Pompei.

Yesterday I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:45 to head to Pompei, Italy. I went with my school so there was about 50 of us all together. After a 3 hour drive we arrived at the ruins of Pompei.

Pompei was a city built somewhere in the 7th-6th century BC, then in 79 AD the nearby volcano Vesuvius exploded, leaving the city completely buried under ash and volcanic debris. Because of this much of the town is preserved including mosaics and frescoes. There is 164 acres of the city, of which only about 2/3 has been excavated. It's a VERY impressive place.

The small theatre in Pompei. This was used for musical performances.

Our tour guide. Carmen.

In the brothel of Pompei there were pictures on the walls of the different "services" provided. This is because the females were slaves and spoke different languages. Art is a universal language...

This is a plaster cast of a body. When the volcano erupted almost everyone suffocated where they were. Over time their bodies decomposed, but the chambers where the bodies were remained. When the excavations started they realized that if they poured liquid plaster into these chambers they would get the shape of whatever had been their previously. They have made at least 45 different body molds, including that of a dog.

We ate lunch in the main square and watched the dogs play. One of them, Menaudrc, was particularly fond of us. Pompei has an adoption program for all the strays who live in the ruins.

In the main square of Pompei with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Another plaster mold. In some of the molds you can still see the bones, like in the one above. It's very eerie.

Working at a shop front. The holes would hold wine.

The Abbey Road of Pompei! :D

One last view of the ruins.

After we got done roaming the ruins we walked to the cathedral of the modern town of Pompei. The cathedral of Pompei is dedicated to Madonna del Rosario di Pompei, and has become a site for Catholic pilgrimages in recent years. An interesting fact is that when most Italians hear Pompei they as associate it with the church instead of the ruins.

Bell tower of the church.

Inside the church.

If you can't tell by all my recent posts, I really don't want to study for midterms, but alas, I suppose I should! The family comes in 6 days, then I'm off to Egypt! :D

I'll keep you posted!