The Ruins of Pompeii
The final stop on our week-long Mediterranean Cruise was the ancient Roman City of Pompeii. Partially destroyed and buried under 20 feet of ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, Pompeii was rediscovered 1500 years later and is hailed for giving us a detailed glimpse of what life was like during Roman Times.
Having seen Rome with its majestic arcs, temples and forums, I was very excited to see the other side of the coin, that of the quaint, provincial town far away from the capital. Maybe it’s the Cebuano in me talking, but being here made me feel nostalgic for the good ol’ days before Manila, when the pace of life was more steady and chill.
* One of the many courtyards in town. The Romans sure loved their open-areas! You can feel how much they must have appreciated the fresh air and cool breeze.
* An amphitheater offering excellent acoustics!
* Rows of homes in what our tour guide called, the “rich part of town.”
* It’s awesome how very “normal” their society was. Things are put into perspective when you find out that they had restaurants (left), shops (upper right) and function areas (lower right).
* A view of the Cardo or main street. This is where society and culture would converge back in the day. One can imagine the shopkeepers, customers, street performers, children and soldiers going around doing their thing.
* I imagine this to be the neighborhood pub, serving the best wine in all of Southern Italy, and next to it, a Greek restaurant, serving the best Gyros in town.
* Well-preserved columns in another courtyard.
* The Romans loved to socialize. The Roman bath was both a means to clean oneself and to conduct business / hang-out with friends.
* A poor guy caught under the ash of Mount Vesuvius. He probably lived for about a minute before ultimately suffocating.
* This guy was probably luckier as he looks to be sleeping when he got buried.
* Intricate sauna system that was most probably a favorite of the elite.
* The road to the red-light district!
* Murals in the ancient brothel depicting various sexual acts that the customers could purchase. Northern Africans, Middle Eastern, and those with deformities were apparently high in demand!
* And an example of the actual motel rooms used by the customers. Looks comfy, in a butt and knee scratching way.
* This place probably gets spooky at night, what with all the trapped souls loitering about.
* My folks taking a picture with some random stone sculpture.
* A penis etched in stone on the ground, which according to our tour guide, points the way to the town brothel.
* Of course, I had to pose with it!
* The Temple of Jupiter (Zeus) which was easily the grandest structure in terms of scale in the whole town.
* A warehouse containing other unearthed artifacts, jars, furniture, sculptures and lost souls including one which I think is in prayer (upper right).
* The statue of Apollo, the god of light, whose chariot ushers in the morning each day. Found at the Temple of Apollo.
* The statue of Artemis (Diana), the goddess of the hunt and the moon and twin sister of Apollo.
* The whole time I felt like I was in movie set. All we need now are some apes riding horses, and we can recreate Planet of the Apes!
Having seen Rome with its majestic arcs, temples and forums, I was very excited to see the other side of the coin, that of the quaint, provincial town far away from the capital. Maybe it’s the Cebuano in me talking, but being here made me feel nostalgic for the good ol’ days before Manila, when the pace of life was more steady and chill.
* One of the many courtyards in town. The Romans sure loved their open-areas! You can feel how much they must have appreciated the fresh air and cool breeze.
* An amphitheater offering excellent acoustics!
* Rows of homes in what our tour guide called, the “rich part of town.”
* It’s awesome how very “normal” their society was. Things are put into perspective when you find out that they had restaurants (left), shops (upper right) and function areas (lower right).
* A view of the Cardo or main street. This is where society and culture would converge back in the day. One can imagine the shopkeepers, customers, street performers, children and soldiers going around doing their thing.
* I imagine this to be the neighborhood pub, serving the best wine in all of Southern Italy, and next to it, a Greek restaurant, serving the best Gyros in town.
* Well-preserved columns in another courtyard.
* The Romans loved to socialize. The Roman bath was both a means to clean oneself and to conduct business / hang-out with friends.
* A poor guy caught under the ash of Mount Vesuvius. He probably lived for about a minute before ultimately suffocating.
* This guy was probably luckier as he looks to be sleeping when he got buried.
* Intricate sauna system that was most probably a favorite of the elite.
* The road to the red-light district!
* Murals in the ancient brothel depicting various sexual acts that the customers could purchase. Northern Africans, Middle Eastern, and those with deformities were apparently high in demand!
* And an example of the actual motel rooms used by the customers. Looks comfy, in a butt and knee scratching way.
* This place probably gets spooky at night, what with all the trapped souls loitering about.
* My folks taking a picture with some random stone sculpture.
* A penis etched in stone on the ground, which according to our tour guide, points the way to the town brothel.
* Of course, I had to pose with it!
* The Temple of Jupiter (Zeus) which was easily the grandest structure in terms of scale in the whole town.
* A warehouse containing other unearthed artifacts, jars, furniture, sculptures and lost souls including one which I think is in prayer (upper right).
* The statue of Apollo, the god of light, whose chariot ushers in the morning each day. Found at the Temple of Apollo.
* The statue of Artemis (Diana), the goddess of the hunt and the moon and twin sister of Apollo.
* The whole time I felt like I was in movie set. All we need now are some apes riding horses, and we can recreate Planet of the Apes!
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