Pompeii

On May I visited Pompeii, the ruins of the ancient Roman city. I was suprised how huge the place was, before the visit I thought Pompeii is just some ruins but it is really a CITY. You can get lost without a map or guide. Our guide told us that about 80% of the city has been dug up, about 45 hectares.

Pompeii was buried under a volcanic ash in the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. It happened fast, during one day. Many of the inhabitants died. The cause of death wasn't lava or being burried alive, it was the toxic gas that suffocated the inhabitants. The Mount Vesuvius had given signals about what was going to happen, there were eartquakes, but most of the people ignored the signs. When the mountain exploded, most of the people stayed, because they didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

It was fascinating to walk on the streets of Pompeii, and imagine how the city looked like during its days of glory. I visited some ruins of houses, and imagined the people living there, going to see gladiator fights, eating out, going to spa.. It is so interesting! The bodies that you can see in Pompeii are not real bodies of inhabitants, because they were destroyed by lava. The bodies are dramatic plaster casts, the researches poured plaster in the holes left by lava and now we can actually see how the bodies looked like. They look terrified, waiting for death to come.

Fast food restaurant

Vesuvius