All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E20.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator]
Vestiges of opulence
in an active no-man's-land.

This ill-fated coup
sealed the fate
of this summer paradise.

[narrator]
Two moldering bastions
with a hopeful tale.

[Michele Mitchell]
These structures
saw slavery at its worst.

But, ended up becoming
constructions of freedom.

[narrator] And, a frozen shell
built on a burning passion.

The whole story had began
with one man's pursuit
of love.

[narrator] Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past,

their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

In Eastern Cyprus
is an entire neighborhood

closed to the world
for decades.

[Lynette Nusbacher]
Famagusta is a lovely city.

But, as you move along
the coast, suddenly,
you get wire,

you get signs telling you
not to go any further,

you get signs telling you
not to go any further,

you feel like
you're in a warzone.

[narrator] Inside
this forbidden zone is a mass
of crumbling concrete.

Several high-rise buildings
face the sea

with these spectacular
seafront views,

they must have been hotels.

[Geoff Wawro]
Behind them, you have these
extensive neighborhoods

of beautiful
middle-class homes
all empty.

[Sascha Auerbach]
Weeds now overrun
the deserted streets,

nature is starting to reclaim
this town.

[narrator] There are
no obvious signs
of war damage.

[narrator] So, what happened
to this once jewel
of the Mediterranean?

[Auerbach] One time,
it's streets were packed
with tourists.

But, one summer,
they were gone and they never
came back again.

[Ata Atun]
Two checkpoints
are still existing.

And, without accessing
from the checkpoints
you cannot enter to Varosha.

[narrator]
Beyond the barricades

lies a warren
of deserted streets
and derelict buildings.

Professor Ata Atun imagined
a very different future

when he was
a young civil engineer
in the early 1970s.

I had to work in this town,

so there are lots of buildings
which I designed

with my brother
who was an architect.

When I come here
I always look at it
with pleasure

with the memories of the past.

[narrator] These are
the petrified relics
of Varosha.

The closed off
southern quarter
of Famagusta City.

[Wawro] Varosha was just
kind of a sleepy, back water,
fishing village.

[Wawro] Varosha was just
kind of a sleepy, back water,
fishing village.

And, because of
the tourist potential
of that stretch of coastline

in the 1960s
it starts getting developed
as a beach resort.

With its modern investment,
with its massive
first-rate hotels,

it started to look
a lot like Miami Beach.

This was where all
the A-listers went,
people like Brigitte Bardot,

Richard Burton,
Elizabeth Taylor.

[narrator] A shopping district
lined with designer boutiques

catered to the rich
and famous.

[Atun] There are
lots of shops,
very nice places

which were selling products
of the well-known companies.

So, Varosha became,
not just a resort,

Varosha became the resort.

[narrator] Yet, beneath
the glamour here,

mistrust had been festering
across the island
for centuries.

mistrust had been festering
across the island
for centuries.

[Nusbacher] In the middle-ages
Cyprus was a Greek island.

But, a sizable
ethnically Turkish population
comes to Cyprus as well.

And, there is off-again,
on-again tension

between the Turkish and Greek
communities in Cyprus.

[narrator] Then, came a moment

that threatened
to bring these tensions
to a brutal climax.

For a long time,
Cyprus was effectively
a British colony.

And, in 1960, Cyprus
gets its independence.

And there is hope,
and there is promise,
and there is joy.

And then, it all goes
a little bit dark.

[narrator] A political
partnership between
the ethnic Greek

and Turkish communities
was established.

But, the islands first
president, Greek Cypriot
Archbishop Makarios

wanted Cyprus
unified with Greece.

In 1963, he proposed
controversial changes
in the constitution

that would bring an end
to the power sharing
arrangements.

The Turkish Cypriots,
naturally, opposed
unification with Greece.

[narrator] A fuse
had been lit.

And, both sides exploded.

This ignited a killing spree
in the capital of Nicosia.

[narrator] Armed factions
roamed the streets.

And, homes and businesses
were looted and set ablaze.

And, homes and businesses
were looted and set ablaze.

