00:00:00
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. The
00:00:03
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, located
00:00:05
in Axum, Ethiopia, claims to hold the
00:00:07
most important religious object in
00:00:09
history, the Ark of the Covenant.
00:00:11
According to Ethiopian tradition, this
00:00:13
sacred box containing the original Ten
00:00:15
Commandments has been kept here for over
00:00:17
3,000 years. Only one person on Earth
00:00:19
can see it. A single guardian monk
00:00:21
chosen for life who can never leave the
00:00:23
church grounds. Even the head of the
00:00:24
Ethiopian Orthodox Church is banned from
00:00:27
entering the inner room. The church was
00:00:29
first built in the 4th century and has
00:00:30
been destroyed and rebuilt several
00:00:32
times. The current guardian spends his
00:00:34
entire life praying before the ark and
00:00:36
burning incense. When he dies, he must
00:00:38
choose his replacement before passing
00:00:40
away. While experts debate whether the
00:00:42
Ethiopian ark is authentic, the
00:00:43
restrictions remain absolute. No
00:00:45
archaeologists, historians, or religious
00:00:48
leaders from outside Ethiopia have ever
00:00:50
been allowed to examine it. Coca-Cola
00:00:52
Vault. The Coca-Cola vault in Atlanta,
00:00:54
Georgia, protects one of the world's
00:00:56
most valuable business secrets, the
00:00:57
original recipe for Coca-Cola. This
00:00:59
formula, created by pharmacist John
00:01:01
Peton in 1886, has been guarded for over
00:01:05
135 years and is worth billions of
00:01:07
dollars to the company. Only a few
00:01:09
people alive today know the complete
00:01:10
recipe, and they're never allowed to fly
00:01:12
together on the same plane in case of an
00:01:14
accident. The vault is located inside
00:01:16
the World of Coca-Cola Museum in
00:01:18
downtown Atlanta, but visitors can only
00:01:20
see the outside of the secure room. The
00:01:22
recipe is kept in a high-tech safe that
00:01:24
needs multiple security keys to open.
00:01:26
Company bosses claim the formula has
00:01:28
never been written down entirely in one
00:01:30
place with different parts stored
00:01:31
separately to prevent theft. Even top
00:01:33
Coca-Cola workers don't get to see it.
00:01:35
The company has turned this into a
00:01:37
marketing tool with the secret formula
00:01:39
becoming part of Coca-Cola's brand
00:01:40
image. Despite many attempts by
00:01:42
competitors and scientists to reverse
00:01:44
engineer the drink, the original formula
00:01:46
stays protected, making it one of
00:01:48
America's most guarded business secrets.
00:01:50
Fort Knox. Fort Knox, located in
00:01:53
Northern Kentucky, is home to the United
00:01:54
States Bullion Depository, one of the
00:01:56
most secure buildings on Earth. The
00:01:58
depository was built in 1936 during the
00:02:01
Great Depression, when America needed a
00:02:03
safe place to store its wealth. This
00:02:04
fortress holds about 147 million ounces
00:02:07
of gold bars worth hundreds of billions
00:02:09
of dollars and representing roughly half
00:02:11
of America's reserves. The two-story
00:02:13
granite and steel structure is
00:02:15
surrounded by multiple layers of
00:02:17
protection, including armed guards,
00:02:18
electronic sensors, and huge steel
00:02:20
doors. Even the combination to the main
00:02:22
vault is split among several people, so
00:02:24
no single person can open it alone. The
00:02:27
phrase secure as Fort Knox exists
00:02:29
because this place is considered nearly
00:02:31
impossible to break into. No visitors
00:02:33
are allowed inside and no tours have
00:02:35
been given since World War II. Even top
00:02:37
officials rarely get permission to
00:02:39
enter. The last time reporters were
00:02:41
allowed inside was in 1974, and they
00:02:43
could only see a small part of one room,
00:02:46
Kalo Papa. Kalo Papa, located on a
00:02:48
remote part of the Hawaiian island of
00:02:50
Machai, was once the world's most
00:02:52
isolated leprosy colony. From 1866 to
00:02:55
1969, over 8,000 people with leprosy
00:02:58
were forced to go to this windy
00:02:59
peninsula, separated from the rest of
00:03:01
the world by huge sea cliffs on three
00:03:03
sides. People were basically dumped on
00:03:05
the beach and left to take care of
00:03:07
themselves in what was pretty much a
00:03:08
place to die. The most famous resident
00:03:10
was Father Damian, a Belgian priest who
00:03:12
came to help and eventually got leprosy
00:03:14
himself and died in 1889. The colony had
00:03:17
a strict no contact rule, meaning
00:03:19
residents could never leave and families
00:03:21
could never visit. People sent here were
00:03:22
declared legally dead by the Hawaiian
00:03:24
government. Even though they were still
00:03:26
alive, they were so isolated that
00:03:27
residents had to build their own houses,
00:03:29
grow their own food, and make their own
00:03:31
community from nothing. Medical
00:03:33
improvements eventually made leprosy
00:03:35
treatable, and the forced separation
00:03:36
ended in 1969. But some former residents
00:03:39
chose to stay in the only home they had
00:03:41
known for years. Today, getting into
00:03:43
Calipa is highly restricted to protect
00:03:45
the privacy of the few people who still
00:03:47
live there. Visitors need special
00:03:49
permission and must be part of
00:03:50
authorized tours or have work business.
