"A TALKING PICTURE" ""In July 2001, a little girl crosses thousands of years of civilization, along with her mother, a distinguished history professor, while on their way to meet her father."" "Look at this mist." "What a pity." "If it gets worse, you won't be able to see the monument to the Discoveries." "We're getting closer." "Can you see it?" "It was built to commemorate the events and honor the sailors." "Can you see the man in front of all the other figures?" " The one with the wide-brimmed hat." " Yes, who is he?" "Prince Henry, the moving force behind the Discoveries." " What did they do?" " What did they do?" "They found new lands... sailing hitherto unexplored waters." "An enterprise that the prince had prepared for well." "Look." "This one is older." "It was the first monument, built to commemorate the glorious feat of the discovery of the sea route to India by an expedition led by Vasco da Gama." "How strange." "This mist reminds me of the myth of King Sebastian." "What is a myth?" "Myths are imaginary stories based on certain events, like the one of King Sebastian, whom they called "the shrouded one."" "People believe he will return on a misty morning like this." "Who was King Sebastian?" "He was a Portuguese king who wished to convert the world to the Christian faith." "He began his quest by leading his men to war in a bid to conquer the Moors, who had a different religion." "What war?" "A war that took place in Alcacer-Quibir in Africa and that went down in history as the War of the Three Kings, for the three kings who died there." "It's assumed that one of them was King Sebastian." "Dead or not, he did in fact disappear after the Portuguese defeat." "The Portuguese people continued to believe - and this is a famous legend and also a Muslim belief" "that one day a shrouded figure would emerge from the mist, riding a white horse." "And will he really?" "There are those who believe he will, but it's only a myth." "If he comes back, will he arrive at this place that we're leaving from?" "That I can't say, but if he's on horseback, it's likely he'll arrive by land." "Where we are leaving from is the site from where the caravels set sail, accompanied by mermaids." "What are mermaids?" "They're another myth." "They are half fish, half women, and they swam alongside the ships to encourage the sailors... to explore the great unknown." "That city we can just barely see from here is Ceuta." "It was taken from the Moors by the Portuguese" " more than 500 years ago." " Why?" "Because the Portuguese ships were attacked in these waters." " So the city is ours?" " No, not any longer." "I know why." "Because of the Revolution of April 25th?" "No, no." "Ceuta was lost many centuries ago." "The Revolution of April 25th took place only a short while ago." "And that's another story." "Shall we go?" "Good morning." "Welcome to Marseille." "Just a moment." "Good morning." "Welcome to Marseille." "Look, Joana." "Undo his leash." "How much are your fish?" "Thanks, and good-bye." "Hello." "Is this where the fishermen unload their fish?" "This is where we sell it fresh." " Does your little dog moor the boat?" " He helps me moor it." "He's a fisherman." "I can see that." "He is a fisherman." " What's his name?" " Sooty." "Apart from Sooty, do you have any more family?" "I have a son and a daughter, but my daughter lives in Paris." " So they don't live with you?" " No, they don't." " What about your wife?" " She died three years ago." " So you're alone." " With Sooty." "I see." "I'm Portuguese." "I'm on a cruise." " This is my first time in Marseille." " Ah, your first time." "But I've already had the bouillabaisse." " Was it good?" " Yes." "Maria Joana." "Did you like the fish soup we had for lunch?" "I loved it." "Mommy, ask him the dog's name." "Sooty." "Oh, Sooty." "And what's your name?" "Me?" "I'm John." "That's funny." "That's my husband's name." "My daughter and I are off to see him." "So where is he?" "In Bombay." "We're going on vacation." "He's an airline pilot." "Are you going by ship?" "Yes." "It's a bit complicated." "Speaking of ships, I don't see any tankers here." "Doesn't most of the oil arrive in Marseille?" "Yes, that's true." "There are lots of tankers, but they're some nine miles off the coast." "And there are oil reserves in case of war." "And reserves for cars, which are a real plague." "They really are a plague, as you say." "We can't live without oil these days." "We can't turn the clock back." "Well, I must go." " Thank you for your information." " Not at all." "Look at what's written on the ground." ""Here, in about 600 BC," "Greek sailors landed from Phoenicia, a Greek city in Asia Minor."" "It says here that this place was founded by the Greeks many years ago." "They founded Marseille, the cradle of civilization." "That means it was the Greeks who spread civilization to other countries." "Delphine?" " What a surprise!" " It