CATHORS

The Langeudoc region of France is one of great beauty and of history dating back to before the Gauls occupied the area. There are prehistoric sites called "oppididium" that archeologically rival the Druid sites in England although none approach Stonehenge.

However, this part of Europe in best known as the stronghold of the Cathar Heresy from the mid 12th century to its final crushing in 1309. The Albigenisian Crusade proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1208 marked one of the bloodiest eras in history with Christian mercilessly killing other Christians in the name of the "true faith".

In 1209 the city of Beziers surrendered to Crusaders after only a token resistance however the Crusaders proceeded to sack the town slaughtering tens of thousand citizens irrespective of age or sex. Thousands who had sought refuge in a church were killed when the Crusaders burned it to the ground with them inside.

This area at that time was on the borders of Spain and for protection castles had been built on various mountain tops. One of these was Montsegur whose ruins are perched at a precarious 3000 altitude in the south of France near the Pyrenees Mountains about 40 miles southwest of Carcassonne.

In 1243–44, the Cathars were besieged at Montségur by 10,000 French troops at the end of the Albigensian Crusade. In March 1244, the Cathars finally surrendered and when they refused to renounce their faith approximately 220 were burned en masse in a bonfire at the foot of the pog

Myths and legends apart, the history of Montségur actually is both dramatic and mysterious. The siege was an epic event of heroism and zealotry: a veritable Masada of the Cathar faith whose demise is symbolized by the fall of the mountain-top

Supposedly before the fall of the castle a small group escaped at night carrying a mysterious object. The rumor was that it was the Holy Grail. Apparently the Nazis were thought to give some credence to that rumor and tried to incorporate the site into their lore.

Whatever the truth may be the ruins are not those of the Cathar castle. That castle was completely destroyed after its captured. Over subsequent years new fortifications were constructed on the site and what exists today is referred to by French archeologists as "Montsegur III" and is typical of post-medieval royal French defensive architecture of the 1600s.

The first two photos are of Mountsegur. Because of the light color of the ruins it was impossible to get good contrast from the sky. The first one was taken with a long telephoto lens, the second with the normanl 50mm lens from the distant road. This gives a good idea of the impregnable position of the castle.

The last two show the Corbier countryside. The Corbiers extend inland parallel to the Mederteranean sea from Languedoc to the Pyrenees

RANDOM THOUGHTS nov 24

I hope Annie McWilliams presence at the League of Municipalities meeting was reimbursed by the city since she is an incoming Councilperson as of 1/1/09. It would be nice if we had a list of what Plainfield officials elected and appointed attended the meeting and what workshops they participated in. This should be public information.

Note to Dan: Perhaps you should contact Greg. Somewheres in my other 5 or so binders are my Italy slides. Tuscany is among them along with memories of some great wines. I apologize for my senility since I am unable to locate the site of the pix in question. Deducing from the group of slides in which I found this one, it must be in a village in the Corbiers region.

Just Pictures

I have discovered that I have almost 700 slides of France taken over the period from 1970 to 2000. I intend to use a few from time to time for my "show and tell". If I am ambitious enough I may spin a tale of some of the trips and intersperse with photos. That sounds like too much work.

Sometime next week I will start on a binder with about 500 slides. Since I have several it will be a surprise to me when I scan the first 20 on a sheet.

For today until I can remember my Random Thoughts here are 4 shots that I am fond of. The first is a Farm House near the Canal de Midi, I do not recall the location of the second picture in Southern France I had thought that the blue in the background was the sea but on closer inspection there are hills in the background , and the last two are in the Corbiers, a small village and a town that may be Tuchan.Note how the church dominates the town.

RANDOM THOUGHTS NOV 23

I would strongly recommend accessing the LA Times site and listen to the video of Obama's speech yesterday as the Democrat's response to the President..You can use the following address:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-obama-team23-2008nov23,0,2828241.story?track=ntothtml

What is most encouraging is his plan to re institute the PWA type program which willnot only help rebuild our infra-structure but create employment for those who will and can work. This is not a dole and is important for self esteem.

Too bad we have to wait to Jan. 20, but at least the frame work will be in place and Congress will have two months to be prepared to act without delay.