00:03:52
The area is run as a national historical
00:03:54
park, but unlike other parks, tourism is
00:03:57
strictly limited. Only a few people are
00:03:59
allowed to visit each day, making Kalapa
00:04:01
one of Hawaii's most forbidden places.
00:04:03
McMurdo Dry Valleys. McMmetoro Dry
00:04:06
Valleys located in Antarctica's Victoria
00:04:09
land is one of the most extreme and
00:04:11
restricted places on Earth. This 1,900
00:04:14
square mile region is the largest
00:04:15
ice-free area in Antarctica with
00:04:17
powerful winds that can reach 200 mph
00:04:20
and blow away any snow that tries to
00:04:22
stick. The landscape is so harsh and
00:04:24
cold that it's often called Mars on
00:04:26
Earth. And NASA actually uses this
00:04:28
location to test equipment for Mars
00:04:30
strips. Temperatures can drop to
00:04:31
minus50° and some spots haven't seen
00:04:34
rain in over 2 million years. The region
00:04:36
contains weird features like bloodfalls,
00:04:38
where iron rich water flows out of a
00:04:40
glacier and turns bright red when it
00:04:42
hits the air. There are also frozen
00:04:43
lakes that never melt and rocks that
00:04:45
move by themselves across the floors.
00:04:47
Scientists believe tiny germs living in
00:04:49
the soil and rocks here might be similar
00:04:51
to life forms that could exist on other
00:04:53
planets. The landscape is so untouched
00:04:55
that even a single footprint or tire
00:04:57
track can last for decades. Getting
00:04:59
access requires special permits from
00:05:01
national Antarctic programs and can take
00:05:03
six months or more to get approved. Only
00:05:05
researchers with approved projects can
00:05:06
visit, and they must pass medical exams
00:05:08
and survival training before being
00:05:10
allowed in. Transportation is by
00:05:11
military cargo planes that land on ice
00:05:13
runways. Visits are limited to protect
00:05:15
this unique environment, making it one
00:05:17
of the world's most scientifically
00:05:19
important forbidden zones. Pinegap.
00:05:21
Pinegap, located 18 kilometers southwest
00:05:24
of Alice Springs in Australia's remote
00:05:26
desert, is one of the world's most
00:05:27
secret spy bases. This joint American
00:05:30
Australian base is surrounded by
00:05:31
electric fences carrying 8,000 volts and
00:05:34
guarded by over 80 armed police
00:05:35
officers. It's part of the Echelon
00:05:37
program, a global surveillance network
00:05:39
run by the Five Eyes. Taking photos is
00:05:41
completely banned and anyone who tries
00:05:43
to get in gets arrested immediately. The
00:05:45
facility is so secret that even most
00:05:48
Australian government workers don't know
00:05:49
what happens inside. The base works as a
00:05:51
key part of America's worldwide spy
00:05:53
network, controlling satellites that
00:05:55
listen in on phone calls and provide
00:05:57
targeting information for military
00:05:58
attacks around the world. Its 38 white
00:06:01
satellite dishes called golf balls watch
00:06:03
onethird of the planet, including China,
00:06:05
North Korea, and Russia. All public
00:06:07
visits stopped after 9/11, ending the
00:06:09
800 tours that used to happen each year.