In 1964 The United Nations
stepped in

and separated
the capitals Greek
and Turkish communities.

In the aftermath
of this bloody clash,

a buffer zone was created
known as the Green Line.

And, this was patrolled
by UN troops.

[narrator] Like Berlin,
just a few years earlier,
Nicosia became a divided city.

Varosha survived the conflict,
but the stage had been set
for its downfall.

[Auerbach] The buffer zone
created the illusion of peace
on the surface.

But, in July 1974,
when Varosha

would have been
packed with tourists
tensions came to a head.

[narrator] Frustrated
that Cyprus was still divided

the government in Athens
decided to act.

Greek officers lead troops
to the presidential palace
and burned it to the ground.

Their target,
President Makarios,

narrowly escaped
with his life.

[Nusbacher] The people
who are taking over

the Greek dominated government

are openly saying,
that they're going
to seek unification

with the military government
in Greece.

[Auerbach] Five days later,
the Turkish government

[Auerbach] Five days later,
the Turkish government

responded by initiating
Operation Attila,

sending in thousands
of troops to protect
Turkish Cypriot citizens.

The Turkish armed forces
airdrop a thousand

airborne light infantry
into northern Cyprus.

And, there is
an amphibious invasion
of about 3,000

and they move into
northern Cyprus
and eastern Cyprus in force.

[narrator] They would soon
be bearing down on Varosha.

The tourists, they had no idea
what was coming.

[narrator] In 1974,
the tourist mecca of Varosha
was in the path of a war.

After an attempt
to unify Cyprus
under Greek control,

Turkey launched an invasion
code named Operation Attila.

[Wawro] This intervention
changed the face of Cyprus.

[Wawro] This intervention
changed the face of Cyprus.

In the course
of Operation Attila you see
major population transfers.

About 40,000 Turkish Cypriots
living south, they go north
into the Turkish zone.

160,000 Greeks living north
in the Turkish zone,
they go south.

[narrator] Varosha,
with its majority
Greek Cypriot population

was in the path
of the advancing forces.

[Nusbacher] People
who are vacationing,

who had gone to Varosha
for a quiet holiday,

who had gone to Varosha
for a quiet holiday,

are suddenly at the epicenter
of what might become
a hot war.

[narrator] Tourists
and residents
fearing a massacre, fled.

[narrator] Professor Ata Atun
was with the Turkish Army
when they entered Varosha.

It was a ghost town.
Nobody was living there,
we saw nobody in the town.

It was already evacuated
or abandoned.

It was already evacuated
or abandoned.

[narrator] Residents hoped
that they might soon be able

to return to their homes
and businesses.

But, it soon became clear
this was not going to happen.

[Atun] To prevent the looting
the Turkish Army
just fenced the town.

It was surrounded
by barbed wires

and entry check points
were erected.

[narrator] Eventually,
an agreement was reached

[narrator] Eventually,
an agreement was reached

that would bring an end
to the war in Cyprus.

It was a short war,
lasting less than a month.

But, its effects
are still felt to this day.

[narrator] Varosha
was left cutoff within
the city of Famagusta.

The buffer zone was reinforced
and expanded across the whole
length of the island.

[Wawro] And, you now have
a Turkish Cypriot state

with its capital of Famagusta
to the north of it.

And, south of the line,

you have Nicosia
which essentially straddles

you have Nicosia
which essentially straddles

the Green Line,
but is the Greek capital.

[Auerbach] Since the fall
of the Berlin Wall,

Nicosia now stands
as the last divided capital
in the world.

[narrator] Today,
Varosha is slowly starting
to open up again.

Under the supervision
of the Turkish Cypriot
government.

Visionary plans could help
bring this ghost town

Visionary plans could help
bring this ghost town

back to life
and into the 21st century.

[Wawro] It was
an interesting attempt

by Turkish and Greek Cypriots
now working together

between communities
to bring it back
as an eco-city.

A, kind of, blueprint
for how to build cities
in the future.