certainly is!" " Do you want to come aboard?" " I can't." "I'm just seeing some friends off." " Do I know them?" " No, they're just tourists." " Have a good trip." " Bye." " See that castle over there?" " Yes." " Legend has it..." " What's a legend?" "Legends are like fables." "They're invented stories, like the muses who inspired poets..." "or mermaids." "Were they like the fish-women of the Tagus?" "Yes, but bird-women were even more ancient." "Muses or mermaids are imaginary beings, invented to explain certain events." " Listen to this story I'm going to tell you." " Tell me." " You see that castle there?" " Yes." "Many, many years ago, there was no castle." "There was a beach where an exhausted mermaid sought refuge after chasing the boat of Ulysses, the warrior king." "Before she died, she left an egg on the site where the castle stands today." " Can we go and see it?" " No, darling." "The egg is also a legend, and it's said that the egg lies under the castle, in a golden cage." "That's why it's called the Castle of the Egg." "This story was told by the great Latin poet Virgil, who liked the story of King Ulysses and said, in memory of Ulysses' voyage," ""As long as the the egg exists, Naples will thrive and prosper."" "And now?" "Now we're going back to the taxi, because I want to show you Vesuvius and Pompeii." "That mountain peak is Vesuvius, perhaps the most famous of all volcanoes." "What's a volcano?" "A volcano's like that mountain that has a hole on top and spits out fire and ash." " But it isn't spitting out fire now." " No, it isn't now." "But more than 2,000 years ago, it buried the city in ash." "What city?" "Pompeii, the city we're about to visit." "The air was so thick with ash and poisonous gases that the people couldn't breathe." " Did they die?" " Yes, every one of them." "It seemed like divine punishment for a people who had lived a sinful life." "What is a sinful life?" "That's what you call it when people do bad and wicked things." " So it was punishment from heaven?" " Some people say so." "These are catastrophes that man can do nothing about." "Anyway, punishment or not, everyone was burnt to death, and the city was destroyed, as we're going to see now." " Now?" " Yes, now." "It's all in ruins." "Like I told you." "Behind these columns are the remains of the second most important temple of the city, the Temple of Apollo." "Look." "See, here it is in ruins, and this is what it was like before." " You see?" " Yes." "The main square as we see it today, and Vesuvius." "And look now." " Here's the square before the catastrophe." " There was no grass." "No, only these stones." "That lady getting on board now seems to be famous." "Who?" "I didn't notice." "She's gone now." "This hill in front of us is called the Acropolis." "Let's climb up and take a closer look." "See how beautiful it must have been." "This temple was dedicated to the goddess who protected Athens." "What did people do here?" "They worshipped their gods." "Now let's go to the other side." "Look up there." "Can you see?" "It's enormous, isn't it?" "It almost seems to touch the clouds." "Are you French, madam?" "No, we're Portuguese, Father." "But we speak a little French." "You speak perfectly." "You have a lovely little girl." "If I can help in any way, I'm at your service." "Excuse my boldness, but when I saw you," "I just had to speak to you." "Don't stand on ceremony." "Please speak." "This is the first time I've met an Orthodox priest." "We are Roman Catholics." "I teach history at Lisbon University, and I was trying to explain to my daughter what the Acropolis is." "You did well to ask me." "I'm at your disposal for whatever you may need." "That's very kind of you." "The Acropolis is a real treasure." "Someone once said," ""Never have my eyes seen such a glorious sight as this little mount."" "I'm sure anyone who comes here would say the same." "But as you are probably aware, the most important monument in Greece is the Parthenon over there." "Inside stood a colossal ivory statue of Athena draped in gold robes." "It was 33 feet high." "Athena is the goddess of wisdom, the goddess you Latins call Minerva." "The statue was enormous, and legend has it that it was taller than the temple and could be seen" "from no matter where you stood in the city." "That must have made the citizens feel protected." "Exactly." "Even more so because in Greek mythology," "Athena conquered Poseidon and is now the patron saint of the city." "What happened to that statue?" "Which statue?" "The statue of the legend disappeared, and nobody ever heard of it again." "But the original statue was removed at the same time as another even larger statue cast in bronze, which was situated between the great portal and the Temple of Erechtheum." "In the fifth century AD, both were taken to Constantinople." "During the reign of the Christian emperor Theodosius?" "Exactly." " I