All photos are in Cordes-sur-Ciel
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Montsegur, France Summer 2012
Montsegur from the parking lot
View from the top of the hike
Inside the fort
On the observation deck
View of village below
From the edge
Edge on the other side
Awesome view
Inside the fortress
Same view for the past 900 years
From the trail 
Front entrance
The Cathars in Languedoc
The Cathars, also known as the Albegensians were a religious
group appearing in Europe during the 11th century. No one is certain of their true origin and
whether or not they were true Christians, although they did call themselves
Christians. They are thought to have
beginnings with the Bogomils and Gnostics.
They were called Cathars by the Roman Catholics as a derogatory term,
catharos being a Greek word meaning “purified ones”. In general, they held the belief that the
world was governed by two gods, one good and one evil, and that the trappings
of the material world were evil. Cathars
believed that the path to liberation included renouncing the world, living a
pure life and freeing oneself from the corrupting influences of material
things. They believed in reincarnation,
a life of simplicity, not killing, taking oaths or telling lies. Their diet was strictly vegan. Although there was a church hierarchy and
ceremonies, there were no church structures.
The area of Languedoc was not ruled by kings; rather it had several counts and was an autonomous region from the north of France with its kings. Languedoc had always been an area noted for its
liberalism and tolerance.
It was here
that Catharism took root and became the major religion of the area by the early
13th century. The lack of
religious obedience to the Pope and no alliance with the Kings of France did
not sit well with either the Pope or the King of France. Beginning in 1208 the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars began; pitting the
indigenous population against the King of France and the Pope. Within a few years, the Counts of Toulouse
and their allies were deposed. As a
result, the Occitian territories were
annexed to France under the Treaty of Paris.
It is estimated that 500,000 people were killed in this Crusade; however,
not all Cathars were eliminated. The Cathars
had many strong allies in areas from which they were able to obtain permission
to build several remote fortified cities.
On a recent day trip from Toulouse we visited the town of
Cordes-sur-Ciel. It is a small well
preserved town on top of a high hill overlooking the Cerou Valley. Raymond VII of Toulouse decided to build this
fortified town in 1222 as a result of losing territory to Simon de
Montfort. Many remaining Cathars took up
residence here until they were eliminated by the Inquisition. Cordes-sur-Ciel was able to prosper following
the Inquisition, and remained a viable town until the plagues decimated the
population in the 15th century.
Cordes regained some economic prosperity during the late 19th
century, but due to its isolation, was not able to compete with better situated
towns. In the 1970’s a move to restore
the town and make it a tourist destination began. Today it is a beautiful place to climb up to
and have a great view of the valley below.
Parking is at the bottom of the old town and a 15 minute walk straight
up takes you to the top. Not to worry,
there are many shops, restaurants, and galleries along the way if you need to catch your breath.
Although the Albigensian Crusade ended 1229, the Cathars
were able to regroup, thus the cause of the Inquisition in Languedoc. Locals, not loyal to the King of France would
frequently warn the Cathars that the Inquisitors were coming and run them out
of town. In 1232, the Cathars requested
and were granted permission to occupy and fortify Montsegur. After a particular dramatic act in 1242, the
assassination of the Inquisitors in Avignonet, King Loius IX of France cracked
down on the area. The Count of Toulouse,
Raymond VII was again forced to sign the Treaty of Paris and relinquish power. That left the town of Montsegur to be brought
under control. The siege of Montsegur began
in May of 1243 and lasted 10 months.
Opposition forces aiding the Cathars were lead by Pierre-Roger de Mirpoix, who finally had to surrender the fortress and preserve the lives of his fighters. The remaining
Cathars would not surrender and were executed on a wooden pyre, thus putting an end to them once and for all. The fortified town on the mountain top was
destroyed completely and barely a trace can be seen today.
A year later, the new Lord of Mirpoix, Guy des Levis II took
an oath to the King of France and requested permission to rebuild the
fortress. At the bottom of the hill, a
village was also constructed. The new fort
at the top of the hill stands today. The new fort was used to guard the area from Spanish invasion and was actively used until the 16th century. The hike is rigorous, going straight up for about 20 minutes over rough terrain. The area is remote, there no shops or restaurants in the area, so bring your own food and water. The new and old forts had a system of cisterns for water. It was said that the vegetarian diet of the Cathars helped them hold out without supplies for long periods of time. Hiking in the area is great, so is the biking, but the terrain is unforgiving, so be prepared. The view from the top is mostly unspoiled, you can easily imagine yourself back in the 13th century.
Interestingly, the Cathars were believed to have amassed a
treasure which was never found. Some
think that the treasure is buried somewhere in the hills around Montsegur and
may contain among the riches, the Holy Grail.
Those believers think that the Cathars may have been direct descendants
of Jesus Christ, thus giving them access to the Holy Grail. The area of Montsegur
has been the focus of many archeological digs; a museum in the village holds
the findings of some of the explorations. Surprising to me, during WWII Nazi historians were looking for a
connections between the Holy Grail and an ancient Aryan race. They investigated the legends hoping to find their evidence in Montsegur. A 1980’s best seller about the history and
the area, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, was written by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh
and Henry Lincoln.
Much is written about the Cathars and the history of this
area. Quick links to the history and
lore of the area see:
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Photos from Le Tour de France, 2012
Leader Stage 18 
Stage 18 
Uphill Straggler Stage 14
Stage 18 
Uphill Stage 18
A380 Fly Over Stage 18
Uphill Climb Stage 14 
Nod from Wiggins Stage 14
Le Tour de France, 2012
Le Tour de France
Le Tour as it is called here has captured the
world’s cycling imagination for over a century.
