Dark Tourist (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Europe - full transcript
I'm a journalist from New Zealand
investigating dark tourist hot spots
around the world.
Places made famous by?death and disaster.
So, it seems quite weird I'm at a beach,
sand and suntans
and me with a center-parting
and some?rather attractive goggles.
But this is no normal beach.
Hey.
- Give you that?
- Give me this.
- Will we...?
- No, we are going to police station now.
- Police station?
- Yes.
And this is no normal holiday.
On this trip I?m traveling around
Europe?s Dark?Tourist hot spots.
In the Mediterranean holiday island
of Cyprus
I go undercover
to break into a forbidden city.
What if we went at night
when no one can see us?
You might get shot.
In the UK I go drinking with?Nazis.
We?re the bad guys,
the very bad guys
And I visit the world?s
most disturbing museum.
- You realize this is quite odd.
- Why did you come in and see it?
You didn?t have to come and see it.
I'm David Farrier, and this trip
is stranger than?I?d ever expected.
I start my journey
in the English countryside,
30 miles southeast of London
in the small town of Paddock Wood.
Thank you!
They say war is hell,
but not for this lot.
For many British,
it?s a dark tourist vacation...
in their own backyard.
I?m on a farm in Kent,
at what I?d call?a dark tourist festival.
Billed as the Glastonbury of war,
this is the?world?s
biggest military reenactment.
Eighty thousand dark tourists
come here every year
to pretend to be soldiers
from different wars,
different sides, and different times.
They don?t just come to watch.
Many take a week off work
just to hang out in?the mud.
I don?t understand the appeal,
but the?best way to figure it out
is to get a little dirty myself.
I've enlisted as a soldier
to take part in a full scale mock battle.
Hello.
Is this To Hell And Back?
I?ve been assigned to a company called
To Hell?and Back.
They?re a bunch of Brits pretending to be
Americans in World War II.
Lose the pink shorts
before the battle now,?bruv.
Yeah, I'll think about it.
My dress sense
has pegged me as an outsider.
I'm hoping Dan, an ex-British soldier
and the?man charged
with seeing me through all this,
takes me a little more seriously.
What am I going to be dressed as?
Who am I going to be?
It's a lovely cerise color that we've got.
Yeah, off the shoulder.
- No, no. 101st Airborne.
- Okay.
Who are we going to be battling
when we go in?
You'll be battling against the SBG,
that's the Second Battle Group.
- Okay.
- Germans.
- So, we'll be taking on the Nazis.
- I mean, obviously you don't
want to get involved with SS stuff?and
all that crap.
It's just German soldiers.
Okay.
This is my first brush
with the politics of war reenactment.
Dan emphasizes the difference
between the Nazi?political party
versus the German people and their army.
So, it seems I shouldn?t use the word
?Nazis?, but instead say ?Germans?.
It?s a pretty big swastika-bearing
elephant in?the room.
Having established the correct etiquette
for referring to the enemy,
it's time to bond with my own side.
Out of my pink shorts,
I?m hoping my fellow grunts will explain
the attraction of sitting in a muddy hole.
I?m dressed more appropriately.
- Come join us, mate.
- It's quite...
It's quite weird how you can't have
cell phones or anything,
you're just kind of living this
for the weekend.
- Yes.
- It's raining, we're in a hole.
- Yep.
- And this is fun?
- Yeah.
- This is...
The whole running around shooting
people thing, yeah,
it's not too bad.
That's all we're waiting for,
really, the?battle.
We'll get to that in time.
We won?t jump the gun.
But you realize, this is a strange way
to spend a?weekend.
Everyone is preparing
for the big battle tomorrow
where I?ll get to kill some Germans.
I agree to undergo
a bit of extra training.
This is the ?fun?
they saved up their holidays for.
I think it's probably best you can either
sit in?the middle, David...
- Yep.
- ...you know, like the girls do.
What? All right.
Let's have a bit of a cheer for him.
Go! Go! Go!
- Keep going, come on!
- Good job!
- Push on! Go!
- Go, go! Come on!
Roll over! Roll over!
Go for the front line. Just there!
His face is a bit clean.?Go again.
There you go.
Thanks, guys.
Fun had, I?m a muddy mess.
I guess they?d say this is authentic.
And nature helps out with a downpour,
so that I can fully experience
the proper degree?of wartime misery.
There are no showers,
so I head?to the canteen?to warm up,
where I notice the Nazis...
the Germans
are serving up the food.
Is it normal to have the?Germans
cooking for the?Americans
in this scenario?
They?re not Germans, we?re not Americans.
We?re all people.
Just cause we?re in a uniform
doesn?t mean?they?re not our friends.
We?re not ?at war? any more.
You know, it?s Hollywood.
Everybody?s cross dressing, play dressing.
It?s just... it?s play time, isn't it?
Play time.
Thank you so much.
With a hot plate of German grub,
I head back to my battle?buddies
to try?and get to the bottom
of the politics around the Nazis.
It?s interesting,
because obviously
we're dealing with history
and we're role playing,
and so you've?gotta have both sides.
- You gotta understand...
- Because no one wants to be a Nazi though.
This is the subject
that everybody tries
to stay away from, just in case.
It can be interpreted in a way that
causes offense to others,
which you don't want.
To me it?s a bit of a catch-22.
They want all this to be
as authentic as?possible,
but they have to avoid
the inconvenient parts of history.
So, we're meant to be?Americans,
we?re being cooked for by Nazis.
- They're Germans
- You're eating some Italian... Germans.
You're eating Italian pizza.
It all makes sense. Just normal.
The drinking goes on
into the night,
and I don't want to use
the unmentionable?word,
but there?s two Dutchmen in SS uniforms.
Surely no one can deny
these guys are Nazis?
The SS played a major role in some
of the worst?humanitarian crimes
during World War II.
Particularly, the genocide
of six million Jews.
It?s illegal to even wear SS uniforms
in Germany.
And yet here they are,
smiling and drinking with everyone
like it's Oktoberfest.
And no one seems to mind.
Do you get a lot of attention
from people?
You don't want to know.
Because I was watching you in there,
and there?were people coming up to you.
I don't know, I think people respond
in their?own way to this uniform.
I don't know. Also the women,
to be honest,
their reactions?were all positive.
All kinds of reactions,
every one was positive.
Even... Yesterday in the bar,
we had to take off?the swastika bands
because they said
it was a political statement.
- But you've got the swastika up here.
- Yeah.
Well... I didn't make a fuss,
we didn't?want to make a?fuss about it,
so I said, "Okay, we'll take it off,
no problem."
Well, I guess this is
probably the one place
you could dress like?this.
- Yes.
- Yes. Correct.
What would you do if you dressed
like this back home?
- I would hide.
- Yep.
Because you can't wear...
Out of respect for?all the people there,
I wouldn't wear it at all.
- And it's forbidden. We'd be arrested.
- Yeah, forbidden.
But we wouldn't do that.
- It's a unique thing you can do here?
- Yeah.
Yeah. But we wouldn't there.
We do not want to offend people.
We don't want to propagate anything
that's behind the uniform.
- You understand?
- Of course.
I want to be clear in that.
