Oksana's Travel: France: Marseille

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I went to Marseille, the oldest city in France. According to Wikipedia, it was founded by the Greeks in 600 BC. The story goes like this:

The day that the band of Phocaean Greeks sailed into the harbor 2600 years ago, was the day that Gyptis (the local chiefs daughter) was supposed to choose a husband. The sea-faring Greeks arrived under the command of a dashing man by the name of Protis and they were invited inland for the feast that was given in honor of Gyptis. Protis apparently fit Gyptis's bill because during the feast she chose him to become her husband. Gyptis, the bride, came with a dowry of land (a hill) close to the Rhone river and that is where the Greeks founded a trading post which later became the port. It was called Massalia. Today it is called Marseille and it is the second most populous city in France after Paris.

In 49 BC, Massalia was beseiged by Julius Caesar. Sometime during this time it is said that Christianity was introduced to Marseille (because of the obvious catacombs and records of Roman martyrs). Credit for evangelisation of Marseille is given to Mary Magdelen and her brother Lazarus. Anyway, over the years it became France's leading port and in 1720, a ship from Syria arrived in port carrying with it the plague (The Black Death). The plague wiped out ~45,000 citizens of Marseille! Later, Marseille supported the French Revolution and marched on Paris. It was monarchist under the First Empire and then republican under the Second Empire. Under Napoleon III, Algeria became a french department and many Algerians moved to Marseille. New ports were built and shipping increased significantly. The Suez Canal opened up in 1869 and immigrants from Spain, Italy, and Greece poured in abundantly! Marseille still maintains this cosmopolitan population. Life revolves around the Vieux Port (old port) and although Marseille is a coastal city, it is not touristy but on the contrary remains a year-round, hard-working, city that has an extremely lively cultural scene!

Below are some pictures with descriptions. Enjoy!

These are fishing boats in Vieux Port.

More fishing boats and view from the port.

Below is another image of Vieux Port.. it is HUGE and has THOUSANDS of boats.

On a ferry ride to Il d'If, this is the Chateau d'If, the prison where Monte Cristo was imprisoned from the story, The Count of Monte Cristo. Yes, it is real.

View of Marseille from Chateau d'If. The body of water is the Mediterranean Sea. I dipped my feet into it!!

This is me with my skirt flying in the wind. Behind me is Marseille and I am standing at the top of Chateau d'If.

Below is my Algerian friend, Fouzia, and me on the Med. Sea.

Mediterranean Sea. What can I say? It's gorgeous!

Sailboat and Marseille.

I had to put this picture of the Seagull up because I had to wait like 10 minutes for the Seagull to cooperate and appear photogenic (without hiding it's head under it's wing).