The race started July 1, 1903 with 60 cyclists and covered 471 km. The first winner was Maurice Garin. This year’s Le Tour will be the 99th
running of the event, covering 3497 km from June 30 to July 22. And thankfully two days are set aside for
rest! This year 11 of the stages are in the Pyrenees region,
convenient for me living in the Midi-Pyrenees region. I had the opportunity to see two of the
stages that were closest to Toulouse.
We set out fairly early both days to see the Publicity
Caravan. This is a parade of sponsors
prior to the day’s cycling stage. The
Caravan was started in 1930 to stabilize the race, allowing funds for teams to
use the same equipment and to nationalize the teams. The Race Director of the times, Henri
Desgrange contacted major French companies to become the corporate sponsors of
the race. Since then, sponsorship has
grown and the pre-race caravan is what almost 50% of the spectators cite as
their reason for coming. The Caravan is
fun, somewhat reminiscent of a Mardi Gras parade where people act silly to get
beads. Here, I’ve taken an elbow to the
stomach because someone really had their eye on the keychain trinket being
tossed. My reflexes are not what they
used to be, but I still managed to come home with a bag full of laundry
detergent, key chains and refrigerator magnets.
The cost for a spot in the parade ranges from 200,000-500,000 euros. Not to mention the give-aways to toss and
manpower to staff the caravan for 22 days as they travel through out the country.
The riders can earn different colored jerseys by winning
different stages:
Yellow Jersey: Best Individual
White Jersey: Best Youth
Green Jersey: Best Sprinter
Polka-dot Jersey: Best Climber
The first stage I could get to was Stage 14, one of the more
aggressive hill climbs in the Pyrenees.
The race started in Limoux and ended in Foix. We chose to watch outside a small town called
Massat, right before the final hill climb.
At that point, the riders were broken into a lead pack and the main
group called the peloton. The peloton was at least 15 minutes behind the lead
group. Somewhere in those 15 minutes,
just meters beyond where we were standing, someone threw tacks onto the
course. This caused blow outs for many
of the riders, 5 of the entourage motorcycles and a number of the cars. The lead team, Sky had a rider down with a
flat. Due to road conditions, help took
a long time to get to him. Sportsmanship took the lead here, the yellow jersey
wearer; Wiggins and the rest of the peloton decided to wait for all to fix
flats and ride in together. No word yet
if the tack tosser has been caught or what punishment would be appropriate
for this type of sabotage.
Stage 18 from Blagnac to Brive was much less dramatic, the
course was relatively flat. We settled
down to watch near the beginning of the race just outside of Seilh. The Caravan came through, and this time we
were a bit savvier. We stood apart from
the crowd, and subsequently gathered a bit more stuff. The best thing they threw was packets of
laundry detergent, so I can do 4 more loads of laundry as a result of going to
today’s parade! We saw the group pass by in a blur within 5 minutes of the
starting gun. Since there were no hills
and not enough time to slow anyone down, I barely could snap a few pictures
before I felt the back draft! They were
gone in a blur. Can’t wait until next
year!
For more information on the History of Le Tour and the
current Tour, check the links below.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
St. Lizier, France 2012
Timing is everything. It can turn a bad day into a good one or a great day into something better. This is what happened on our way to see one of the mountain stages of Le Tour. Leaving early in the day, we were in search of the perfect location to watch the bikers go up hill. We wanted to watch as long as possible, hence the uphill destination. Fearing that roads may close, parking may be a nightmare, we planned to be at our destination of Massat two hours earlier than the riders were scheduled to come by. Traffic was light and we made great time, so seeing a village at the top of the hill, we made an unplanned stop in St. Lizier.
St Lizier is an ancient town, with evidence of prehistoric cave painting in the area; people have lived here a very long time. In 72 BC, Pompei passes through on his sweep of the Iberian Peninsula, organizes the tribes into the Consorani people. These people remain under Roman rule for several hundred years. Their town is enclosed with wall during the 3rd century. During the 5th century, the town was important enough to become a bisopric under the guidance of the first bishop, St. Valier. The town is named in honor of its 6th century bishop, Saint Lizier, a bishop who participated in the Council of Agde in 506. His relics are present in the cathedral today. Since the Middle Ages, having the relics of a saint was a draw for pilgrims following the way of St. James.
We parked at the bottom of the hill and made our way up to the top to see the sights. Along the way we were met with a woman taking her blind goat for a walk. We had a nice photo opportunity with our new friends. Then while touring the cathedral, we were invited to have refreshments with the parishioners after mass in the cloister. We were warmly welcomed with wine, cheese and pastis-a very warming beverage! Everyone wanted to be sure we met everyone, and did not get away without knowing that this town has been officially declared one of the most beautiful towns in France as well as a World Heritage of Unesco site since 1998. The town is also part of the road to St Jacques de Compostela (path Pyrenean Piedmont) - The Way of St. James pilgrimage, much more famous for the hike through Northern Spain. The itinerary for crossing Ariege has been designated at Grande Randonnée trail (GR 78). The 140 km can be walked in several stages of about 15 to 20 km each.
Some days are like that; stopping to see what’s there and discovering so much more. Some day I will come back for the hiking and who knows what else there will be to encounter.
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