They seem like nice guys,
but there's a question here
that I?haven't figured out.
Is it possible to?reenact this stuff
without somehow?condoning the bad parts?
Are there some things
we just shouldn?t be?bringing back?
Today's the climax of the festival.
A giant battle reenactment,
where I?ll take on?the Germans...
or the Nazis, or whatever
you?re meant to call?them here.
I don't know how to hold this.
Our guns are real,
actually used during World?War II.
We'll be firing blanks,
but what if someone
accidentally puts a live round in?
What if it jams and backfires?
I feel a bit sick,
I don?t know why.
I'm nervous as hell,
and this isn't even a?real war.
Then it just starts.
All right. Bloody hell.
I guess that's how wars happen.
No one warns you.
It's loud, so loud.
All set. Fucking hell.
And with sweat in my eyes
I can?t even see who?I?m shooting at.
Look out.
Thistle.
Ow!
Everyone is
completely in character now
except maybe me. I'm just in panic.
Watch for Jerrys in the grass.
I don't like war.
Come on, move, move!
It's only towards the end
that I spot the spectators
and remember this is all just pretend.
Don't shoot.
But some people
are taking their roles?very seriously.
He's dead.
Yeah. I think that's it.
Thank God, it's over.
It was the longest,
most frantic 20 minutes of my life.
We?ve been told we?ve won,
but who could tell?
My ears are still ringing.
It was so full on.
I got quite scared.
I sort of forgot it wasn't real.
- It's an adrenaline rush, isn't it?
- It kicks in.
- It's 'cause it's so bloody loud.
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- You can't help it.
Then you start?thinking
it's real even though it's not real.
And this is, like, your holiday?
- Yes.
- Yes?
It's a good laugh.
It?s, like, why didn?t you go to
a beautiful?island in the Caribbean?
Sitting down on a beach
doesn?t really do it for?me.
I'm glad this war is over.
I'm exhausted.
Thanks guys,
all the reenactors,
the vehicle?drivers, owners.
But I can see why people come here
for an?immersive experience
and an adrenaline rush.
But I?m not sure that making
a ghastly piece of?history fun
is the best way to understand it
or avoid repeating it.
It?s definitely not my idea of a holiday.
Three hours' drive west,
and I?m 10 miles from the Welsh border
in the middle of the most?picturesque
English countryside.
What could be of any possible interest
to a dark tourist here?
But I?ve heard that tucked away
in the middle of all this
chocolate box- ness
is the world?s most politically
incorrect crime?museum.
Hidden in a 200 year-old prison,
the museum?s collections
are described?as disturbing,
gruesome, and deeply offensive.
I want to find out who would create
such an upsetting collection.
And is the purpose education
or just plain?shock value?
Andy, I'm David.
- David. You okay?
- Nice to meet you, sir.
- I'm good. This place is impressive.
- Different.
It's such an unusual thing to have
in this?sleepy, little, cute town.
Is it famous for anything else
besides this?
I keep seeing this on signs, what else...
Well, I don't think we're famous,
I think we're?infamous.
What's the main theme you've got going on,
'cause I see a lot of different things?
Where good and evil collide.
That's it in a nutshell.
So, it?s a very divisive collection.
Every bit of exhibit material?is...
is controversial
in some shape or form.
And it's all from your passions?
It's everything that you
are passionate about?
My madness, I suppose, yeah.
I'm totally intrigued
and wonder which exhibits
require such explicit warning signs
at the front door.
But Andy doesn't waste any time
getting into the questionable stuff.
I mean, how do you come upon
something like?this?
- I picked this up in a model shop.
- Right.
You know, I probably don't present it
in a way a lot of people
want it presented,
'cause that's the way I am,
but the fact is,
you know, poor little black children
and black people were lynched
by the Ku Klux Klan.
And as you can see,
I've put them all together.
Wow.
To be honest,
I'm just so gobsmacked
I don?t?know what to say.
It?s controversial, that?s for sure.
But then you see the Golliwogs
with the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan would obviously
be a bit?annoyed by the fact that
they're seen to be playing with Golliwogs.
A lot of black people want to see it,
because that?s?part of their history.
It's confronting isn?t it?
It is confronting.
I'm not sure that Andy
has presented
this part of history accurately.
Is he genuinely trying to educate people
or just?shock them?
The whole jail is packed wall to ceiling
with stuff,
in no discernible order.
And things get even darker
when Andy shows me?the Nazi room.
You've got a lampshade
made out of human skin.
This distressing item is part
of Andy?s?concentration camp exhibit.
I had that tested,
and it is actual human skin.
It?s heavy stuff, isn't it?
It just seems insane that people would
actually pull skin off the back of people
and have it made into lampshades.
The lampshade is insane,
but it seems just as bad for Andy
to acquire it?and put it on display.
This sometimes upsets people,
but you've got these dioramas here,
which we've?put together.
That's a death camp scene.
- And you've made these up yourself?
- I made these up.
You've got a scene there, which again,
people say, "Well, that's disgusting."
This is, if you like, it's a rape scene.
This is a typical example of,
say, Auschwitz.
The Nazi death camp officers
were raping,
you know,?Jewish ladies...
and it happened.
I've definitely never seen
a diorama like it, put it that way.
And you won't see it
anywhere else?either, because...
- No I don't think I will.
- I prefer it to be hard-hitting
and... the element
of truth and fact is there.
I can definitely see how people
could find this?offensive.
'Cause it's creative license as well,
isn't it?
I mean, you've made this.
But it happened.
But some of this didn't happen.
As far as I know, Michael Jackson
was never in?Nazi Germany,
let alone a concentration camp.
He may be recording history,
but he?s clearly?making some of it up.
As I wander through corridor
after corridor,
I wonder if Andy?s soft spot
for serial killers?might provide a clue
as to why he spends so much time
and money on?this collection.
The West Murders were the most notorious
in Britain?s history.
A total of 12 bodies were discovered
buried in?and around their house
when the killer couple
were finally arrested in?1994.
And somehow Andy got his hands
on souvenirs from?their place.
How does he get hold of this stuff?
You broke into the house or you...
No, I didn't break in. I was given access.
- Again, I can't...
- Give me something.
No. Again, I can?t.
It's a subject matter
I'm not able to talk about.
For a man so proud
of his collectibles,
Andy isn?t keen on letting on
how he acquired?any of this stuff.
I mean, is any of it even real?
Then, seemingly out of nowhere,
he tells me?someone has turned up today
claiming to have a tie actually worn
by Fred?West.
It's kind of amazing that
on the day we come to meet you
someone calls up with...
West's tie, you know?
Andy says he thinks the tie
was probably used by West
to strangle some of his victims.
Where did you find the tie?
Your grandmother's house?
Grandmother's house, yeah,
with the paper and the?cutout.
How would you figure out
if that's the?tie or?it's just...
your grandma's gone and seen
a similar one?and bought it?
- Yeah.
- Age-wise,
it's probably worth
just smelling the sort of musty...
essence of that tie.
It does smell musty, it smells old.
Yeah, it's certainly aged.
I'm?convinced
it's around that period there.
In my mind, that's Fred West's tie,
and you just sniffed that tie.
