Tomb

 

When I was in college, a professor indicated that he used to travel in Edinburg, Scotland and saw the grave of Adam Smith. He’s teaching economics and he said that it’s not a bad idea to see the “founder” of economics.

Well, I haven’t been to Scotland and didn’t have opportunities to see the grave of Adam Smith. However, I did see tombs when I was traveling.

More than 10 years ago, I was traveling in Rome and decided to go to the Vatican City. I didn’t do much homework, but just asked a staff member in the hostel how to get there. I took a bus and it didn’t take too much time for me to arrive in a different country.

 

St. Peter’s Basilica truly amazed me and I was standing in the square for quite a while to take some photos. Then, I went into the St. Peter's Basilica. There were many tourists in the basilica, additionally, security staff were there to check whether visitors dressed properly. 

 

And, I saw a sign, which shows that the Pope's tombs are in the Basilica. I read some stories about Pope John Paul II and when I was a kid, I saw his photo on the cover of a local newspaper. So, I decided to go to see the Pope’s tombs.

When I was a kid, I always heard people talk about scary stories about tombs. But, Pope’s tombs are very different. It’s very solemn. When I passed by Pope John Paul II’s tomb, I saw lots of photos, postcards and flowers. Moreover, some people stopped and began to pray with one knee down.

A very important thing to notice is that it’s not allowed to take photos in the Tombs of Popes. However, I saw some people who didn’t follow the rule. They tried to take photos, but the security staff reacted very quickly and used fingers to block the lens, asking them to stop.