So, there's some hope
that that might result
in a renaissance in Varosha.

But, only time will tell.

[narrator] On the bayou
west of New Orleans,

two rotting structures
cling to the water's edge.

They're laying down low,
almost like an alligator
waiting for its prey.

These thick powerful walls
are now starting to
shed some bricks.

[narrator] Inside, it seems
they have been left to decay
for centuries.

[Mitchell]
There are dark tunnels,
graffiti on the walls,

[Mitchell]
There are dark tunnels,
graffiti on the walls,

stalactites hanging down
from the ceiling,

you really
don't wanna be here.

They show the effects
of being in a very damp,
humid environment

and being battered
by the elements.

[narrator] Their architecture
leaves no doubt as to
their intended purpose.

Clearly, these are brick
fortifications

which dates them
in the early 19th century.

[narrator] Built to defend
against a foreign foe,

these moldering forts
bore witness to America's most
turbulent domestic moments.

these moldering forts
bore witness to America's most
turbulent domestic moments.

[Mitchell] It tells us
the history of slavery
at its worst

and freedom
at its hopeful best.

[narrator] Raymond Berthelot
is a local historian,

who has been
coming to these forts
for much of his life.

[Berthelot]
Whenever I was a kid
growing up, highway 90,

[Berthelot]
Whenever I was a kid
growing up, highway 90,

which runs
right outside the fort,

was the major route
to go towards the beaches
in Biloxi, and Gulfport,

in the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

So, often times,
when we'd take a Sunday drive,

stop at the forts,
have a picnic,

before carrying on
to spend a day
at the beaches.

[narrator] Rarely,
a destination
in themselves today.

Forts Pike and Macomb

once worked in tandem
to control a very
different highway.

once worked in tandem
to control a very
different highway.

These two costal forts
were meant to protect
New Orleans from naval forces

entering Lake Pontchartrain
from Lake Borgne.

Two main waterways
that connected New Orleans
to the Gulf of Mexico.

[narrator] New Orleans'
position at the end
of the Mississippi River

had been lucrative.

But, it also made it a target.

The Mississippi River
was the principle highway

The Mississippi River
was the principle highway

of the United States
for travel and trade.

You had to protect New Orleans
as the likely place

where a lot
of American exports
would go out of the country

and where imports
would come into the country.

Whoever controls that port
controls the future
of the United States.

[narrator] The importance
of New Orleans

was made devastatingly clear
in The War of 1812.

United States was a new nation
wanting to assert their power.

United States was a new nation
wanting to assert their power.

And, this was a real attack,
this was a real threat
from the British.

[narrator] The British
were beaten back in 1815,

just 5 miles
from the vital city.

But, the fledgling
United States wouldn't let
anyone get that close again.

When completed in 1827,

the forts used the latest
military architecture

the forts used the latest
military architecture

to protect
the vital waterways.

Red bricks were used
rather than wood and dirt.

And, the design was inspired
by Napoleonic
military structures.

They've got this curved front
which was really quite
groundbreaking for the time.

It allows for more cannons
to protect the area
along the water.

So here, what we're looking at
is the carriage for
a 32-pounder cannon.

So here, what we're looking at
is the carriage for
a 32-pounder cannon.

So, the cannon
would sit on this carriage

with a train track
going around
the stone work here.

So, that way, the cannon
could swivel and turn,

and fire out at ships
passing by.

During war time,

this fort would have held
a group of soldiers
in the number of 400 to 450.

[narrator] Heavily armed
to defend against
foreign invaders,

[narrator] Heavily armed
to defend against
foreign invaders,

these forts would instead
become embroiled in America's
internal conflicts.

During the seminal war,
the US government

attempted to push
Indigenous people
from their land in Florida.

[Katherine Landdeck]
The idea of the United States
government was,

to move these people
out to the western states
on to reservations.

[narrator] From 1837,
these thick walls
were repurposed

[narrator] From 1837,
these thick walls
were repurposed

to keep people not out,
but in.

[Mitchell] They also needed
somewhere to hold
the imprisoned seminal people

who were waiting
for their forced relocation.