- How would you feel knowing that...
- Pleasant thought.
..that man was wearing that tie?
Yeah, it's a strange thing,
but just, like, a normal day for you.
- Right?
- A normal day in the office.
I don?t think a smell test
is particularly scientific
and I?m dubious of the story.
But Andy tells me before this new artifact
ends up in the museum
he'll get it DNA tested.
Where do you get his DNA from?
It's just some of the people
that I deal?with privately
that help on certain cloth material.
So, you can't say where
you get his DNA from?
I would never disclose
any inner circle privileges.
'Cause when you talk about
the inner circle, it?sounds, like, very...
I don't know whether that's legit or not.
What's the point in trying to be deceitful
if you own or run a museum?
What's the point of trying to fake
an acquisition?
No point.
To get people in the door
to the museum.
Sensing my doubt,
Andy?s now determined?to prove
that he and his museum are genuine
by showing me how far
his inner circle extends.
Enter Charles Bronson,
Britain's most?notorious
and violent prisoner.
He's even had this movie made about him.
Bronson?s been behind bars
for over 40 years,
thirty-seven of those
in solitary confinement.
His crimes include
armed robbery, assault,
and strangling a prison warden.
And Andy says the two of them
go way back.
Is that you with Bronson up there?
Yeah, that was when
I went to his wedding.
Are you friends with him
through the collecting?
Well, he's very proud
to have?his artwork on?display here,
and, you know, it's gonna stay here.
- You first.
- Thank you.
On a mission to prove
his legitimacy,
Andy?s invited Bronson?s latest fianc?e,
Paula,
to come and meet us at the jail.
I believe you're in love
with this man, for whatever reason,
but you want to live with someone
who is known
- for becoming unhinged at different times.
- I am.
But that?s a real practical worry.
Well, it doesn?t worry me because he...
Charlie?s old school,
he?s never hurt a woman...
You know, he?d never dream of hurting me.
Are you worried about, like, that you have
to consummate this?relationship, you know?
When he gets out,
straight to the hotel room,
I bet you I finish him off,
and he has a heart?attack.
- Dead.
- And he said,
"Forty fucking three years.
I get out, and you fucking kill me off
in one night."
Just imagine it.?Bless him.
Paula has agreed to let me join in
on her weekly?phone call to Charles.
The thought of talking to Britain?s
most dangerous prisoner
fills me with a crazy combination
of nerves and excitement.
- I feel a bit nervous.
- Are you ready?
Hello.
And close the door
Hey, Charlie, it's David.
It's nice to talk to?you.
Hello, Dave, how are you,
me old China?
I'm really good. I've been a bit nervous.
We've been here waiting for you to call,
and I was almost getting
a bit?nervous about talking to you.
You should never be nervous
of me or Paula.
We only eat pygmies.
Hey, Charlie, I've been talking to Paula
today about how you two met,
and how your relationship started.
I was just...
I was wondering what your first impression
was of her when you met.
- Yeah.
- All right. I'll tell you.
When I first met her,?set eyes on her,
she lit the room up.
- Oh, That's nice.
- Beautiful.
As soon as I seen her, I thought,
"I'm gonna marry her."
She's like an angel come into my life.
It's wonderful.
Thank you. That's really nice of you.
- Thank you, sweetheart.
- It's the truth.
Everything I hear about you
paints a different?image
to what I'd known about you
from reading some of the early stories.
I mean, just talking you now, you seem
like a?really lovely,
reasonable gentleman.
I'm first to admit, Dave,
I was a nasty bastard, mate.
I really was.
I was violent, horrible.
But every day I wake up
- I've got a smile on my face.
- Smile.
And I'm locked up in a fucking cage.
- Andy's there now?
- Come here, it's me.
- Me old?China, how are you?
- Keep behaving yourself, and...
Yep, just stay strong.
- What do you think about that?
- Different to what I expected.
Now that is the real Charlie.
So Andy?s proved his point.
His inner circle is?real.
And maybe all the stuff in his museum
is real, too.
Maybe even that musty old tie.
I?ve decided this place
is all about?titillation.
Whether it?s violent criminals,
serial killers,
or just a perky pair of breasts,
Andy is drawn to the stuff
we?re not meant to be.
I suppose you could say
Andy?s a dark tourist?himself.
He?s put an incredible amount of time
and money?into this place,
but I leave still not knowing why.
I don't think you could find a collection
like this anywhere else in the world.
Maybe that's reason enough.
After all this darkness and depravity,
I feel like some R&R.
So, like many other British people,
I travel two?thousand miles south,
to the?Mediterranean,
to the island of Cyprus.
Here it's all sun, sand, and selfies.
The perfect paradise to relax in.
Cyprus is a former British colony
and has been a?popular European
holiday destination since the 1950s.
But in 1974, the Turkish Army
landed in Cyprus,
and, depending on who you talk to,
invaded or liberated the island.
It was a bloody affair
and it split?the country?into two parts.
Caught in the middle was
the beach resort of Famagusta,
one of the most famous and glamorous
holiday destinations in the?Mediterranean.
Famagusta was a favorite
with the international?jet set,
but it was abandoned during the war
and now it?s a ghost city.
completely cut off by the Turkish Army
and completely off limits.
Which, of course, puts it on
the dark?tourist bucket list.
I've come to Cyprus
to break into the forbidden city.
I start my journey in a cafe in the south
with a great view of my target.
- How are you doing?
- Morning.
I've come to see your lookout.
- I hear this is the place to come.
- You're welcome.
Antonis fled from his home
in the ghost?city,
and has never been back.
He built this viewpoint in 1979.
If you go over here,
you can see Famagusta.
Even at this distance,
it surprises me how big?it is.
This place used to be home
to 40,000?people.
It's amazing to think that it's now
completely empty
and no one lives there.
- It all just stretches out, doesn't it?
- Yeah, yeah.
So, all the town you can see
is uninhabited.
No civilians are allowed in.
Getting in
is going to be a challenge.
This is as close as I can get from here,
and there are three military zones
between me and?the ghost city.
Closest to me
is the Cypriot Army zone.
Then there's the UN buffer zone.
Then, finally, I?ll have to cross
the Turkish Army zone.
It's funny, I read and heard
about this place
and I sort of had in the back of my mind
that I?might be able to get in somehow.
- What would happen if I tried to go in?
- You'd get stopped by the UN.
If they don't see you,
straight away you will see soldiers
from the Turkish lookout post to...
come to watch you and arrest you
or interrogate?you.
What if we went at night,
when no one can see?us?
They'd say it's on your risk.
You might even get shot.
- Really?
- Of course.
I didn?t come here to get killed,
but surely there?s some way
to get inside the?ghost city
without actually becoming a ghost myself.
I?ll need to cross the border,
so I?m heading?to Nicosia,
the world?s last divided capital.
Here, Greeks and Turks
live just meters apart,
separated by a wall.
And what better way to tackle
a former?war zone?than on a Segway?
Our guide Andreas is keen to demonstrate
how safe they are.
Is it true the
person that owns Segway
Segwayed off a cliff?
Is that true? Did you hear that story?
- Yeah, it's true.
- It's true?
Yeah, but it was his own fault.