can see I'm talking to a history teacher." " What are you saying, Mommy?" "We're talking about the statue of the goddess Athena." " Was there really such a goddess?" " No, just a statue - actually, two." "But they disappeared, or rather they were taken to Constantinople." "Can you steal a goddess?" "No." "You can't steal a goddess." "What was stolen was the statue that represented the patron saint of the city." "So was the city left unprotected?" "No, darling." "It's the Greeks who protect Greece." "The story of the statue is an ancient legend that was lost in the mists of time once the city became prosperous and rich." " These are the ruins of those times." " And what about that one?" "What's that one over there?" "That's the Temple of Erechtheum where Poseidon and "Athina" were worshipped." "Excuse me if I say "Athina."" "That's Greek for Athena, isn't it?" "Exactly." "It's the Greek name for Athena." "The name we give to the goddess of wisdom." "The wisdom of the philosophers, playwrights, poets and musicians - it all derives from Athena." "And now come with me." "I want to show you the ruins of one of the most ancient Greek theaters." "There it is." "In ruins, as you can see." "But I haven't even introduced myself yet." "I'm Father Nicholas, an Orthodox priest at your service." "By the grace of God, Father." "I'm going to tell you a curious story." "Please do." "Since I'm writing my doctorate on art in general, this theater is also of great interest to me." "Is it true that Antigone, Medea and other famous plays were performed here for the first time?" "Yes, probably." "Let's go down for a closer look." "This is the exact spot where the actors performed." "The audience sat on those tiers over there." "See, dear?" "The actors performed here, and the audience sat over there at the other end." "Yes, Mommy." "What is this?" "Could you explain what that is?" "This stone is called the "themeli."" "It's where sacrifices were offered before the play." "Look." "Those seats over there were reserved for important people." "That one over there is very special." "It was reserved for the most important authority of all." "See the name engraved on it?" "And look at that one too." "Down there, see?" "Mommy." "My daughter noticed you use three fingers when you make the sign of the cross." "Please forgive my curiosity, but I've never seen a Catholic priest do that." "They make the sign of the cross with their palm open." "I never really understood why Catholics make the cross as you say, but your question is not indiscreet." "I'll try to explain." "We Orthodox say- observe carefully- that this here is the Father," "this is the Son, and this is the Holy Ghost." "The Holy Trinity." "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "Look, that lady is famous." " Who is she, Mommy?" " She's a singer." "Hello." "How do you do?" "Welcome aboard." "Have a good trip." "We're standing before one of the largest cathedrals in the world." "It was built by the Christians." "About a thousand years later, it was conquered by the Muslims and turned into a mosque." "What's a mosque?" "A mosque is like a church." "It's where Muslims pray." "The muezzin calls from the top of the minaret." " What's a muezzin?" " He is a sort of caller who goes up the minaret to call the faithful to prayer." "To pray like us?" "Yes, but they pray in their own way." "The name St. Sophia has nothing to do with a saint." "The word comes from the Greek sophos, which means wisdom." "St. Sophia means divine wisdom, the wisdom of God." "This building that you see before you is the third St. Sophia." "It was destroyed twice in revolts during Byzantine times, and it was rebuilt each time." "The first St. Sophia was built in 360 AD by the Roman Emperor Constantine." "The second, the ruins of which you can see over there, was built in 415 AD by the Emperor Theodosius." "And finally, this building was constructed in 537 by the Byzantine emperorJustinian." "In the beginning, it was a Christian cathedral, neither Catholic nor Orthodox, because it was before the separation." "It became an Orthodox cathedral only in the ninth century, and in 1453 it was converted into a mosque by the Muslims." "The Muslims captured the building in 1453, and from then on it was used as a mosque." "Later, in 1935, it was turned into a museum on the orders of Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic." "It's no longer a place of worship, but a museum." "And since 1935, no prayers have been said here." "What were they saying?" "The guide was saying that" "St. Sophia finally ended up in Muslim hands." "Who were the Muslims?" "They belong to the Muslim religion like we belong to the Catholic religion." " Is the Catholic religion Christian?" " Yes." "If it belonged to the Catholics, why did it become Muslim?" " Because they were at war." " And are they still at war?" "No." "That was in the Middle