As I’ve said before, history is a fascinating subject. In fact, I wrote a blog on history a few months ago. Some of the world’s greatest inventions, people and places were born and created in the past. My family and I like to play this game where we ask questions, and have a debate about the answers and our own perspectives. One question that I asked was “Would you rather travel 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?” This question sparked a lot of conversation, as it kept going back and forth.
For me, I choose to travel 100 years in the past. I would absolutely love to go back in the past, and see what the world looked like back then. So much has evolved from then, and it’s only going to change more. That’s why I would love to get to experience and see how it was back then a 100 years ago. However, I never thought I would actually get to experience something close to that. Just last week, I had the privilege to come with my mom, little sister (Saanya), my two older cousins (Aneesh and Mihika) and my aunt and uncle on a Mediterranean cruise.
The cruise started in Rome, which is one of the birthplaces of history. One of the first places that we went to in Rome was the Vatican! Now, the Vatican has a ton of some of the most wonderful historical places. One of them is the Sistine Chapel. Painted by Michael Angelo in the 15th century, it is beautiful. I went there myself, and it was stunning. Standing there, in that chapel, it felt so special to be a part of history.
Another one of the places we went to in Rome was the Colosseum. It used to be an arena where gladiators duelled. Even though it had a gruesome history, it was an amazing experience to get to go there. We also got to go to the Roman Forum. I really enjoyed getting to go there and seeing the places that people like Julius Caesar once stood on. After Rome, we started our cruise, and the first destination that we stopped that was still within Italy: Naples!
We hiked Vesuvius, which was a beautiful hike, and also went to Pompeii. We went on a guided tour, and ended up visiting the Pompeii ruins. It was fantastic! It was very well preserved, ever since the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. We got to see people’s old houses, the public bathrooms, a theatre, shops, places of worship and more.
I absolutely loved getting to see the ruins of these places, because it made me try and imagine how it was back then. I’ve studied Ancient Rome in school, and getting to actually see it in person was an experience that I will never forget. Getting to touch a 2,000 year old rock? That’s not something that you forget quickly. Marcus Garvey once said “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” I like this quote a lot, because I think it really relates to this topic, and how it emphasises exactly how important it is. I believe that history is a fascinating subject, displaying beauty and culture, and I hope all of you appreciate and get to experience some of it too.
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