We are living in momentous times and our new President-elect looks like the MAN.

Speaking about politicians who seem to have plans for "change" read today's Councilman Burney's Blog . I have addressed the failures that I am aware of in Plainfield's emergency response plan- if there is one. Questions in the past have resulted in only vague evasive answers. The public is entitled to know the details of our emergency response.

Viva Gregory Palermo

Not only does Gregory Palermo enlighten us on trees and the examples in Plainfield -most interesting reading- but he is an authority on European Cities . The picture is from Strasbourg , on the Rhine River.The canal, if it not just a local branch from the Rhine,is the Marne-Rhine canal. This canal traverses Alsace and Loraine to the Marne River and thence to Paris. Near Nancy there is a connecting canal passing Epinal to connect with the Saone River and the Rhone.

Wlkepedia's entry on this canal

The Marne-Rhine Canal (French: Canal de la Marne au Rhin) is a canal in eastern France. It connects the river Marne in Vitry-le-François with the Rhine in Strasbourg. Combined with the canalised part of the Marne, it allows transport between Paris and eastern France. The 312 km long canal was opened in 1853. The canal is suited for small ships (péniches), maximum size 38.5 m long and 5.05 m wide. It has 155 locks. The Marne-Rhine Canal is connected with the following navigable waterways: Marne River in Vitry-le-François, Meuse River/Canal de l'Est near Commercy, Moselle River/Canal de l'Est in Toul, Moselle River in Pompey, Canal des houillères de la Sarre in Gondrexange, Rhine in Strasbourg

More interesting facts from other sources
"With its forests and lakes, the landscape around the canal is simply outstanding. On your way you'll see a number of monuments including castles and windmills. When you arrive in Alsace you will be using the Artzwiller lift with its tunnel and inclined plane, a feature unique of its kind in Europe! The boat lift carries boats and canal barges from the upper to the lower canal, travelling up a 41% slope for a distance of 128 metres. The Marne-Rhine canal crosses Alsace and Lorraine for a distance of 152 km including 58 locks, travelling via Nancy, Lagarde and Saverne."

"The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is a part of the Marne-Rhine Canal. Located on the territory of the commune of Saint-Louis, between the towns of Saint-Louis and Arzviller in the department of the Moselle, it enables the canal to cross the Vosges Mountains. The structure opened in 1969, replacing 17 locks to provide for a change in level of 44.55 metres (approximately 138 feet). The inclined plane comprises a single chamber, reminiscent of a giant bath tub, which is called a caisson and slides laterally up or down the hillside on rails set at an angle of 41 degrees. The caisson is counter-balanced by two weights each of 450 metric tons, and the length of the lifting ramp is 108.65 metres (about 335 feet). The design is believed to be unique in Europe. Prior to the construction of the incline, barges needed 8 to 13 hours to traverse the 17 locks and 10,200 cubic metres of water was needed to operate the series of locks. The incline can be traversed in 4 minutes and requires only 40 cubic metres of water. Because the design uses counterweights to balance the weight of the caisson being moved, the entire operation can be run by two 120 horsepower electric motors, which causes a surprisingly small energy consumption."

The vast European canal systems connect the Baltic, Black, North, Mediterranean Seas; the English channel ,the Atlantic Ocean; the Oder, Elbel, Rhine, Danube, Rhone, Marne, Garrone, Mossel and other navigable rivers to afford a slow but safe inexpensive inland transportation system. The more expensive trucks and railroads have not replaced the barges as has happened in the United States.

There are many so called hotel barges that travel on many of the French Canals. They carry between 6 to 32 passengers and tie up at night. All have day excursion trips and are an ideal way to see local areas of France. There are also on some canals small boats for up to 8 that can be rented.

We had enjoyed our two barge trips as well as river boat trips on the Rhine, Moselle and Danube. They are perhaps the best way to get to know the countries.

Strasbourg shares with Brussels as the home of the European Union's Parliment, and also is the site of many of the Council of Europe's agencies. I would recommend reading about Strasbourgh in Wilkepedia its history and historical sites including the oldest continually operating Apothecary (Pharmacy) in the world.