Ages." "Come." "What are the Middle Ages?" "The Middle Ages were a period of time in the history of the world." "The Middle Ages ended with the reconquest of this city, which was called Constantinople and became Istanbul, as it's called now." "It's a bit complicated, isn't it?" "Yes, but I like to know." "Which Middle Ages are we in now?" "We're not in the Middle Ages anymore." "Our times, that is to say the age we are in now, is called the contemporary age." "Contemporary means now?" "That's right." "Contemporary means the present." "And now St. Sophia is a museum." "This way, please." "In all churches, there is a niche facing Jerusalem." "This is found both in ancient churches and Turkish churches, while in all mosques there is one facing Mecca, as you can see there." "But in churches that became mosques, there was a problem, because Mecca and Jerusalem are not in the same direction." "You can see the difference better if you look at the mosaics up there." "The central windows point in the direction ofJerusalem, just as that niche there points to Mecca." "You see it?" "Not the one in the middle, but the one to the right of the large one?" "The mosaic you can see up there dates from the 10th century and represents the Virgin Mary nursing the babyJesus." "On the right stands the Archangel Gabriel." "These two mosaics were plastered over during the Ottoman empire, and when the mosque became a museum..." "See these crosses?" "What are they?" "Look, there's another." "They're marks for the dome that you just saw." "There are so many." "Yes, there's another... and another, see?" "And yet another at the end." " You see?" " Yes." " Did you enjoy that?" " Yes, but it was a bit tiring." " A bit confusing, isn't it?" " Yes, but it's beautiful." "Can you see those magnificent monuments?" "What are they called?" "They're known as the pyramids of Egypt." "They're famous for their great importance, and because they represent the greatest civilization of antiquity." "What does civilization mean?" "Civilization is what man creates and develops over the course of time by using his intelligence." "How?" "Like the pyramids, for example." "For their great size, and for the mystery surrounding the method of their construction." "If it was so difficult, why did they do it?" "They built them precisely because they were civilized people." "And because they believed in life after death." "It was one of the kings of Egypt who had them built as his burial vault." "There's a story that another powerful pharaoh..." "What's a pharaoh?" "That was the name given to the kings of Egypt." "Well, this pharaoh forced another people to become workers, to drag the stones to the top of each pyramid one by one." "Who were they?" "They were the 12 tribes of Israel who had fled a drought in Canaan." "Hunger had brought them to Egypt, where there was grain to be had." "And when this pharaoh died, he was succeeded by another, who forced these people to work on the pyramids as though they were slaves." " Is that why they were civilized?" " No." "That's not why they were civilized." "There are other reasons." "The history of civilization is made up of these contradictions." "Man is not perfect, and he makes mistakes." " And did they remain slaves forever?" " No." " Moses freed them." " Who was Moses?" "He was the son of a Jewish woman." "When he was a baby, his mother was afraid he would be massacred, so she put him in a basket, which she set adrift on the river." "The current carried him away, and he was found by an Egyptian princess, who liked the child and raised him." "He grew into a strong, wise man." "Years later, when he discovered his origins, he became a prophet of theJews." "But this is a very long story, my darling." "It happened many thousands of years ago." " I'll tell you later, all right?" " All right." " But you must tell me the whole story." " Of course I will." "Now it's my turn to tell you a story." "This is a more recent one, from the time of Napoleon." "Do you know who Napoleon was?" "He was a French general who was famous for his military genius." "He came here with his French troops to expel the British, who had invaded Egypt." "Napoleon led his troops into battle, pointed to the pyramids and said," ""Soldiers, 4,000 years of history look down upon you."" " Really?" " Yes." "It was just as this gentleman said." "Allow me to introduce myself." "My name is Luis Miguel." "When I heard this little girl speaking Portuguese, I couldn't resist." " I'm..." " I know." "You're an actor." "I've seen you perform many times on the stage in Lisbon." "I'm a great fan of yours." "A fan?" "What a surprise." "And why not?" "You're not unknown, as I am." "You won't be unknown once you tell me who you are." "My name is Rosa Maria." "I'm married." "I have a daughter, Maria Joana." "We're on this cruise to join my husband, whose name is João." "I'm a history teacher, and I'm visiting these