And, Fort Pike
had just the right position
and accessibility.

[Berthelot] So,
at any given time,

there might have been
some 70, 80 seminal men,
women, and children here.

At the height, this area
that you see here

At the height, this area
that you see here

would have housed
some 237 prisoners.

[narrator] It's not known
how many seminal people

were killed at the hands
of the federal government.

Around 3,000
were forcibly moved
to reservations.

But, a rupture
in the constitutional fabric
of the United States

would soon make Forts Pike
and Macomb

a staging post
for a new kind of fight back.

a staging post
for a new kind of fight back.

Things changed,
it was no longer
a white man's fight.

[narrator] Originally built
to protect New Orleans
from foreign invaders,

in January 1861,

days before Louisiana
seceded from the Union

a new force arrived
at Forts Pike and Macomb.

The fort was manned
by several US soldiers.

The fort was manned
by several US soldiers.

And, Louisiana militia came
and took the site over

and declared it
as the property of Louisiana.

[Wawro] And they, in turn,
are attacked from the sea
by US forces.

Which actually don't have to
bombard the fort, they just
show up with a powerful fleet.

And they say, "Hey, look.
We're gonna unleash hell,
unless you surrender."

[narrator]
New Orleans soon fell.

And, these forts
became a base for a new kind
of Union solider.

And, these forts
became a base for a new kind
of Union solider.

When the civil war started

Black men who wanted to fight
were told that, it was
a white man's war,

and they were turned away.

[narrator] But, after a brutal
first year of war, this policy
was rethought.

The Union Army
desperately needed soldiers.

Formed from a combination

of free
and formerly enslaved
African American men,

many of these new recruits
had to learn everything
from scratch.

many of these new recruits
had to learn everything
from scratch.

Former slaves were not allowed
near weapons when they first
enlisted in the Union Army.

They therefore
needed to be trained
to use guns.

So that they would meet
the standard of other
Union soldiers.

These forts, once occupied
by the Confederate troops
aiming to subjugate them,

now became their drill yards.

[Mitchell]
Once Black Americans
joined the fight,

Fort Pike and Fort Macomb
became training grounds
for the US Colored Troops.

Fort Pike and Fort Macomb
became training grounds
for the US Colored Troops.

[Wawro] And so,
here they worked on gunnery

using the guns
in the fort itself.

And also, just basic drill
in order to become, you know,
federal troops

that could then be deployed
against the Confederate States
of America.

[narrator] The record of
the African American soldiers

trained in these forts
was exemplary.

The native guard units
from Louisiana

actually participated
in the siege of Port Hudson.

Which was the first time
that African American troops
were used in battle

Which was the first time
that African American troops
were used in battle

by the United States
as a unified force.

[narrator]
With the development
of new military technologies

during the civil war,
the forts were rendered
obsolete.

They were soon abandoned
to the elements.

But, their legacy lives on
through the people
who served here.

After the fort was abandoned

After the fort was abandoned

these African American troops
go out west and become
the buffalo soldiers,

so Fort Pike is
a very significant aspect

of African American
military history,

during and after
the Civil War.

These structures
saw slavery at its worst,

These structures
saw slavery at its worst,

but ended up becoming
constructions of freedom.

[narrator] Today,
they are facing

a new kind of attack.

[Berthelot] These forts are
a constant reminder

that as the coast of Louisiana
slowly erodes,

we are losing
not only our land mass,

but we are losing our history.
We are losing our culture.

[narrator] On Croatia's
Mount Medvednica,

[narrator] On Croatia's
Mount Medvednica,

high above
the city of Zagreb,

are the ruins
of a ghastly facility.

[Dominic Selwood] The
snow-coated roads

wind through
the rugged mountain,

which is home
to wild boars and wolves.

[Alicia Gutierrez-Romine]
You get this ominous feeling.

You feel isolated
and alone.

[Selwood] An extensive complex
emerges out of the pine trees.

[narrator] It has clearly been
exposed to the elements

for some time.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
The buildings and the forest

have almost blended together.