He went up on a narrow path
of a river cliff and fell in the river.
- Yeah, it?s a funny way to die.
- Yeah, sure.
Gliding through the town,
the old parts?of?Nicosia
look like they are crumbling away.
Oh, you okay?
I'm sorry, I didn't see you.
- We had a crash.
- It's okay.
Maybe Segways aren?t as safe
as Andreas says.
- We?re all okay that?s the main thing.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Don?t worry.
- I'm glad it was you, not me.
- That?s the main thing.
- Okay.
Back on track, we hit the UN buffer zone
separating the north and?the south.
Would they talk to us
if we called them over?
I don't think so.
- No?
- We're not even allowed to...
to...
- Are we not allowed to what?
- To make?a film.
- Oh, really?
- Really.
Hello.
Can you come over?
Just come over for a little bit.
I just want to know what they were doing.
Hey, how are you?
Hi, gents. I?d like to advise you that you
can?t film inside the buffer zone.
- You?ll have?to... Can't film.
- We can't film?
I?ve come from New Zealand.
I?just wanted
to know what you were doing.
I can tell you, but turn your cameras
the other way.
Okay, we can do that.
We can sort of turn around.
The UN soldier tells me
that the Turkish Army
is a little bit touchy
about anyone filming the buffer zone.
That?s a Turkish observation point
just over?there.
Good.
- Please, everybody.
- All right, single file.
It all seems a bit
over the top to me
as the invasion was over 40 years ago.
We shift to a more deserted part
of the border.
It's like so close, but so far.
People must sneak across just to have
a little?look, like, a little cheeky...
No, no, no.
- No one?
- It was very dangerous.
I feel like if this was
in New Zealand,
like, we're quite cheeky,
I think New Zealanders
would just sort of sneak in
just to see what was there.
Because we don't like being
told we can't go somewhere.
People were shot down dead, so...
Yeah, the whole being shot thing
sort of?takes the fun out of sneaking in.
Yeah, I believe that if your life
is in danger,
you see things
from a different perspective.
What was that?
Well, is shooting something.
Shooting something?
It doesn't happen very often,
these things.
So, are those bullet holes
up there?
Yes. There are bullet holes everywhere
around the buffer zone.
Things suddenly seem
a lot more serious.
Hearing those gunshots
makes me keen?to understand
what the invasion was actually like.
- Anna.
- Hi.
I'm David. It's nice to meet you.
I meet with Anna, who used to live
in Famagusta?before the war.
How much warning did you get
about the invasion?
A friend comes and knocks at the door
and says to my mother,
"We have rumors that they're going
to bomb Famagusta."
So it was quick? It was like...
?It's gonna be bombed, let's go."
"Get your act together,
get into the?car, we have to go."
We left the house open.
We left a normal house,
a normal household,?right?
- Yeah, well you're gonna go back.
- We're going to go back, but we never did.
Anna?s made me realize
that Famagusta
isn?t just?some dark tourist
dream destination.
It was once her home.
She?s agreed to cross the border
into northern?Cyprus with me
to get me even closer to the ghost city.
But It's also the anniversary
of the 1974?invasion,
and tensions will be running
at an all-time?high.
The next day we travel
to the Turkish north
in a pair of retired UN trucks.
In past years there have been protests
on the anniversary,
and our crew would rather be doing
anything else than coming with us.
We've literally picked the worst day
of the?year.
Sorry about that.
The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus
is only recognized by one country,
and that's?Turkey.
We're on our own.
And that's all our passports. Thank you.
We're now cut off from
the rest of the world?diplomatically,
so, I'm eager to make
a good first impression.
Busy day for you?
Busy? Quiet.
David here. That was the friendliest
border crossing I've ever encountered.
There are Turkish symbols
everywhere.
There's no mistaking who's in charge.
Two more big flags.
Yeah, they're everywhere, it's crazy.
There?s no mistaking where we are.
As the military celebrations
take over the streets,
Anna takes me above to a rooftop
overlooking the?the ghost city.
Here we are.
And on the roof, I get my first chance
to see?the city up close.
It's just meters away.
It seems incredible
that so many buildings,
hotels, apartments, shops, and homes,
- are just empty.
- This, to my eyes,
is taking me back 43 years.
It's an exercise on your...
ability to...
to withhold pain.
I could see you getting affected by it
when you?came up here.
Yeah.
This is the ghost city I came for,
but I?didn't expect the story
that came with?it.
Things get interesting when we decide
to get some shots outside.
- Turkish?
- From New Zealand.
The moment we pull out our camera,
local police?descend on us.
Have they got permission?
If they don?t have them,
they cannot shoot.
- Yeah, we have media passes.
- May we look at it?
- This one here, yeah?
- Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
You know things are serious
when plainclothes officers
pop up out of nowhere.
You have the permission to...
It is not valid for security zones.
Oh, this isn't military.
All right, we've stopped, yeah.
We're detained and taken
to the local police station.
Apparently, even filming the ghost city
is considered a crime.
There are no holiday snaps here.
After three stressful hours
in an?interrogation room,
we're released.
We're told our filming in northern Cyprus
is over
and we should leave.
I'm not ready to give up.
I still want to?get into the city.
Can?t see anything really, but...
It might be stupid,
but I?m going undercover
with a $30 dollar pair of spy glasses
to see if I can sneak into the beach
next to the?forbidden city.
Okay, this...
I get dropped off at a beach resort
directly next to the ghost city.
There are signs everywhere telling me
I definitely shouldn't be filming.
But, hey, I'm just a tourist
wearing suspiciously thick glasses.
There's a guard tower on the beach,
so my plan?is to head into the water.
Just a travel blogger with a GoPro.
So, that is the guard tower,
and then all the way along here
is the ghost?city.
It just stretches on and on and on.
I start swimming towards the border
believing I'm now invisible,
just another swimmer.
There's your border.
And there?s the border,
just some floating?buoys.
All I have to do is swim underneath
and into?the ghost city.
I'm about to take the plunge.
There's a whistle.
It?s the Turkish Army
and they?re not happy.
All right.
Hey.
- Give me this.
- Give you that?
Give me this.
- We were just...
- We are going to police station now.
- Police station?
- Yes.
Are we not allowed to film?
There we go. You understand, please.
- Give me this.
- Oh, why is this?
Please, give me this.
We are going to police station.
This was my last chance
of getting into Famagusta.
They really don't want anyone
to see the?ghost city.
I tell you, "Come here."
For what? You don't listen.
- For what?
- Sorry, I don't have my glasses on.
- No glasses, huh?
- I don't have my glasses on.
Honestly, we didn't know.
Okay. Sorry, we don't want any trouble.
After some fast talking,
I'm allowed to leave...
- You must delete this.
- Delete? Yeah.
- ...as long as I delete the footage.
- Yeah, we can delete this.
We did delete the footage,
but we recovered it.
When I came to Cyprus,
I thought getting?into Famagusta
would be a bit of an?adventure,
but the situation around the ghost city
is far more complicated
than I ever?imagined.
It's an ugly reminder
of a violent?Invasion,
which has split a country?in two
for over 40 years now.