magical places around the Mediterranean." "I enjoy visiting these places too." "And just as well, because I've now met a charming history teacher and her wonderful little girl." "If it's all right with you, since it's still not very late," "I'd like to invite you for a drink at a wonderful hotel that was built for the inauguration of the Suez Canal." "I'd love to, but..." "Please, let's go, Mommy." "It's still early." "Let's go, Joana." "Of course we will, Joana." "Have you noticed the jewelers' shop windows?" "As you can see here in the hotel, there are many pieces in the shape of a beetle." "They're to be found everywhere." "I knew they were a symbol of happiness for the Egyptians, but I never imagined they were so popular." "They used to be worshipped as gods." "They were the symbol of the sun." "Why?" "The beetle goes into his hole at night, mixes mud with his excrement, and at dawn brings out a ball of dung." "At dawn the sun gives light to the living." "At night he goes underground to give light to the dead." "Now, since we are among the living," "I'd like to show you some paintings of the inauguration of the canal." "The hotel was built for the inauguration of the canal as you can see in this painting." "The Empress Eugenie is not depicted here, but she was the guest of honor at the ceremony." "The pasha of Egypt gave the go-ahead to the French diplomat Lesseps, who was the driving force behind the initiative, and the canal was opened in 1869, as you can see in this painting." "Amazing." "And all realized by the force of man." "It was no more wonderful than the first sea voyage to India by Vasco da Gama in 1494." "You know how long it took Vasco da Gama to reach India?" " No, how long?" " Ayear." "He had to go all the way around Africa." "Nowadays, the journey is much quicker through the canal." "Mommy, what did you mean by "realized by the force of man"?" "It means that it was built almost entirely by manual labor." "A very arduous task indeed." "The opening was celebrated by a dinner that took place right at this very hotel." "Really?" "Look." "There we see the entrance of the empress." "And there... the banquet." "Look." "What a lovely dress." "In such a beautiful shade of blue." "It's truly beautiful." "It's thought that the Egyptians considered blue to be the color of truth." "Like the blue of the sky." "Like the blue of the sky." "Mommy, look." "I think I've seen those ladies before." "You must have." "They're all famous." "They appear on TV and in magazines and newspapers." "The one in blue is a businesswoman, head of an empire." "And the one in red..." " Is she the one you saw on the quay?" " I don't know." "They look so different." "Yes, they do." "They're the captain's guests." "Look how he treats them." "Especially the actress..." "Nothing is less certain, Captain." "Yes, I do." "And seeing it was I who brought it up, it's up to me to break the spell." "I'm Delphine, and far from being amazing, I'm..." "I'm expansive." "I'm very independent, a single girl." "Honni soit qui mal y pense." "Even so, I can't help thinking of you, my dear." "Thank you, Captain." "I'm not shy, far from it." "After all, I'm French." "And we French have a reputation where love is concerned." "Ah, that's where you're wrong." "I have no illusions about men." "Haven't you heard of charmers who disappoint women?" "I'm French." "I've had affairs." "I have no children." "I am what you could call a businesswoman, or rather an entrepreneur, which is even rarer." "I don't have time to waste dreaming." "I've noticed you're quite the flatterer." "I'm not French." "I'm Francesca." "And as you can tell, I'm Italian." "I was..." "Always the flatterer, as Delphine said." "To think that at the time they used to call me Aphrodite," "I, who was never free... or independent like Delphine." "I was never free even in my work, which forced me... to keep to strict timetables" "and had very rigid rules." "I didn't even stop working when I got married." "Not that my husband was a tyrant, but I loved him..." "I loved him very much, and love is a tyrant." "Passion makes prisoners of women." "Did you feel you were a prisoner of your husband?" "Only of my memories." "Now that he's no longer here, I live for my memories." "Do you have any children?" "No, unfortunately." "I've gone from a kind of prison of love to a nostalgic solitude." "These frequent trips" "I make nowadays entertain me." "I meet new people, make new friends." "It's my only consolation for lost happiness." "I, Helen, would think..." "I would say that those who live life to the full have many opportunities to be happy, but also feel deep sorrow and suffer on account of betrayal." "Nothing is worse than betrayal, especially when it comes from someone we trust." "It's like a knife wound, like being stabbed by pain and doubt." "I have suffered betrayal, among other misfortunes." "Hard to bear for a sensitive