TO ERR IS A MAVEN'S RIGHT

Several days ago I posted an article about a French city which I identified as " Porte-Sainte- Louise-Du-Rhone" That city is a somewhat more modern French port at the mouth of the present Rhone River.

The photos are of Aigues Mortes

The foundation of the city is attributed to Marius Caius, around 102 BC, but the first document mentioning a place called " ayga mortas dates from 10th cedntury. Louis IX (Saint Louis) rebuiltit in the 13th century as France's only Mediterranean port.A that tim was="" embarkation point of seventh and the eighth crusades.

The town is actually several miles inland and the port, as such, would have been in nearby lagoons and estuaries, linked to Aigues-Mortes. The 1,650 metres of city walls were built in two phases: the first during the reign of Philippe III the Bold and the second during the reign of Philippe IV the Fair, who had the enclosure completed between 1289 and 1300.

The Constance Tower, completed in 1248, (Two views below)is all that remains of the castle built in Louis IX's reign. It was almost certainly the gatehouse tower, designed to be impregnable with its six-metre-thick walls. A spiral staircase leads to the different levels of the tower. From 1575 to 1622, Aigues-Mortes was one of the eight safe havens granted to the Protestants. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 caused severe repression of Protestantism, which was marked in Languedoc and the Cévennes in the early 18th century by the "Camisard War". Like other towers in the town, from 1686 onwards the Constance Tower was used as a prison for the Huguenots who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. In 1703, Abraham Mazel, leader of the Camisards, managed to escape with sixteen companions.

As an apology here are three more pictures.

TO THE CITY BY TRAIN- OBOMA"S CABINET

In order of importance-Local vs National:

Councilman Burney's Blog about the one seat ride into NYC is interesting but a represents a rehash of 30+ tears talk. When DOT took over passenger operations on the defunct CRRNJ and built the ramp connection to the old Lehigh Valley tracks so that the Jersy City Ferry terminal operation and the bay bridge could be abandoned the promise was made that access to Penn Station was the ultimate goal. Even then an additional tunnel under the river was contemplated as a necessity.

During this time interval the electrified Gladstone and Denville/Dover lines were modernized and converted to be compatible with the existing Amtrack lines. However all plans to electrify the Raritan Valley line were abandoned as too expensive, as was a the new tunnel that would be needed to carrier the extra capacity. This was in a time of relative record setting prosperity.

The concept of hybrid Diesel/Electric Locomotive is not new and I believe have been used on other Metropolitan lines sin the past. Perhaps the LIRR or the NewHaven lines, that I would have to research. as to a new tunnel, by the time it is built or even funded I think the time table, and I can be corrected, is not before 2020 to be operational. This was the proposal before the market collapse.

Before we have too many hopes for the Raritan Valley lines, remember North Jersey has priority, Also what ever happened to the proposed Light Railway system?


OBAMA WATCH: Despite the fact that the selection of his incoming leaders reflects a return to the Clinton Washington of old and new a true change, he has chosen wisely with perhaps, to me. one exception.

Obama is avoiding Carter's mistake of surrounding himself with people who had no concept of Washington and National politics. He continues to impress me as a very astute politician and certainly seems on the right road restore economic and social confidence in the United States. If his adviser's input is not too radical to create resistance, I hope Congress will not go off the deep end with their own, and to date destructive, agendas.

My exception is of course, Hilary as Secretary of State. Yes she will be an improvement over today's gofer. Yes, her international exposure and of course President Clinton's foreign relationships cab stand us in good stead. However I do not know how effective she will be in her new role. As a carpet-bagging power seeking opportunist politician I can not envision her being subservient to the President.

You judge this individual, who became a resident of a safe state in time to receive the nomination for the Senate and who ran for reelection stating that she had no intention of seeking any other office ,but would fulfill her term as Senator. The best thing the Democrats did was to deny her the right to become President.

I hope that this lame duck but one party controlled Congress will not sabotage every attempt to mitigate today's crisis. What is more important, this country's welfare, or some self centered incompetents using private jets to travel to meet with Congress? Those individuals and their peers must be dealt with by their stockholder's not boards ASAP, but first things first.


A note of disappointment; No one has identified the Canal City. No surprise but I hoped that I would get more replies (non posted). Another clue The city's name suggests that it is in the wrong country. One more day.