I guess I have to accept
that this?particular destination
is simply out of reach.
investigating dark tourist hot spots
around the world.
Places made famous by?death and disaster.
So, it seems quite weird I'm at a beach,
sand and suntans
and me with a center-parting
and some?rather attractive goggles.
But this is no normal beach.
Hey.
- Give you that?
- Give me this.
- Will we...?
- No, we are going to police station now.
- Police station?
- Yes.
And this is no normal holiday.
On this trip I?m traveling around
Europe?s Dark?Tourist hot spots.
In the Mediterranean holiday island
of Cyprus
I go undercover
to break into a forbidden city.
What if we went at night
when no one can see us?
You might get shot.
In the UK I go drinking with?Nazis.
We?re the bad guys,
the very bad guys
And I visit the world?s
most disturbing museum.
- You realize this is quite odd.
- Why did you come in and see it?
You didn?t have to come and see it.
I'm David Farrier, and this trip
is stranger than?I?d ever expected.
I start my journey
in the English countryside,
30 miles southeast of London
in the small town of Paddock Wood.
Thank you!
They say war is hell,
but not for this lot.
For many British,
it?s a dark tourist vacation...
in their own backyard.
I?m on a farm in Kent,
at what I?d call?a dark tourist festival.
Billed as the Glastonbury of war,
this is the?world?s
biggest military reenactment.
Eighty thousand dark tourists
come here every year
to pretend to be soldiers
from different wars,
different sides, and different times.
They don?t just come to watch.
Many take a week off work
just to hang out in?the mud.
I don?t understand the appeal,
but the?best way to figure it out
is to get a little dirty myself.
I've enlisted as a soldier
to take part in a full scale mock battle.
Hello.
Is this To Hell And Back?
I?ve been assigned to a company called
To Hell?and Back.
They?re a bunch of Brits pretending to be
Americans in World War II.
Lose the pink shorts
before the battle now,?bruv.
Yeah, I'll think about it.
My dress sense
has pegged me as an outsider.
I'm hoping Dan, an ex-British soldier
and the?man charged
with seeing me through all this,
takes me a little more seriously.
What am I going to be dressed as?
Who am I going to be?
It's a lovely cerise color that we've got.
Yeah, off the shoulder.
- No, no. 101st Airborne.
- Okay.
Who are we going to be battling
when we go in?
You'll be battling against the SBG,
that's the Second Battle Group.
- Okay.
- Germans.
- So, we'll be taking on the Nazis.
- I mean, obviously you don't
want to get involved with SS stuff?and
all that crap.
It's just German soldiers.
Okay.
This is my first brush
with the politics of war reenactment.
Dan emphasizes the difference
between the Nazi?political party
versus the German people and their army.
So, it seems I shouldn?t use the word
?Nazis?, but instead say ?Germans?.
It?s a pretty big swastika-bearing
elephant in?the room.
Having established the correct etiquette
for referring to the enemy,
it's time to bond with my own side.
Out of my pink shorts,
I?m hoping my fellow grunts will explain
the attraction of sitting in a muddy hole.
I?m dressed more appropriately.
- Come join us, mate.
- It's quite...
It's quite weird how you can't have
cell phones or anything,
you're just kind of living this
for the weekend.
- Yes.
- It's raining, we're in a hole.
- Yep.
- And this is fun?
- Yeah.
- This is...
The whole running around shooting
people thing, yeah,
it's not too bad.
That's all we're waiting for,
really, the?battle.
We'll get to that in time.
We won?t jump the gun.
But you realize, this is a strange way
to spend a?weekend.
Everyone is preparing
for the big battle tomorrow
where I?ll get to kill some Germans.
I agree to undergo
a bit of extra training.
This is the ?fun?
they saved up their holidays for.
I think it's probably best you can either
sit in?the middle, David...
- Yep.
- ...you know, like the girls do.
What? All right.
Let's have a bit of a cheer for him.
Go! Go! Go!
- Keep going, come on!
- Good job!
- Push on! Go!
- Go, go! Come on!
Roll over! Roll over!
Go for the front line. Just there!
His face is a bit clean.?Go again.
There you go.
Thanks, guys.
Fun had, I?m a muddy mess.
I guess they?d say this is authentic.
And nature helps out with a downpour,
so that I can fully experience
the proper degree?of wartime misery.
There are no showers,
so I head?to the canteen?to warm up,
where I notice the Nazis...
the Germans
are serving up the food.
Is it normal to have the?Germans
cooking for the?Americans
in this scenario?
They?re not Germans, we?re not Americans.
We?re all people.
Just cause we?re in a uniform
doesn?t mean?they?re not our friends.
We?re not ?at war? any more.
You know, it?s Hollywood.
Everybody?s cross dressing, play dressing.
It?s just... it?s play time, isn't it?
Play time.
Thank you so much.
With a hot plate of German grub,
I head back to my battle?buddies
to try?and get to the bottom
of the politics around the Nazis.
It?s interesting,
because obviously
we're dealing with history
and we're role playing,
and so you've?gotta have both sides.
- You gotta understand...
- Because no one wants to be a Nazi though.
This is the subject
that everybody tries
to stay away from, just in case.
It can be interpreted in a way that
causes offense to others,
which you don't want.
To me it?s a bit of a catch-22.
They want all this to be
as authentic as?possible,
but they have to avoid
the inconvenient parts of history.
So, we're meant to be?Americans,
we?re being cooked for by Nazis.
- They're Germans
- You're eating some Italian... Germans.
You're eating Italian pizza.
It all makes sense. Just normal.
The drinking goes on
into the night,
and I don't want to use
the unmentionable?word,
but there?s two Dutchmen in SS uniforms.
Surely no one can deny
these guys are Nazis?
The SS played a major role in some
of the worst?humanitarian crimes
during World War II.
Particularly, the genocide
of six million Jews.
It?s illegal to even wear SS uniforms
in Germany.
And yet here they are,
smiling and drinking with everyone
like it's Oktoberfest.
And no one seems to mind.
Do you get a lot of attention
from people?
You don't want to know.
Because I was watching you in there,
and there?were people coming up to you.
I don't know, I think people respond
in their?own way to this uniform.
I don't know. Also the women,
to be honest,
their reactions?were all positive.
All kinds of reactions,
every one was positive.
Even... Yesterday in the bar,
we had to take off?the swastika bands
because they said
it was a political statement.
- But you've got the swastika up here.
- Yeah.
Well... I didn't make a fuss,
we didn't?want to make a?fuss about it,
so I said, "Okay, we'll take it off,
no problem."
Well, I guess this is
probably the one place
you could dress like?this.
- Yes.
- Yes. Correct.
What would you do if you dressed
like this back home?
- I would hide.
- Yep.
Because you can't wear...
Out of respect for?all the people there,
I wouldn't wear it at all.
- And it's forbidden. We'd be arrested.
- Yeah, forbidden.
But we wouldn't do that.
- It's a unique thing you can do here?
- Yeah.
Yeah. But we wouldn't there.
We do not want to offend people.
We don't want to propagate anything
that's behind the uniform.
- You understand?
- Of course.
I want to be clear in that.
They seem like nice guys,
but there's a question here
that I?haven't figured out.
