds fallen dead
on the ground.

[narrator] Though Pluto's
gate existed, one major
mystery remained.

How did the priests survive,
when the animals all died?

The man that solved
the ancient mystery

was a volcano biologist
from Germany.

He discovered that
whereas normal air
contains just .04% CO2,

the air around the shrine
contained 80%.

the air around the shrine
contained 80%.

Just a few minutes
exposure to 10% carbon
dioxide can kill you.

[Selwood] How
the priests survived,
was actually very simple.

They realized
that if they held
their breath while inside,

they survived, while
the animals died.

[narrator] But the grotto's
days were numbered.

A new religion was sweeping
across the Roman Empire,

and Hierapolis was
about to change forever.

[Turkoglu] The building
behind us now, is
the Martyrium of St. Philip,

one of the 12
Apostles of Christ.

Philip challenged
the worshippers
of the serpents

in the nearby temple,
and so he was arrested,
and hung upside down.

According to one story,
the ground, uh, cracked
open, and bystanders

nearby watching this, uh,
execution, also were swallowed
down into the earth.

[narrator] Philp was one
of many of Jesus' followers

[narrator] Philp was one
of many of Jesus' followers

who set out upon
his death to spread
the word of Christianity.

[Turkoglu] At the beginning,
Christianity was somewhat
underground, persecuted,

but finally, in 313,
Constantine The Great,

decided, uh, to give
freedom to Christian faith.

[narrator] With the new
religion, came
the end of the grotto.

[Bell] Christians filled
Pluto's gate with stones,

due to it being a symbolic
location for paganism.

[narrator] Hierapolis
continued to thrive
under Christian belief,

but it was about
to be dealt
a severe blow.

[Mitchell] The very thing
that made this place
so prosperous and renowned,

was the very thing
that destroyed it.

[narrator] In the early
7th century, a massive
earthquake hit the region.

[Turkoglu] In Hierapolis, all
the big monuments fell down,
and many people died.

[Turkoglu] In Hierapolis, all
the big monuments fell down,
and many people died.

It can be considered
ironic that, uh, the reason
for the thermal springs

is the seismic fault line,
and it led to its final
abandonment,

but it's not the only reason.

[narrator] Due
to its position, earthquakes
were inevitable.

But another force was
about to hit Hierapolis,

and this time the city
couldn't bounce back.

and this time the city
couldn't bounce back.

[Selwood] The Ottoman
Army advanced,
and invaded Hierapolis.

By 1334, when yet another
devastating earthquake hit,

Hierapolis was
finally abandoned.

[Bell] With no one here
to maintain the city,
and control the spring waters,

the ruins were slowly
submerged in their own
calcified waters.

[narrator] For centuries,
the city laid buried
and forgotten,

until it was
rediscovered in 1887.

Today, people still
flock to it's hot springs,

but many secrets are believed
to remain hidden
below these white hills.