00:06:11
The base got much bigger in 2020 with 10
00:06:14
new satellite dishes, and recent
00:06:15
protests over Gaza have led to activists
00:06:18
blocking roads outside Iron Mountain.
00:06:20
Iron Mountain, located deep beneath
00:06:22
Pennsylvania, is one of the world's most
00:06:25
secure facilities. This former limestone
00:06:27
mine has been converted into a massive
00:06:29
vault that houses precious documents,
00:06:31
artifacts, and digital data. The
00:06:33
facility is said to be safer than Fort
00:06:34
Knox with multiple protection layers,
00:06:36
including armed guards, high-tech
00:06:38
cameras, and climate controlled rooms.
00:06:40
The subterranean location provides
00:06:42
natural disaster protection, and an
00:06:44
artificial lake helps maintain perfect
00:06:46
temperatures. Iron Mountain stores
00:06:47
master recordings for major music
00:06:49
labels, iconic photographs, historic
00:06:51
event documentation, and critical legal
00:06:53
papers for Fortune 500 companies and
00:06:56
government agencies. Clients range from
00:06:58
corporations to private collectors
00:06:59
needing ultra secure storage. The
00:07:01
facility operates like a giant safety
00:07:03
deposit box where only depositors can
00:07:05
access their items. What makes Iron
00:07:07
Mountain even more interesting is the
00:07:09
fact that the public isn't allowed to
00:07:11
know what it contains. Visitors cannot
00:07:13
enter storage areas and employees sign
00:07:15
strict confidentiality agreements.
00:07:17
MessGori. Megori, a closed city in
00:07:20
Russia's Eural Mountains, is one of the
00:07:22
world's most secret nuclear sites. This
00:07:24
heavily guarded town has been completely
00:07:26
offlimits to outsiders since it was
00:07:28
built during the Soviet era in the
00:07:30
1980s. The Russian government has never
00:07:32
fully explained what the city is for,
00:07:33
giving different stories over the years,
00:07:35
including claims it's used for mining,
00:07:37
food storage, or emergency shelters.
00:07:39
Construction continued even after the
00:07:41
Soviet Union fell apart, suggesting
00:07:43
something vital happens here. The city
00:07:45
sits beneath Mount Yamantau, the highest
00:07:47
peak in the southern Eurals at 5,381
00:07:50
ft, which provides natural protection
00:07:52
from attacks. Western spy agencies
00:07:54
believe it works as an underground
00:07:56
command center designed to keep running
00:07:57
during nuclear war. Satellite photos
00:08:00
show roads, buildings, and other
00:08:01
structures around the mountain, but
00:08:03
nobody knows the true size of what lies
00:08:05
beneath. Getting into Megorey requires
00:08:07
special government permission that's
00:08:08
almost never given. The area is watched
00:08:10
by armed guards and surrounded by
00:08:12
restricted zones. Even most officials
00:08:14
don't know what happens inside, making
00:08:16
it one of the most mysterious places on
00:08:18
Earth. Hashima Island. Hashima Island,
00:08:21
also known as Battleship Island, is an
00:08:23
abandoned coal mining site located off
00:08:25
the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. This small
00:08:27
place was once one of the most crowded
00:08:29
places on Earth, housing over 5,000 coal
00:08:32
miners and their families in tall
00:08:33
apartment blocks. It got its nickname
00:08:35
because its shape looks like a Japanese
00:08:37
battleship from far away. When coal
00:08:39
mining ended in 1974, everyone left
00:08:41
within months, leaving behind a complete
00:08:43
ghost town that has been slowly falling
00:08:45
apart for 50 years. The site is filled
00:08:47
with rotting structures, rusted
00:08:49
machinery, and personal belongings left
00:08:50
behind. Staircases lead to nowhere, and
00:08:53
walls are covered in moss. Most areas
00:08:55
remain completely off limits because
00:08:57
chunks regularly fall from crumbling
00:08:58
walls and old mining shafts pose serious
00:09:01
safety risks to anyone who gets too
00:09:03
close. Access was completely banned for
00:09:05
decades due to safety concerns about
00:09:07
unstable conditions. In recent years,
00:09:09
limited guided tours have been allowed,
00:09:11
but visitors can only walk on a small
00:09:13
marked path and view the ruins from a
00:09:15
safe distance. Most areas, including the
00:09:17
residential blocks and mining
00:09:18
facilities, remain forbidden. Even tour
00:09:20
guides must follow safety rules, making
00:09:22
Hashima one of Japan's most restricted
00:09:25
sites. Mount Weather. Mount Weather,
00:09:27
located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of
00:09:29
Virginia, is one of America's most
00:09:31
secret bunkers. This heavily protected
00:09:33
underground site was built during the
00:09:34
Cold War to work as an emergency command
00:09:36
center where top US leaders could keep
00:09:38
running the country during a nuclear
00:09:40
attack or major disaster. The bunker is
00:09:42
designed to house the president,
00:09:44
Congress members, and other key
00:09:45
officials for long periods while the
00:09:47
outside world deals with the nuclear
00:09:48
war. Most Americans have never heard of
00:09:50
Mount Weather despite it being one of
00:09:52
the most important backup places for the
00:09:54
US administration. The site is built
00:09:56
deep inside a mountain and can
00:09:57
supposedly survive direct nuclear hits.