Is it possible to?reenact this stuff
without somehow?condoning the bad parts?
Are there some things
we just shouldn?t be?bringing back?
Today's the climax of the festival.
A giant battle reenactment,
where I?ll take on?the Germans...
or the Nazis, or whatever
you?re meant to call?them here.
I don't know how to hold this.
Our guns are real,
actually used during World?War II.
We'll be firing blanks,
but what if someone
accidentally puts a live round in?
What if it jams and backfires?
I feel a bit sick,
I don?t know why.
I'm nervous as hell,
and this isn't even a?real war.
Then it just starts.
All right. Bloody hell.
I guess that's how wars happen.
No one warns you.
It's loud, so loud.
All set. Fucking hell.
And with sweat in my eyes
I can?t even see who?I?m shooting at.
Look out.
Thistle.
Ow!
Everyone is
completely in character now
except maybe me. I'm just in panic.
Watch for Jerrys in the grass.
I don't like war.
Come on, move, move!
It's only towards the end
that I spot the spectators
and remember this is all just pretend.
Don't shoot.
But some people
are taking their roles?very seriously.
He's dead.
Yeah. I think that's it.
Thank God, it's over.
It was the longest,
most frantic 20 minutes of my life.
We?ve been told we?ve won,
but who could tell?
My ears are still ringing.
It was so full on.
I got quite scared.
I sort of forgot it wasn't real.
- It's an adrenaline rush, isn't it?
- It kicks in.
- It's 'cause it's so bloody loud.
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- You can't help it.
Then you start?thinking
it's real even though it's not real.
And this is, like, your holiday?
- Yes.
- Yes?
It's a good laugh.
It?s, like, why didn?t you go to
a beautiful?island in the Caribbean?
Sitting down on a beach
doesn?t really do it for?me.
I'm glad this war is over.
I'm exhausted.
Thanks guys,
all the reenactors,
the vehicle?drivers, owners.
But I can see why people come here
for an?immersive experience
and an adrenaline rush.
But I?m not sure that making
a ghastly piece of?history fun
is the best way to understand it
or avoid repeating it.
It?s definitely not my idea of a holiday.
Three hours' drive west,
and I?m 10 miles from the Welsh border
in the middle of the most?picturesque
English countryside.
What could be of any possible interest
to a dark tourist here?
But I?ve heard that tucked away
in the middle of all this
chocolate box- ness
is the world?s most politically
incorrect crime?museum.
Hidden in a 200 year-old prison,
the museum?s collections
are described?as disturbing,
gruesome, and deeply offensive.
I want to find out who would create
such an upsetting collection.
And is the purpose education
or just plain?shock value?
Andy, I'm David.
- David. You okay?
- Nice to meet you, sir.
- I'm good. This place is impressive.
- Different.
It's such an unusual thing to have
in this?sleepy, little, cute town.
Is it famous for anything else
besides this?
I keep seeing this on signs, what else...
Well, I don't think we're famous,
I think we're?infamous.
What's the main theme you've got going on,
'cause I see a lot of different things?
Where good and evil collide.
That's it in a nutshell.
So, it?s a very divisive collection.
Every bit of exhibit material?is...
is controversial
in some shape or form.
And it's all from your passions?
It's everything that you
are passionate about?
My madness, I suppose, yeah.
I'm totally intrigued
and wonder which exhibits
require such explicit warning signs
at the front door.
But Andy doesn't waste any time
getting into the questionable stuff.
I mean, how do you come upon
something like?this?
- I picked this up in a model shop.
- Right.
You know, I probably don't present it
in a way a lot of people
want it presented,
'cause that's the way I am,
but the fact is,
you know, poor little black children
and black people were lynched
by the Ku Klux Klan.
And as you can see,
I've put them all together.
Wow.
To be honest,
I'm just so gobsmacked
I don?t?know what to say.
It?s controversial, that?s for sure.
But then you see the Golliwogs
with the Ku Klux Klan.
The Ku Klux Klan would obviously
be a bit?annoyed by the fact that
they're seen to be playing with Golliwogs.
A lot of black people want to see it,
because that?s?part of their history.
It's confronting isn?t it?
It is confronting.
I'm not sure that Andy
has presented
this part of history accurately.
Is he genuinely trying to educate people
or just?shock them?
The whole jail is packed wall to ceiling
with stuff,
in no discernible order.
And things get even darker
when Andy shows me?the Nazi room.
You've got a lampshade
made out of human skin.
This distressing item is part
of Andy?s?concentration camp exhibit.
I had that tested,
and it is actual human skin.
It?s heavy stuff, isn't it?
It just seems insane that people would
actually pull skin off the back of people
and have it made into lampshades.
The lampshade is insane,
but it seems just as bad for Andy
to acquire it?and put it on display.
This sometimes upsets people,
but you've got these dioramas here,
which we've?put together.
That's a death camp scene.
- And you've made these up yourself?
- I made these up.
You've got a scene there, which again,
people say, "Well, that's disgusting."
This is, if you like, it's a rape scene.
This is a typical example of,
say, Auschwitz.
The Nazi death camp officers
were raping,
you know,?Jewish ladies...
and it happened.
I've definitely never seen
a diorama like it, put it that way.
And you won't see it
anywhere else?either, because...
- No I don't think I will.
- I prefer it to be hard-hitting
and... the element
of truth and fact is there.
I can definitely see how people
could find this?offensive.
'Cause it's creative license as well,
isn't it?
I mean, you've made this.
But it happened.
But some of this didn't happen.
As far as I know, Michael Jackson
was never in?Nazi Germany,
let alone a concentration camp.
He may be recording history,
but he?s clearly?making some of it up.
As I wander through corridor
after corridor,
I wonder if Andy?s soft spot
for serial killers?might provide a clue
as to why he spends so much time
and money on?this collection.
The West Murders were the most notorious
in Britain?s history.
A total of 12 bodies were discovered
buried in?and around their house
when the killer couple
were finally arrested in?1994.
And somehow Andy got his hands
on souvenirs from?their place.
How does he get hold of this stuff?
You broke into the house or you...
No, I didn't break in. I was given access.
- Again, I can't...
- Give me something.
No. Again, I can?t.
It's a subject matter
I'm not able to talk about.
For a man so proud
of his collectibles,
Andy isn?t keen on letting on
how he acquired?any of this stuff.
I mean, is any of it even real?
Then, seemingly out of nowhere,
he tells me?someone has turned up today
claiming to have a tie actually worn
by Fred?West.
It's kind of amazing that
on the day we come to meet you
someone calls up with...
West's tie, you know?
Andy says he thinks the tie
was probably used by West
to strangle some of his victims.
Where did you find the tie?
Your grandmother's house?
Grandmother's house, yeah,
with the paper and the?cutout.
How would you figure out
if that's the?tie or?it's just...
your grandma's gone and seen
a similar one?and bought it?
- Yeah.
- Age-wise,
it's probably worth
just smelling the sort of musty...
essence of that tie.
It does smell musty, it smells old.
Yeah, it's certainly aged.
I'm?convinced
it's around that period there.
In my mind, that's Fred West's tie,
and you just sniffed that tie.
- How would you feel knowing that...
