Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries : Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies

“[A] brilliant new tome... If you like intrigue, hidden gems and historical treatments about all things ‘off limits'this book will fascinate you.” —The American SpectatorThe doors of some of the world's best-hidden places and most secretive organizations have now been thrown wide open! Some of the names are familiar: Area 51, Yale's Skull and Bones, Opus Dei, the Esalen Institute. Others are more obscure, hidden by fate or purposeful deception, such as the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, the super-secure facility where Vice President Dick Cheney was secreted after the 9/11 attacks, and Germany's Wewelsburg Castle, which was intended to become the mythological centerpiece of the Nazi Regime. Readers can take an unprecedented look deep inside the off-the-map military installations and shadowy organizations that operate in the murkiest corners of our world.“A great book... written with wit and style... Of course there are many other famous sites discussed as well, from the brooding castle which Himmler designed as the headquarters of the SS, to the shrine of the Oracle at Delphi, to Bollengin Tower on Lake Zurich, Switzerland, which Carl Jung built as a retreat for his study into psychology.” —The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry So Begins This Thrilling Guide To The Most Secretive Sites Around The Globe, From Ancient Shrines To Off-limits Military Installations, That Few Travelers Have Or Will Ever Visit-including Many That Most Of Us Don't Even Know About. Gain Unprecedented Access To Such Secret Places And Hidden Sanctuaries As: The Former Chapter-house Of Valencia Cathedral In Spain, Where It's Claimed The Holy Grail Is Held Montecristo, The Most Closely Guarded Island On Earth, Where A Fabulous Treasure Waits To Be Unearthed Wewelsburg Castle In Westphalia, Germany, The Satanic Vatican Esoteric Headquarters Of Heinrich Himmler's Murderous Ss Disneyland's Club 33, The Officially Nonexistent Private Retreat Designed Personally By Walt Disney Before His Death, With A Membership Waiting List Said To Be Fourteen Years Long The Cavern Of The Beati Paoli, A Black-robed And Hooded Secret Society Of Assassins In Palermo, Sicily The Arctic Eden, Where The Seeds Of All The World's Varieties Of Plants Are Stored As A Precaution Against Ecological Disaster America's Legendary University Secret Societies, Whose Influence Shaped Many Of The Present Leaders Of The Country's Society Mysterious Heritage: Investigating (and, When Necessary, Debunking) The Usual Suspects. Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, Scotland -- Rennes-le Château, France: Wholly Bunk, Hoary Tale -- Villa Tevere: The Headquarters Of Opus Dei, Rome -- The Hotel De Bilderberg And The Bilderberg Group, The Netherlands -- Vauxhall Cross: London's Secret Intelligence Service (m16) Headquarters -- Rosicrucian Park, San José, And Club 33, Anaheim, California -- Shrines And Sanctuaries, Ancient And Modern: Places Of Primordial Spiritual Impulses And Folklore: A Psychedelic West Coast Enclave. Ise Shrine, Japan -- Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo -- Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet -- The Shrine Of The Oracle At Delphi, Greece -- The Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California -- The Temple, The Ark, And The Grail: Undeniable Surprises On The Sober Trail Of Knights Templars, Freemasons, Holy Grail Hunters, And Gnostics. The Bååtska Palace, Stockholm -- The Chapel Of The Ark, Aksum, Ethiopia --^ The Chapel Of The Holy Grail, Valencia Cathedral, Spain -- Significant Masonic Temples From Rome And Paris To Washington And Pushkin (russia) -- Gnosticism Today -- Gothic Nightmare: Himmler's Black Camelot And Nazi Spiritual Center, With Side Trips To Other Germanic Esoteric Sites -- Wewelsburg Castle, Westphalia, Germany -- The Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland -- Bollingen Tower, Lake Zurich, Switzerland -- Citadels Of Chivalry: Remaining Outposts Of Ancient Noble And Charitable Brotherhoods At The Service Of Humanity. The Knights Of Malta, Rome -- The Tuscan Order Of St. Stephen Pope And Martyr, Pisa -- The Teutonic Order -- Grottoes And Grotesques: Strange And Historic Passageways, Caverns, And Hiding Places. The Passetto Di Borgo, Rome -- The Magic Door, Rome -- The Grotto Of The Beati Paoli, Palermo, Sicily -- Priest Holes In England --^ Modern-day Bolt-holes: Secret Government Installations, Well-oiled For Use In Time Of War Or Crisis. Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, Bluemont, Virginia -- The Federal Relocation Arc -- Area 51: The Facility That Does Not Exist, Nevada -- Raf Menwith Hill, Yorkshire, England -- Islands Of Mystery: Five Special Island Sanctuaries With Their Unique Treasure Hoards, Inaccessibility, Or Spiritual Significance. Montecristo: The Forbidden Island Off The Italian Coast -- Easter Island: Mysterious Graven Images -- Isle Of Lewis, Scottish Hebrides -- Iona: St. Columba's Scottish Island Sanctuary -- Svalbard: Norway's Arctic Eden -- Holy Of Holies: Places On The Trail Of A Higher Reality, Ultimate Human Destiny, And According To Some, Apocalypse. Sancta Sanctorum, Rome's Lateran Palace -- The Pauline Chapel, The Vatican's Apostolic Palace -- The Prophecies Of St. Malachy -- The Monastery Of St. Catherine Of Sinai, Egypt --^ The Autonomous Monastic Republic Of Holy Mount Athos, Greece -- The Abbey Of Saine-madeleine Du Barroux, France -- The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey -- Her Majesty's Chapels Royal Of The Mohawks, Ontario, Canada -- Counterfactual History: The Eternal What If...? -- Hidden Totems: Treasured Objects Or Talismans Of Great Antiquity -- The Stone Of Destiny -- The Holy Crown Of St. Stephen Of Hungary -- The British And Polish Crown Jewels In Canada -- The Holy Ampoule Of The Kings Of France -- Joyeuse, The Sword Of Charlemagne -- The Holy Lance Of St. Longinus: The Spear Of Destiny -- Oliver Cromwell's Head -- (very) Private Banking: A Discreet Tour Through The Great Temples Of High Finance And Private Wealth Management. Rothschild's, London -- Banks That Are No More -- The Great Survivors: Goldman Sachs And The House Of Lazard -- The Wealth Managers, Including Coutts & Co., The Queen's Bankers -- The Swiss Banks: Models Of Discretion --^ The German Private Banks: Oppenheim, Warbug, And Others -- A Well-connected American House: Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. -- C. Hoar & Co. -- The Enduring Allure Of Gold -- University Secret Societies And Dueling Corps. Inside The Closely Guarded Doors Of Fraternities And Societies For The Future Elite. The Apostles Of Cambridge And The Bullingdon Club Of Oxford -- Princeton's Eating Clubs -- Harvard's Final Clubs -- Yale's Senior Societies: Skull And Bones And Its Rivals -- The German University Corps -- The Mensure -- Jolly Good Fellowship: The Lore, Elegance, Humor, And Eccentricities Of The Great Private Clubs Of London And The World. London's Private Clubs: White's: The Oldest Club; Boodle's, Brooks's, And Others Of Distinction -- Clubs Outside London And Europe -- America's Private Clubs -- Sanctuaries: The Enduring Tradition. Stephen Klimczuk And Gerald Warner Of Craigenmaddie. Includes Index. Features some of the world's best-hidden places and secretive organisations. This title includes Area 51, Yale's Skull and Bones, Opus Dei, the Esalen Institute, and Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, the super-secure facility where Vice President Dick Cheney was secreted after the 9/11 attacks.