The trees are coming out

of the rooftops
of this structure.

It's totally bare,
and neglected,

with rubble scattered
everywhere inside.

If Stephen King were here,
he would write

a scary book about this place.

[Selwood] There are
very few clues that reveal

[Selwood] There are
very few clues that reveal

the original purpose
of this facility.

[narrator] Built
to alleviate suffering,

these walls
instead became home

to personal
and political tragedy.

[Gutierrez-Romine] It's
the story of love and murder

in a monumental
national crisis.

[narrator] Marinko Tot
is an investigative journalist

who spent four years
uncovering the truth

of what went on here.

Everybody in Zagreb knows

there is
a big, abandoned building

there is
a big, abandoned building

up on the mountain,

but only a few know
the real story.

[Selwood] If it wasn't for
a truly great love story,

it may never have been built.

[narrator] This romantic tale
began with the man

who helped establish
the facility.

The area in which
we are, right now,

was an office
of the first principal,

Milivoj Dezman.

Dezman had a bit of a crush
on his childhood sweetheart.

Lady Sram was a star
in Croatian theatre.

She was one of
the most beautiful actresses

of her age,

and Dr. Dezman
fell in love with her.

Unfortunately for Dezman,
Lady Sram would go on

to marry another man,
and have children with him.

[narrator] He didn't
give up hope

that one day he would be
with the woman of his dreams.

that one day he would be
with the woman of his dreams.

[Nusbacher] Then,
Lady Sram's husband

leaves her,
and this single mother

and her child
need to be looked after.

[narrator] Dezman stepped in,
and invited her into his home,

but soon,
they would be together

even more permanently,

here at the Brestovac
Sanatorium.

[Selwood] In the early
20th century,

a cure for tuberculosis
hadn't been found,

and the world was still
reliant on sanatoriums

and the world was still
reliant on sanatoriums

to treat patients
of tuberculosis.

[Marinko Tot] Down
in the city,

there was a lot of industry,

a lot of smoke, a lot
of coal facilities around,

so the place was erected
on the mountain,

because of the easy access
to nature,

and the fresh air
for the patients.

This institution
is the leading edge

of medical science,
right here in Brestovac.

[narrator] But
the pioneering sanatorium

may never have been built

were it not
for a tragic turn of events.

Before construction began
in 1909,

Lady Sram had been diagnosed
with tuberculosis.

And Dr. Dezman
is there for her.

[narrator] In desperation,
he did everything possible

to treat Lady Sram.

[Tot] He really started
to lobby

[Tot] He really started
to lobby

and initiate
the panel of discussion.

He was involved
in the fundraising,

and all the permits needed
to erect this facility

as soon as possible.

She was one
of the first patients

at Brestovac.

This room, where Lady Sram
spent her time,

is directly above the room
of Dr. Dezman.

The room is beautiful,

and she spent
a lot of time here.

The windows were large.
She could see the forest.

The windows were large.
She could see the forest.

She could see
the city and the valley.

She could feel the fresh air,

the nature, and everything
surrounding her.

[narrator] Despite Dezman's
love and determination,

In 1913, her condition
took a turn for the worse.

In her final days,

Dr. Dezman brought Lady Sram
to his private office,

where she died in his arms.

[narrator] After her death,

Brestovac entered
an era of expansion.

[Selwood] There's
a multistory building,

and then, some ruins,

and they're connected
by this sort of epic corridor.

[Tot] We believe that

the VIPs were housed
in the main building,

and there was a degree
of separation between classes,

and there was a degree
of separation between classes,

and that walkway
basically was the bridge

between different classes
of people.

[Nusbacher] Tuberculosis
struck the high and the low,

and as a result,
a public facility like this

brought all elements
of society together.

[narrator] These new buildings
included large wards

where poor patients
could be cared for

by fewer nursing staff.

by fewer nursing staff.

The sanatorium
was beginning to reflect

the increasingly fractured
world outside its walls.