- Pleasant thought.
..that man was wearing that tie?
Yeah, it's a strange thing,
but just, like, a normal day for you.
- Right?
- A normal day in the office.
I don?t think a smell test
is particularly scientific
and I?m dubious of the story.
But Andy tells me before this new artifact
ends up in the museum
he'll get it DNA tested.
Where do you get his DNA from?
It's just some of the people
that I deal?with privately
that help on certain cloth material.
So, you can't say where
you get his DNA from?
I would never disclose
any inner circle privileges.
'Cause when you talk about
the inner circle, it?sounds, like, very...
I don't know whether that's legit or not.
What's the point in trying to be deceitful
if you own or run a museum?
What's the point of trying to fake
an acquisition?
No point.
To get people in the door
to the museum.
Sensing my doubt,
Andy?s now determined?to prove
that he and his museum are genuine
by showing me how far
his inner circle extends.
Enter Charles Bronson,
Britain's most?notorious
and violent prisoner.
He's even had this movie made about him.
Bronson?s been behind bars
for over 40 years,
thirty-seven of those
in solitary confinement.
His crimes include
armed robbery, assault,
and strangling a prison warden.
And Andy says the two of them
go way back.
Is that you with Bronson up there?
Yeah, that was when
I went to his wedding.
Are you friends with him
through the collecting?
Well, he's very proud
to have?his artwork on?display here,
and, you know, it's gonna stay here.
- You first.
- Thank you.
On a mission to prove
his legitimacy,
Andy?s invited Bronson?s latest fianc?e,
Paula,
to come and meet us at the jail.
I believe you're in love
with this man, for whatever reason,
but you want to live with someone
who is known
- for becoming unhinged at different times.
- I am.
But that?s a real practical worry.
Well, it doesn?t worry me because he...
Charlie?s old school,
he?s never hurt a woman...
You know, he?d never dream of hurting me.
Are you worried about, like, that you have
to consummate this?relationship, you know?
When he gets out,
straight to the hotel room,
I bet you I finish him off,
and he has a heart?attack.
- Dead.
- And he said,
"Forty fucking three years.
I get out, and you fucking kill me off
in one night."
Just imagine it.?Bless him.
Paula has agreed to let me join in
on her weekly?phone call to Charles.
The thought of talking to Britain?s
most dangerous prisoner
fills me with a crazy combination
of nerves and excitement.
- I feel a bit nervous.
- Are you ready?
Hello.
And close the door
Hey, Charlie, it's David.
It's nice to talk to?you.
Hello, Dave, how are you,
me old China?
I'm really good. I've been a bit nervous.
We've been here waiting for you to call,
and I was almost getting
a bit?nervous about talking to you.
You should never be nervous
of me or Paula.
We only eat pygmies.
Hey, Charlie, I've been talking to Paula
today about how you two met,
and how your relationship started.
I was just...
I was wondering what your first impression
was of her when you met.
- Yeah.
- All right. I'll tell you.
When I first met her,?set eyes on her,
she lit the room up.
- Oh, That's nice.
- Beautiful.
As soon as I seen her, I thought,
"I'm gonna marry her."
She's like an angel come into my life.
It's wonderful.
Thank you. That's really nice of you.
- Thank you, sweetheart.
- It's the truth.
Everything I hear about you
paints a different?image
to what I'd known about you
from reading some of the early stories.
I mean, just talking you now, you seem
like a?really lovely,
reasonable gentleman.
I'm first to admit, Dave,
I was a nasty bastard, mate.
I really was.
I was violent, horrible.
But every day I wake up
- I've got a smile on my face.
- Smile.
And I'm locked up in a fucking cage.
- Andy's there now?
- Come here, it's me.
- Me old?China, how are you?
- Keep behaving yourself, and...
Yep, just stay strong.
- What do you think about that?
- Different to what I expected.
Now that is the real Charlie.
So Andy?s proved his point.
His inner circle is?real.
And maybe all the stuff in his museum
is real, too.
Maybe even that musty old tie.
I?ve decided this place
is all about?titillation.
Whether it?s violent criminals,
serial killers,
or just a perky pair of breasts,
Andy is drawn to the stuff
we?re not meant to be.
I suppose you could say
Andy?s a dark tourist?himself.
He?s put an incredible amount of time
and money?into this place,
but I leave still not knowing why.
I don't think you could find a collection
like this anywhere else in the world.
Maybe that's reason enough.
After all this darkness and depravity,
I feel like some R&R.
So, like many other British people,
I travel two?thousand miles south,
to the?Mediterranean,
to the island of Cyprus.
Here it's all sun, sand, and selfies.
The perfect paradise to relax in.
Cyprus is a former British colony
and has been a?popular European
holiday destination since the 1950s.
But in 1974, the Turkish Army
landed in Cyprus,
and, depending on who you talk to,
invaded or liberated the island.
It was a bloody affair
and it split?the country?into two parts.
Caught in the middle was
the beach resort of Famagusta,
one of the most famous and glamorous
holiday destinations in the?Mediterranean.
Famagusta was a favorite
with the international?jet set,
but it was abandoned during the war
and now it?s a ghost city.
completely cut off by the Turkish Army
and completely off limits.
Which, of course, puts it on
the dark?tourist bucket list.
I've come to Cyprus
to break into the forbidden city.
I start my journey in a cafe in the south
with a great view of my target.
- How are you doing?
- Morning.
I've come to see your lookout.
- I hear this is the place to come.
- You're welcome.
Antonis fled from his home
in the ghost?city,
and has never been back.
He built this viewpoint in 1979.
If you go over here,
you can see Famagusta.
Even at this distance,
it surprises me how big?it is.
This place used to be home
to 40,000?people.
It's amazing to think that it's now
completely empty
and no one lives there.
- It all just stretches out, doesn't it?
- Yeah, yeah.
So, all the town you can see
is uninhabited.
No civilians are allowed in.
Getting in
is going to be a challenge.
This is as close as I can get from here,
and there are three military zones
between me and?the ghost city.
Closest to me
is the Cypriot Army zone.
Then there's the UN buffer zone.
Then, finally, I?ll have to cross
the Turkish Army zone.
It's funny, I read and heard
about this place
and I sort of had in the back of my mind
that I?might be able to get in somehow.
- What would happen if I tried to go in?
- You'd get stopped by the UN.
If they don't see you,
straight away you will see soldiers
from the Turkish lookout post to...
come to watch you and arrest you
or interrogate?you.
What if we went at night,
when no one can see?us?
They'd say it's on your risk.
You might even get shot.
- Really?
- Of course.
I didn?t come here to get killed,
but surely there?s some way
to get inside the?ghost city
without actually becoming a ghost myself.
I?ll need to cross the border,
so I?m heading?to Nicosia,
the world?s last divided capital.
Here, Greeks and Turks
live just meters apart,
separated by a wall.
And what better way to tackle
a former?war zone?than on a Segway?
Our guide Andreas is keen to demonstrate
how safe they are.
Is it true the
person that owns Segway
Segwayed off a cliff?
Is that true? Did you hear that story?
- Yeah, it's true.
- It's true?
Yeah, but it was his own fault.
