"Now we’re going to take a boat to that island over there," Arian says to Erika. "Yay, yay! We’re going on a boat!" his daughter replies.
At the Château d’If, Arian concludes that it would have been extremely difficult for a prisoner—like the one in Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo—to survive after being thrown into the sea inside a sack, given the steep cliffs and rocks surrounding the island. In general, the water here is clean and clear; waves roll in and crash noisily against the obstacles. It’s certainly not the kind of sea you could go for a swim in.
Once inside, Arian learns that the real-life figure who inspired the protagonist of Dumas’s novel was actually a distant relative of his. As we wander through the prison cells, Erika says she’s scared.
"It’s dark in here, and there are monsters," she says, grabbing my hand.
Looking out at the sea through the prison bars, I reflect that being able to see it but unable to touch it is a unique form of torture. Next, we go to see Fort Saint-Jean. It was built by order of King Louis XIV. The Knights Hospitaller once lived on this site, and the fort was named in honor of Saint John, the patron saint of their order.
There are many churches in Marseille. The most magnificent is the Cathedral—one of the largest cathedrals in France, and indeed in all of Europe. It features a graceful exterior and a rich, diverse interior design, characterized by multicolored marble and intricate mosaics.
Marseille also has its own Notre-Dame. This Catholic church stands atop a towering hill. The top of its bell tower is crowned by a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus.
"Oh, that’s Maria Jesus—she’s all gold!" my little daughter exclaimed.
Since we live in a Catholic country, she is already familiar with the Virgin Mary. The cathedral is visible from almost every part of the city.
Finally, we visited the Abbey of Saint Victor. Its walls are so sturdy that it resembles a fortress. Behind them, monks would shut themselves off from the world—and all its allurements and temptations.
The text was originally written in Ukrainian translated with the help of Google Translate.
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