You can go to Tehran & North Korea, just need to apply for a visa.

> "You can go to Tehran & North Korea"

Leaving, on the other hand...

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...

just don't have US/Israel passport or visa stamp from there, and Iran will be one of best experiences in your life. people are amazing, culture is just WOW, whole place feels ancient even to europeans (and it is...). it is properly exotic in some parts in a way that will soon be only a thing of the past for most 'exotic' places on the earth, that look more and more like a standard copy&paste westernized locations.

most people speak OK english, very welcoming and friendly. don't trust some crap propaganda.

I very much doubt these places will allow virtual visitors if they forbid real ones. That is, I doubt Google will be allowed to drive through North Korea with their cars. :)

would satellite imagery be sufficient?

The area around the White House is intentionally pixelated. Israel does not allow detailed maps in certain places - GPS navigation devices don't work there.

> The area around the White House is intentionally pixelated.

Not for the Russian "Google Earth" counterpart, it ain't. ;)

I would guess that it will still work but at a (noticeably?) lower quality

I'm mostly waiting for VR "tours" of completely fictional places, from popular fantasy/sci-fi settings, stories and art:

https://medium.com/@Razengan/virtual-reality-fantasy-tourism...

I thought Mecca was like, the opposite of a forbidden place.

It's forbidden to go within 15km of Mecca if you're not Muslim.

You need a certificate signed by an Imam, which you can likely get at your local Islamic center. Challenges include convincing the Imam that you're not just getting it to sneak into Mecca, and being able to answer follow-up questions at the roadblock in Mecca, such as, "So you're Muslim, eh? Tell us the Five Pillars."

Mecca, Saudi Arabia is slightly different, of course.

Having seen plenty of high quality aviation maps in my day, which are quite incredible in the grand scheme of things, I've got some disappointing news about Area 51...