He went up on a narrow path
of a river cliff and fell in the river.
- Yeah, it?s a funny way to die.
- Yeah, sure.
Gliding through the town,
the old parts?of?Nicosia
look like they are crumbling away.
Oh, you okay?
I'm sorry, I didn't see you.
- We had a crash.
- It's okay.
Maybe Segways aren?t as safe
as Andreas says.
- We?re all okay that?s the main thing.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Don?t worry.
- I'm glad it was you, not me.
- That?s the main thing.
- Okay.
Back on track, we hit the UN buffer zone
separating the north and?the south.
Would they talk to us
if we called them over?
I don't think so.
- No?
- We're not even allowed to...
to...
- Are we not allowed to what?
- To make?a film.
- Oh, really?
- Really.
Hello.
Can you come over?
Just come over for a little bit.
I just want to know what they were doing.
Hey, how are you?
Hi, gents. I?d like to advise you that you
can?t film inside the buffer zone.
- You?ll have?to... Can't film.
- We can't film?
I?ve come from New Zealand.
I?just wanted
to know what you were doing.
I can tell you, but turn your cameras
the other way.
Okay, we can do that.
We can sort of turn around.
The UN soldier tells me
that the Turkish Army
is a little bit touchy
about anyone filming the buffer zone.
That?s a Turkish observation point
just over?there.
Good.
- Please, everybody.
- All right, single file.
It all seems a bit
over the top to me
as the invasion was over 40 years ago.
We shift to a more deserted part
of the border.
It's like so close, but so far.
People must sneak across just to have
a little?look, like, a little cheeky...
No, no, no.
- No one?
- It was very dangerous.
I feel like if this was
in New Zealand,
like, we're quite cheeky,
I think New Zealanders
would just sort of sneak in
just to see what was there.
Because we don't like being
told we can't go somewhere.
People were shot down dead, so...
Yeah, the whole being shot thing
sort of?takes the fun out of sneaking in.
Yeah, I believe that if your life
is in danger,
you see things
from a different perspective.
What was that?
Well, is shooting something.
Shooting something?
It doesn't happen very often,
these things.
So, are those bullet holes
up there?
Yes. There are bullet holes everywhere
around the buffer zone.
Things suddenly seem
a lot more serious.
Hearing those gunshots
makes me keen?to understand
what the invasion was actually like.
- Anna.
- Hi.
I'm David. It's nice to meet you.
I meet with Anna, who used to live
in Famagusta?before the war.
How much warning did you get
about the invasion?
A friend comes and knocks at the door
and says to my mother,
"We have rumors that they're going
to bomb Famagusta."
So it was quick? It was like...
?It's gonna be bombed, let's go."
"Get your act together,
get into the?car, we have to go."
We left the house open.
We left a normal house,
a normal household,?right?
- Yeah, well you're gonna go back.
- We're going to go back, but we never did.
Anna?s made me realize
that Famagusta
isn?t just?some dark tourist
dream destination.
It was once her home.
She?s agreed to cross the border
into northern?Cyprus with me
to get me even closer to the ghost city.
But It's also the anniversary
of the 1974?invasion,
and tensions will be running
at an all-time?high.
The next day we travel
to the Turkish north
in a pair of retired UN trucks.
In past years there have been protests
on the anniversary,
and our crew would rather be doing
anything else than coming with us.
We've literally picked the worst day
of the?year.
Sorry about that.
The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus
is only recognized by one country,
and that's?Turkey.
We're on our own.
And that's all our passports. Thank you.
We're now cut off from
the rest of the world?diplomatically,
so, I'm eager to make
a good first impression.
Busy day for you?
Busy? Quiet.
David here. That was the friendliest
border crossing I've ever encountered.
There are Turkish symbols
everywhere.
There's no mistaking who's in charge.
Two more big flags.
Yeah, they're everywhere, it's crazy.
There?s no mistaking where we are.
As the military celebrations
take over the streets,
Anna takes me above to a rooftop
overlooking the?the ghost city.
Here we are.
And on the roof, I get my first chance
to see?the city up close.
It's just meters away.
It seems incredible
that so many buildings,
hotels, apartments, shops, and homes,
- are just empty.
- This, to my eyes,
is taking me back 43 years.
It's an exercise on your...
ability to...
to withhold pain.
I could see you getting affected by it
when you?came up here.
Yeah.
This is the ghost city I came for,
but I?didn't expect the story
that came with?it.
Things get interesting when we decide
to get some shots outside.
- Turkish?
- From New Zealand.
The moment we pull out our camera,
local police?descend on us.
Have they got permission?
If they don?t have them,
they cannot shoot.
- Yeah, we have media passes.
- May we look at it?
- This one here, yeah?
- Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
You know things are serious
when plainclothes officers
pop up out of nowhere.
You have the permission to...
It is not valid for security zones.
Oh, this isn't military.
All right, we've stopped, yeah.
We're detained and taken
to the local police station.
Apparently, even filming the ghost city
is considered a crime.
There are no holiday snaps here.
After three stressful hours
in an?interrogation room,
we're released.
We're told our filming in northern Cyprus
is over
and we should leave.
I'm not ready to give up.
I still want to?get into the city.
Can?t see anything really, but...
It might be stupid,
but I?m going undercover
with a $30 dollar pair of spy glasses
to see if I can sneak into the beach
next to the?forbidden city.
Okay, this...
I get dropped off at a beach resort
directly next to the ghost city.
There are signs everywhere telling me
I definitely shouldn't be filming.
But, hey, I'm just a tourist
wearing suspiciously thick glasses.
There's a guard tower on the beach,
so my plan?is to head into the water.
Just a travel blogger with a GoPro.
So, that is the guard tower,
and then all the way along here
is the ghost?city.
It just stretches on and on and on.
I start swimming towards the border
believing I'm now invisible,
just another swimmer.
There's your border.
And there?s the border,
just some floating?buoys.
All I have to do is swim underneath
and into?the ghost city.
I'm about to take the plunge.
There's a whistle.
It?s the Turkish Army
and they?re not happy.
All right.
Hey.
- Give me this.
- Give you that?
Give me this.
- We were just...
- We are going to police station now.
- Police station?
- Yes.
Are we not allowed to film?
There we go. You understand, please.
- Give me this.
- Oh, why is this?
Please, give me this.
We are going to police station.
This was my last chance
of getting into Famagusta.
They really don't want anyone
to see the?ghost city.
I tell you, "Come here."
For what? You don't listen.
- For what?
- Sorry, I don't have my glasses on.
- No glasses, huh?
- I don't have my glasses on.
Honestly, we didn't know.
Okay. Sorry, we don't want any trouble.
After some fast talking,
I'm allowed to leave...
- You must delete this.
- Delete? Yeah.
- ...as long as I delete the footage.
- Yeah, we can delete this.
We did delete the footage,
but we recovered it.
When I came to Cyprus,
I thought getting?into Famagusta
would be a bit of an?adventure,
but the situation around the ghost city
is far more complicated
than I ever?imagined.
It's an ugly reminder
of a violent?Invasion,
which has split a country?in two
for over 40 years now.
I guess I have to accept
that this?particular destination
is simply out of reach.