[Nusbacher] Because there was
a lot of division in society,

this facility becomes

its own intense little version
of the Balkans.

[narrator] These rifts
would see

the once-quiet hospital
ensnared in deadly conspiracy.

the once-quiet hospital
ensnared in deadly conspiracy.

It's hard to believe
that such a brutal plot

would have been conceived
right here.

[narrator] In 1921,

at Brestovac Sanatorium
in Croatia,

a savage plot is underway.

This was
the Brestovac library.

One of the patients here

who was sitting on the table,

and reading,
was Alija Alijagic.

He was a member
of the Communist Party.

He was a member
of the Communist Party.

[Nusbacher] Bomb-throwing
anarchists, communists,
partisans.

This part of the world
was focused on wild politics.

[narrator] For Alijagic,

only the wildest political
statement would suffice.

Along with his companions,
he planned an assassination

of the Minister of Interior.

[narrator] He followed
the Minister to a park.

There, he shot and killed him
in cold blood.

Alijagic and his comrades
were quickly rounded up,

and he was sentenced to death.

After that assassination,
the Communist Party was banned

and went underground,

where it stayed
for the next 20 years.

[narrator] During
the Second World War,

these underground forces
would return to Brestovac,

these underground forces
would return to Brestovac,

facing off against invaders
and collaborators.

The Nazis controlled Croatia,
in part, through the Ustasha,

the Croatian nationalist
fascist militia.

Brestovac was changed
to become a hospital

for the wounded Nazi
and Ustasha soldiers.

[narrator] By 1945,
the communist forces

had fought their way back
to the sanatorium.

They had vengeance
on their minds.

[Nusbacher] When
the communist partisans

come to these people,

who have been abusing them
horribly for years,

the result is

an orgy of violence.

They took
these wounded soldiers

out of the hospital,
and into the forest,

out of the hospital,
and into the forest,

and executed them.

[Tot] Their remains are
somewhere in the forests

around the facility,
still undiscovered today.

[Selwood] Rumors
that the ghosts

of these executed soldiers
still walk the corridors,

endow it with
a still very eerie legacy.

[narrator] Since
its abandonment in 1968,

[narrator] Since
its abandonment in 1968,

the sanatorium was forgotten,

and left to decay,

but Marinko hopes

that it might one day help
the people of Zagreb again.

[Tot] It was inspired
by emotion

and by, really, community work
in order to erect it,

and people's pride
in the city.

I'm hoping it will once more
be the pride of the city.

[narrator] In the country
of Georgia

is an ancient refuge,

inside a mountain.

Georgia's physical geography
is breathtaking,

and this part is no exception.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
The one thing that

catches your eye
immediately is

catches your eye
immediately is

this almost vertical
rock formation

that rises dramatically
from the flat floodplain.

[narrator] It appears
to have suffered

a cataclysmic event.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
The landscape here

used to look quite different.

[Nehemiah Mabry] It's as if

the mountain
had been blown up,

and we're getting to see
right inside of it.

[narrator] Where once
there was solid rock face,

now the hillside
is honeycombed

with a warren
of passageways and cells.

[Mabry] There are
long tunnels,

and many areas
hidden from view.

It feels like it was a very
secretive and defensive place.

[narrator] But who built
this subterranean sanctuary?

And why did they hide it
from the world?

Guram Kipiani has spent
many years

exploring the ancient city
of Vardzia.

[translator] When I first
saw Vardzia,

I was probably a year nine
or 10 school pupil.

I couldn't even be sure
where I was,

or what I was looking at,

but later on,

I gradually got
a better vision of it.

I gradually got
a better vision of it.

I don't know of any other
feudalistic state in the world

which could make
such a magnificent complex

during the reign
of only one or two kings.

[narrator] The oldest
settlements here

date back thousands of years.

Many generations,
going back to the Bronze Age,

have cut and honed
the rock that is here.

have cut and honed
the rock that is here.

The geology is perfect for it.

[narrator] But the majority
of the settlements
visible today

began life
in the 12th century.

They got their name
when a young girl called Tamar

was playing here
with her uncle.

