I love that the days are turning out so differently from each other. Gentle, fine rain today. The streets are empty. Meandered down the now familiar route to the main square of the mosque, then up out of the top right hand corner towards the Archeology Museum. The orange tree filled square was deserted. I showed my passport and went in to look at the roman busts and freizes, urns and implements. A woman that obviously worked there strode past and then back again with the receptionist. She was talking loudly and gesturing. She sounded angry and then she hit the receptionist on the back, continuing to talk and the receptionist responeded with what sounded like, "I know, I know." And they disappeared across the courtyard where a group of black dressed guards stood talking and sheltering from the rain.
The courtyard, like all the courtyards was bordered by a covered walkway and I strolled around, the only visitor looking at more busts and freizes and urns and implements. With my brolly up, I wandered into the courtyard and down into the next the had at its centre a green pool.
Upstairs more urns and rooms and a curious guard, probably bored, making his presence felt so that I didn't pinch one of the artifacts, because of course it had crossed my mind if I could possibly get any of the stoneware out unchallenged...
And then one guard as I strolled into another ground floor courtyard pointed out the shelves of stone urns that were used to hold roman ashes. I'd never have guessed otherwise. Then he asked if I was married... and if I had children... and it was gently teasing and unthreatening and part of being in the drizzle in a deserted roman museum.
Adios to the green and stone and beautiful place that was more like a roman villa than a museum.
No comments:
Post a Comment