and faithful woman." "I have never suffered that, but I know it exists." "And we have to bear it." "Only our friends can help." "To tell you the truth," "I've never experienced betrayal in my love life." "Ingratitude or disillusionment, little infidelities, yes, but nothing hurts as much as betrayal by one dear to me." "It's a wound that never heals." "I don't think I'm different from others." "There's nothing morbid in this." "I consider myself to be a very positive person." "I like my friends, my career as an actress and singer." "I like to encourage new talent." "As you can see," "I'm not bitter." "I know, you even visited me many times in my dressing room." "I adore the theater, and I spend as much time on the stage as off it, but I cannot accept everything that is offered to me." "I'm very selective." "Not only because of the question of quality, but also of fantasy." "My love of theater and singing made me become a teacher." "I'm dedicated to my work." "I love my students, and they all get along well with me and respect my work." "It's a great comfort to me." "You're most kind, Captain." "Once again, it's very kind of you to say that." "Thank you." "It's true that for an artist, there's nothing better than to live for one's art." "Are you married?" "Do you have children?" "I'm not married." "I don't have any children." "I've known men for whom I still feel friendship." "Love is a prison of desire, as Francesca said, but at times it's unbearable." "Especially if the man is jealous." "As unbearable as loneliness." "Or even more, like a man." "If our captain had met a woman like the sea, he would have made an excellent husband." "If you don't know, who does?" "You're a very attractive man, and not only to the sea." "Anyway, you don't need many women." "You just need to find one whom you love as much as the sea, and it will be enough." "That is, in case the sea lets you down." "Unless you'd rather be shipwrecked and give yourself up to the mermaids." "Delphine is right." "You still have plenty of time." "To get married?" "It's simple." "You command a ship." "You mean the happiness of a sailor is like that of a fish?" "They breathe but they can't speak." "Which means they can't give their opinion." "Maybe... but we also express ourselves... in a strange way." "Yes, strange, unique, unusual." "Not in a normal way." "Haven't you noticed that at this table we are all speaking different languages, and we all come from different countries?" "And what is even stranger is that it all seems so natural." "Natural, yes, but also an extraordinary coincidence." "Coincidence?" "Yes, we all understand each other and it's so natural." "Among educated women, there are no barriers." "Nor among men either, I hope." "Frankly, I don't know." "But I believe that each one of us expresses himself or herself in their own way, whether man or woman." "But nothing is more comfortable than speaking one's own language." "Which is not the case in the European Union." "Of course not." "The European Union was set up by men, and look at the result." "Imagine how different it would be, how we would live in peace, if the world were ruled by women." "You're not a feminist by any chance, are you," "Miss Delphine?" "Look at me, Captain." "What do you think?" "I think you're a sorceress." "I am..." "Well, let me begin at the beginning." "I'm an American of Polish descent, but born and bred in the United States." "There are no true Americans except the Indians." "Exactly." "The English language has colonized the world, and today we all need to speak..." "English." "But it was not the basis of our civilization." "Greece was the cradle of our civilization." "You're right, Helen." "Greek is only spoken in Greece." "This table is an exception to the rule." "Outside Greece, nobody speaks Greek." "Perhaps not the language, but Greece is still the cradle of civilization and will be as long as the world goes around." "It's a civilization that's been forgotten." "And with it, fraternity and the rights of man and the utopian ideals of the French Revolution." "Later adopted by the US." "But they're also being forgotten, as is happening on other continents, like Europe, not to speak of Africa." "No civilization lasts forever." "Time will tell how best to preserve the memory of the past." "That's how Alexander the Great saw it when, under the influence of Aristotle, he decided to found a universal library." "Built after his death." "Exactly." "Built and destroyed in Alexandria." "And then lost forever." "But what I find most curious is the case of the Arabs, who, having spread Greek culture in Europe and beyond, were the ones to destroy it, burning all the books in the blindness of their religious fervor." "The beginnings of fundamentalism, which is everywhere today." "However, the Arabs also founded a great culture." "Now it is in decline." "What haunts the Arab world nowadays is