Pompeii, a Roman city frozen in time ; through a Malaysian eyes

heh.. perlukah tajuk begitu sangat? Yonex All England open hari tu buat kat NIA, Birmingham so semangat 'Malaysia' sangatlah sekarang ni =P

Anyway our Naples trip was quite a journey. I don't know if there're travelers who covered both Pompeii and Sorrento in a day, like we did. 2 hrs 30 mins train journey from Rome to Naples, and 45 mins to Pompeii (and another 45 mins to Sorrento). Memang masak dalam train je la kan. We could make less than 2 hours 30 mins (in fact only 1 hour!) if we had Eurostar. But due to costs constraint, we took the slower train, Intercity train. Hence my expression (photo) haha..Anyway, yeah that was our Italian train trips!

1. Me; mungkinkah bila besar nanti Aariz akan se'adventure mummy?  2. Arrived in Naples Garibaldi station. 3. Inside the station, impressive.. 4. Sorok2 ambil gambar makcik vogue ni..

Nevertheless, the long train journey gave me an authentic Italian lives image. We passed by small towns, villages, industrial spot, orchards, rivers,tunnels..and so much so. Oh yeah, with a backgroud of hills and a mount. I'm not sure if it was Vesuvius that I was looking at. The people in here are called as Vesuvian, from the mount Vesuvius. Hence the name of the local train, Circumvesuviana (this isn't a copy paste ok..berbelit lidah I nak hafal tau hukhuk)

For an introduction, Pompeii is a partially buried Roman city near the modern Naples. Pompeii was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 (a one year before the completion of Colosseum. remember Colosseum was built from AD 72- AD 80). Pompeii was only rediscover accidentally in 1749. And now as UNESCO World Heritage and popular tourist attractions in Italy.

This is photos overloaded entry. You've been warned. For this entry, I'm referring to Rick Steves' walking tour guide. For me, this is a special place (and my blog entry), because in Pompeii I stepped back in time. And coincendentally (I read) a surah translation, in Ar-Rum (the Roman) ;

19. He brings forth the living from the dead, and the dead from the living. He gives life to the earth after its death, and you shall be raised to life in same way
\

MasyAllah..indeed..indeed..indeed! 8. Have they not travelled through the land and seen what their predeceddors met? Sesungguhnya Allah menyuruh kita berjalan dimuka bumi dan melihat kebesaranNya

So yeah the station to get off for Pompeii is 'Pompeii Scavi', after a merely 5 minutes walk we arrived at the entrance. Along the way was some stalls selling foods and drinks. Sini air limau sangat popular. Remember my last entry, memang semua tempat tanam limau. The lemon trees are lined up the streets. the ticket entrance for Pompeii Scavi is EURO11, for what it's worth we don't want to compare it with the train tickets haha

Pompeii was a trading city, not rich and not poor but a middle class. A perfect example of typical Roman life.. just like what I saw through the train journey tadi =) It is said that the street would be lined up with stalls and a crowd of customers all day long. It was a 2000 years ago, and Pompeii was once a bustling port.

This is Porta Marina, this was the original town gate. Before Vesuvius blew, the sea came nearly to here. Hmm, bayangkan how to push the stroller naik atas tu. So we just left the stroller to nowhere. Taktahulah tak dapat nak fikir masa tu excited sangat nak masuk to this town.

As we continued up the street,

 the famous Pompeii street..that leads  to  a big square, the Forum.

The three large stepping stone was used by the pedestrians to cross without getting their sandal wet, because every day Pompeiian flooded with water to clean them. but how about the vehicle? (kereta kuda or so?).. believe it that even roda kereta kuda pun dah standardized masa tu. Amazing kan kemajuan Pompeii ni.

On my right is a temple..look at the bricks. Still standing still. And we've been warned to avoid any contact with stray dogs.  memang nampak pun garang semacam.

On my right section ( which I wasn't sure what it was ) But the only thing I know that the Pompeiian got taste. Look at this stand vase.

Continued on to the main street and it opens up to the main square, the Forum. It was the main ruined part of Pompeii but nonetheless it showed so much of the Pompeiian lives once upon a time. It was a place for commercial, rreligious and political centre. From here stand the mount Vesuvius that can be seen from afar.

Once was a main piazza, where people gathered to shop, talk politic and socialize. The piazza was  surrounded by two-story buildings on all sides. Amazingly here're the casts of the victims,

This is Pompeiian, eerily captured at their last moments. When Vesuvius erupted, 2,000 Pompeii citizens suffocated under the ash, their bodies buried in volcanic debris. But of course the body was decomposed so what it was plaster mixed with ancient bones done by the archaeologists.

the arch and mt. Vesuvius


We continued on to the Bath of the Forum. Pompeii had six public baths, each with a men's and a women's section. We were in the men's zone. They even had a gymnasium. After working out, clients could relax with a hot bath (caldarium), warm bath (tepidarium), or cold plunge (frigidarium).

 Cave Canem.  "beware of the dog!" Even dari dulu lagi dah ada sign ini.

 Look at the floor..perfectly built that lasts till now.

There were no posh neighborhoods in Pompeii. Rich and poor mixed it up as elegant houses existed side by side. Picture above is an example of the rich house. For instant, The house of the tragic poet has a garden, to remember both the gods and family ancestors.

These were among ancient fast-food joint. Most ancient Romans didn't cook for themselves in their tiny apartments, so to-go places like this were commonplace. There  still can be seen  holes in the counters held the pots for food. According to Rick, each container was like a thermos, with a wooden lid to keep the soup hot, the wine cool, and so on.

 Aariz on the stepping stones.

Never care to know pasal tiang roman..but I definitely wanna know how they made it those days!

It was impossible to cover all the town, because we got to chase the train to Sorrento. We made the tour in less than an hour, so we missed several more places like the House of faun, the House of Vettii, the bakery and mill where they had their brick oven. Also a place named brothel; which according to Rick again, is a simple place with bed and pillow with ancient graffiti includes tallies and exotic names of the women, indicating the prostitutes came from all corners of the Mediterranean (it also served as feedback from satisfied customers). We also missed their grand theatre.

 the bollard mark as padestrian walk start here..no vehicle allowed.

I was contemplated to choose Naples or Florence for our 3 days Italy trip. But I'm glad that we made the right choice. Rome, Sorrento and Pompeii the city frozen in time.. insyAllah saya jadikan setiap pengalaman ini sebagai iktibar diri.