00:10:00
It contains everything needed for
00:10:01
long-term survival, including sleeping
00:10:03
rooms, meeting areas, communication
00:10:05
equipment, and food supplies. The bunker
00:10:07
has its own power plant, water system,
00:10:09
and air cleaning to keep people alive
00:10:11
underground for months. Above ground, it
00:10:13
looks like a normal office building, but
00:10:15
the real operation lies far beneath
00:10:17
where it stays hidden from public view.
00:10:19
The site operates in total secrecy with
00:10:22
no public tours or information about its
00:10:24
capabilities. Nicicoia buffer zone. The
00:10:26
Nikicoa Buffer Zone, also known as the
00:10:28
Green Line, is a UN controlled no man's
00:10:31
land that cuts through the heart of
00:10:32
Cypress's capital city. This 2.4 4 mi
00:10:35
wide strip has divided the island since
00:10:37
1974 when Turkish troops invaded Cyprus
00:10:40
and started a civil war between Greek
00:10:42
and Turkish communities. When the
00:10:44
fighting ended with a ceasefire, the
00:10:45
United Nations took control of this
00:10:47
abandoned area, creating one of the
00:10:48
world's longest lasting military
00:10:50
buffers. It stretches 111 mi across the
00:10:53
entire island. But nowhere is it more
00:10:55
obvious than in Nikicoa, where it splits
00:10:57
the city in two. The area contains empty
00:11:00
buildings, deserted streets, and rusted
00:11:02
cars left behind when people fled during
00:11:04
the conflict. Weeds grow through broken
00:11:06
pavement, and bullet holes still mark
00:11:08
walls after 50 years. UN peacekeeping
00:11:10
forces patrol the area to prevent new
00:11:12
clashes. There are barbed wires,
00:11:14
concrete walls, guard towers, and
00:11:16
warning signs in different languages
00:11:18
that tell people to stay out. Access is
00:11:20
strictly controlled, and only official
00:11:22
workers can enter. Regular people are
00:11:24
banned from crossing except at official
00:11:26
border points. The area has become an
00:11:28
accidental wildlife preserve with
00:11:30
animals thriving in the abandoned urban
00:11:32
space. Despite decades of peace talks,
00:11:34
it remains as divided as ever, making it
00:11:36
one of Europe's most forbidden places.
00:11:38
RAF Filing Dales. RAF Filing Dales,
00:11:41
located on the North York Moors in
00:11:43
Yorkshire, England, is one of the
00:11:44
world's most iconic military sites. It's
00:11:47
easy to spot because of its huge
00:11:48
pyramid-shaped radar that can be seen
00:11:50
for miles across the countryside. This
00:11:52
facility works as an early warning
00:11:54
system for missile attacks, giving just
00:11:56
four minutes notice of incoming threats.
00:11:58
It's part of a missile warning network
00:12:00
that works with similar installations in
00:12:01
Alaska and Greenland to protect against
00:12:03
nuclear attacks. The site has strict
00:12:05
no-fly zones overhead, but recent events
00:12:07
have made RAF filing dales even more
00:12:10
restricted. In 2024, mysterious drones
00:12:12
led to F-15 fighter jets being deployed
00:12:15
to stop them, and new exclusion zones
00:12:17
were created. Even though visible from
00:12:18
public roads, it remains completely off
00:12:20
limits to civilians. If you like this
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