the development of the West, with its many technical advances and scientific progress." "This creates religious prejudice, which is what divides us." "What is needed between East and West are convergent values." "The question is not one of politics but of civilization." "Politics create civilization, and action creates history." "The sad history of humanity." "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons." "Long before the Tower of Babel, it all started with original sin." "That's a good idea." "I would quickly open another supermarket or a warehouse or something." "Brilliant." "Good idea." "I'll be your first customer." "Unless you want me as a partner." "Oh, no." "A sailor?" "Never." "You command your ship and I'll command my business." "Very well." "What are you talking about?" "Our polyglot interaction." "Don't you find it extraordinary?" "Extraordinary." "Why are they all so cheerful, Mommy?" "Perhaps it's a birthday party." "Are we already in another sea?" "Yes, Maria Joana." "This is the Red Sea." "Is it really red?" "They call it red because in some places it has red coral, but now it's night and we can't see land or sea." "We have our back to Africa, and we're facing Arabia, the land of the Arabs." " Who are the Arabs?" " The Arabs?" "We must go far back in time, all the way back to antiquity, to the days of Abraham." "Abraham had a son, Ishmael, by the slave girl Agar." "Then he had another son by his wife Sara whom they called Isaac." "Sara persuaded Abraham to cast out Ishmael, because he was not her son." "So Ishmael and his mother went out into the desert, and from Ishmael are descended the Arabs, or Ishmaelites." "What are we?" " We, who?" " You and me." "We're Portuguese." "What else would we be?" " Then what happened?" " Then there were many wars." " Did lots of people die?" " Lots." "But that's how nations are born." " Including the Portuguese?" " Yes, all nations." "Why were men so wicked?" "That's how it was." "They weren't really wicked." "They were people like us." "Lust for power leads to war." "That's our nature." " What do you mean, nature?" " How can I explain?" "It's like being hungry or wanting something very much." "Suppose you had a doll and someone tried to take it away." "You'd hold it tight to keep it." "Understand?" "It's more or less like that." "I think so." "But if I had a doll, would they try and take it?" "No, darling, of course not." "Then I can ask you in Portuguese." "Tell me frankly, Captain." "Would you mind if I decline your kind invitation?" "We would prefer to be just the two of us." "Yes, we do." "Bombay." "Why not?" "We are going to join her father, who is an airline pilot and my husband." "My father's name is João Amorim." "The crew changes at Bombay, and we're then going to take a vacation together." "It's a logical question, but I have a good reason." "My name is Rosa Maria." "I'm a history professor at Lisbon University, and I'm on this cruise to visit in person the places I talk about with my students but know only from books." "It's been a wonderful trip." "Do you say that because I speak to people so openly?" "Thank you, Captain." "Yes." "Mommy, aren't you going to introduce me?" "How do you do, dear girl?" "I'm Captain John, at your service." "I'm Maria Joana." "I'll be eight soon." "I'm going to join my daddy in Bombay." "Very good, Maria Joana." "You must give your daddy a big hug." "He speaks Portuguese too." " I like him." " He's very nice." "At the time of the discoveries, the Portuguese tried in vain to conquer this city several times." " Were many people killed?" " There are always people killed in wars." "Do you know why they wanted to invade the city?" "To facilitate the sea route for the ships that sailed to India." "Look." "How lovely." "Shall we look?" " Do you like it?" " Yes." "Yes, we saw you talking on the bridge this morning." "May I see?" "Of course not." "Captain, how kind of you." "You shouldn't have." "Shall we take a look?" " Would you like a sweet?" " She loves sweets." "I want my doll." "It's your doll." "Nobody will take it." "Yes, I know who they are." "I've seen them in magazines and on TV." "I understand." "Kilometer." "Telephone." "Utopia." "Philosophy." "We'd all be speaking Greek." "My daddy flies airplanes." " Say that again." " My daddy flies airplanes." "Little orange tree, thick with leaves" "Where are your flowers" "Where has your beauty gone" "Where is your loveliness of old" "The north wind rose up" "And blew them all away" "I beg you, north wind" "Blow gently" "Mommy, why is the captain leaving?" "The captain?" "We don't know, darling." " Is the ship sinking?" " No, of course not." "If we sink, who will look after my doll?" "That won't be necessary." "Everything will be all right." "Come on." "Maria Joana!" "Don't be afraid." "I'll look after you." "Come on, sweetheart." "Let's go." "Come on." "I beg you, north wind" "Blow gently"