[Selwood] Young Tamar
got lost in the caves,

and when called for, replied,

"I'm here, Uncle,"

which in Georgian has
the sounds "var" and "dzia,"

which in Georgian has
the sounds "var" and "dzia,"

thus giving the place
its name,

Vardzia.

[narrator] Amongst
the ruins of Vardzia

is evidence that Tamar
wasn't just any girl.

[translator] These
wall paintings are
very noteworthy,

especially the image
of Giorgi III

and his daughter,
Tamar the King.

[narrator] Described as a king

as a medieval mark of respect,

as a medieval mark of respect,

when she inherited the throne
and the half-built Vardzia

from her father in 1184,

she was beset
with enemies on all sides,

and the now-ruined complex

suggested disaster
was heading her way.

[narrator]
In the 12th century,

Queen Tamar of Georgia
was facing

an existential threat
to her kingdom.

She turned to an area known as
Vardzia for protection.

The Mongols were trying

to expand
their territory westward.

This part of Georgia
was very much in their sights.

This part of Georgia
was very much in their sights.

[Selwood] It's no surprise

the Georgians here
wanted to hide.

The Mongols were famed
for their ruthlessness.

[narrator] Faced with
a seemingly imminent invasion,

the queen ordered
a rapid expansion

of the cave network.

[Selwood] The only way
to enter the city was through

a secret tunnel,
which started

at the nearby river.

[narrator] Capable of housing

tens of thousands
of residents,

along with its
thriving monastic community,

it was all concealed
within the mountain.

[Selwood] The underground
fortress originally had
6,000 rooms.

This really was
a full-on city.

There were meeting rooms,
reception chambers,

a throne room, a bakery,
a forge, and a church

a throne room, a bakery,
a forge, and a church

all housed in this complex.

It took about 50 years
to construct,

but when you consider that
this was all done by hand,

that doesn't seem that long.

[narrator] Its residents had
everything they needed

to remain self-sufficient
for a long time.

[translator] This is
the water supply

and distribution system.

It's a waterway which runs
from upper Vardzia.

It's a waterway which runs
from upper Vardzia.

This hole in the ground

is thought to be
a water reservoir.

Drinking water
would have been stored here.

[narrator] But before
the Mongol armies

could put Vardzia's defenses
to the test,

Queen Tamar had to face off
against a different threat.

The Battle of Basian is one
of the most important battles

The Battle of Basian is one
of the most important battles

in Georgian history.

[narrator] Confronted
by an overwhelming force

of Seljuk Turks,

it fell to the queen
to inspire her nervous troops.

Queen Tamar is said
to have addressed her army

here at Vardzia,

walking barefoot
down to the valley floor,

where her troops were amassed.

The Georgians successfully
fought off the Seljuk Turks,

and confirmed their status

as the absolute power
in the Caucasus.

as the absolute power
in the Caucasus.

[narrator] When Tamar died
in 1213,

she left her nation
stronger than ever,

and Vardzia continued life

as a cultural
and religious center...

This was the zenith
of the kingdom of Georgia.

[narrator] ...but
military prowess

could not protect
the underground city

from what was coming.

1283 was
a tragic year for Vardzia.

A huge earthquake struck,

destroying vast parts
of the cave city.

The thing about the earthquake

is that it totally ruined
the city's disguise.

[Selwood] The mountain face
slid off

with the extreme tremors,
exposing the caves within.

[narrator] No longer hidden
from the world,

Vardzia's importance
slowly diminished.

Out of the rubble
of the devastated city,

one aspect of life returned.

After the earthquake,

a small religious community
persisted.

[narrator] They faced
attacks and persecution

in the now-exposed caves,

but a small number
of their descendants

have managed to continue
their legacy today.

have managed to continue
their legacy today.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
The remaining monks

still live like their brethren
from centuries past.

They collect their
drinking and bathing water

from the nearby
ancient underground spring.

[Mabry] But mainly,
it's tourists that you'll see

wandering these tunnels
and carved passageways.