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Pompeii
by CHERYL PENDRY, PassPorter Guest Columnist
There can't be many places in the world where you can
step back 2,000 years in time and see Roman remains in every direction you
look.
Perhaps that's why, out of all the wonderful places that we would visit around
the Mediterranean on the Disney Magic, Pompeii was among those I was most
looking forward to. It didn't disappoint, but the weather certainly did. The
rain must have seen us coming, as the clouds looked threatening throughout the
bus journey there, but it was only when we stepped off and headed for the
entrance that it decided to start raining. Fortunately, although we experienced
some heavy downpours, the rain wasn't constant and it's just as well, as there
weren't many places to shelter!
To understand what you'll see at Pompeii
today, you first need to understand its history. A wealthy city, it was filled
with elegant private buildings and even today, you can see the entrances to some
of them. Following a rebellion against the Romans, Pompeii lost its
independence, becoming first a Roman municipality and then a colony, but during
all that time, expansion of the city continued until the fateful day of 24
August 79 A.D.
A massive eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius, which today
still dominates the landscape of the whole area, buried the city for centuries.
Pompeii was hit by a mixture of ash, poisonous gas and white hot stones, all of
which combined to bury both buildings and bodies in layers of debris up to seven
metres (23 feet) deep. And that's how it stayed until the early 18th century,
when accidental archaeological finds led to the uncovering of the city. Today
around 60 hectares (150 acres) has been excavated and work still continues on
finding more parts of Pompeii.
The first things you see as you approach
Pompeii are the massive city walls, and that prevents you from seeing any of the
remains inside. At first glance I wasn't sure how much we would actually see,
but patience is definitely a virtue here. As soon as you get a bit further on,
the whole city starts to appear in front of you and with every turn, you find a
bit more.
Like any major city, there were shops along the streets and
even the paving stones and remains of the drainage system can be seen today.
It's fascinating to see things that we take for granted today, like sewers,
which were first developed by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago. At first I
thought I was imagining what I was seeing, but our guide pointed out the
carriage tracks in the roads. As you stood there, you could just picture horses
and carriages careering towards you, quite an eerie feeling!
Of course,
entertainment was a major part of city life, with a large theatre still visible
on the site. Our guide told us that open air performances were held here a
couple of years ago and the tickets disappeared in no time. I'm not surprised,
as that must have been a unique experience; enjoying theatre in a space that
last hosted plays in the Roman era.
Another form of entertainment was the
(former) brothel, which our guide called "the ice cream parlour," as we had the
delicate ears of youngsters in our party! This had the longest line of anywhere
in Pompeii and it's worth the wait. The frescoes in there just have to be seen
to be believed!
The real highlight of the tour for me was seeing one of
the private villas with its ornate interior designs. It gave you a taste of just
how opulent the city must have been in its heyday with brightly colored mosaics,
and frescoes all over the walls, but perhaps the most fascinating part of the
building was the display inside - a mummified body. We'd already seen a
documentary explaining that a lot of bodies were found; most of them huddled
into the fetal position, as they were hiding from the coming onslaught from
Mount Vesuvius.
Our tour wound up in the Forum, a huge area for public
meetings all that time ago. Here you can see the remains of all the most
important buildings in Pompeii, from the public treasury to the Temple of
Apollo, along with the finance exchange and the Senate house, where the town
Council assembled. There was so much in that area that it was almost too much to
take in.
All too soon, it was time to leave Pompeii and that's the real
shame of a cruise, you just never get to spend enough time in the places you
really love. I could have browsed every single nook and cranny of the city,
easily spending a full day there, but tragically the bus was calling us. I know
there's much more to see at Pompeii and I hope that one day we get the chance to
go back and experience it all. It really is a unique experience in the world and
an amazing opportunity to see how life would have been in Roman times.
Related Links: Rome
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Updated 04/06/07
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