Citadel – Trouspinet travels

Today I headed back to France from Andorra. I drove north, passing through some of the tiny country’s ski resorts, before a long tunnel brought me to the border. The scenery was immediately different in France – greener, with lots of pretty flowers on the slopes of the mountains.

My first stop was at Ax-les-Bains, a pretty spa town, where I had a coffee and studied my guidebook’s recommended driving route. They suggested a detour to see an impressive rock formation deep in the mountains, so I set off along a steeply rising and winding country road, and then into a forest, and then up a hill along a very narrow forest track with space for one car only and a sheer drop on one side. I drove up carefully, praying that I would not meet anyone coming the other way, and at the top saw a sign for the Pas de l’Ours viewing point. The spot was obviously very rarely visited, since the short path to reach the belvedere was heavily overgrown. After I had fought my way through some aggressive vegetation (and even more aggressive ants) an amazing view opened up, which I stopped to admire. To add to nature’s impressive show, in the distance on a different mountain was perched the castle of Montsegur, which must have been totally impossible to take by storm.

The Amazing view from the Pas de l’Ours -1

The Amazing view from the Pas de l’Ours – 2 – Monsegur Castle is just visible to the right

Soon I needed to continue my route. I squeezed my car along some more kilometres of forest track before I eventually ended up back on a proper road. I was now running behind schedule; the view from the Pas de l’Ours had been really wonderful, but I was beginning to wonder if it was really worth the nearly two hour detour I had made along bumpy tracks to see it. My next destination was Foix, a charming small French town with a very photogenic castle (whose construction started in the early tenth century).

Memorial to members of the Resistance and to the Deported, Foix

My penultimate destination for the day – and of this trip – was Carcassonne, famous for its Unesco-listed medieval citadel. The city came into prominence in Roman times, and was later an important stronghold of the Visigoths. By the 12th century, it had become an important center for the Catharism – a religious sect distinct from, but borrowing elements of, Christianity. As such Carcassonne was the target for the Cathar Crusade (or Albigensian Crusade) , a military campaign initiated by the then Pope and executed over 1209-1229 by the French crown. The crusade aimed to crush the Cathar movement but also to extend the authority of the king of France in the South. When Carcassonne was captured, its people were allowed to leave alive but without any of their possessions; some of them settled nearby and founded what is now the lower part of the city. Today, they city has an exceptionally preserved fortified medieval city, imposingly located on a hill, and a very pleasant and slightly less ancient lower town.

Approaching the Citadel (sorry, terrible light for this photo)

I parked in the lower town, made the classic climb up to the citadel’s main gate and entered to explore the streets of the ancient city.

The walls of the citadel from the outside

It was indeed incredibly well-preserved and very pretty – despite the occasional tacky souvenir shop. It was a blisteringly hot day, so I darted from one patch of shade to another. I found further respite from the sun by going to the city’s castle, a visit which includes the option to walk a complete circuit of the ramparts of the citadel.

Exploring Carcassone’s citadel took me a couple of hours. I could have stayed longer, but the heat was oppressive and I needed to carry on to my next destination, a party thrown by friends of mine in a stylish “chateau” just outside Toulouse. We ate, drank, chatted and danced under the early morning. The next day I got up early, drank a lot of coffee, and drove back to Toulouse airport for the flight home.

The venue for my friends’ evening party….

Well, that’s it for this series of posts. The Pyrenees have really impressed me – usually pretty, sometimes spectacular, and very varied, with their contrast between the dry Spanish side and green French part. They join a very small list of places that I plan to return to – next time I will try to do more hiking and less driving, and to properly explore Ordesa and Monte Perdido.

Previous Post: Andorra

The next day I set off to explore “Islamic Cairo”, and area of maze-like twisting streets and dozens of ancient monuments – mostly mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools).

I started my walk on the main street, Al Muizz Li Din Allah, which is lined with pretty minarets. Occasionally I ducked into side streets to find them teaming with local life – tiny cafes and restaurants, bakeries, grocers.

A typical scene in one of the side streets in Islamic Cairo

There are hundreds of historic buildings in the area, so I had to be selective as to which ones to visit. First I chose the Madrassa and Mausoleum of Qalaun, dating from 1279.

I continued south, through the gold and silver market. I had chosen a Friday to visit (the first day of the Arab weekend), so this shopping area was slightly less busy than usual- which was just as well, since I still found the area very busy.

Gold- and Silver-smiths Market in Islamic Cairo

To recharge my batteries, I found a rooftop café with a great view of the minarets of the area.

Finally space to breathe in Islamic Cairo!

Partially refreshed, I continued further south to Bab Zuweila, one of the ancient gates of the city and dating from the 11^th century.

I climbed all the up to the top of one of the minarets, for a spectacular view of the chaotic sprawl below. It was prayer time in the mosques and the different imams’ sermons were relayed to worshipers in the street by deafening loud speakers. The jumble of sound added to the visual sense of disorder and chaos.

I continued south, next through another market.

The streets became increasingly narrow and anarchic. I was continually dodging other pedestrians, cyclists and small vans. As before, there were many interesting historic buildings to admire, but the effort of moving forward, combined with the continual noise and the strange smells made my progress increasingly stressful. I was relieved when my narrow road arrived at a big open area, where I got a view of the Citadel, a walled city within Cairo. In front of the citadel was the huge Mosque of Sultan Hassan, built from 1356 to 1563. After my claustrophobic and slow passage through the old town, it was a relief to sit in the huge, quiet courtyard located in the centre of the mosque.

A moment of peace inside the Sultan Hassan mosque

I could have continued my walk on into the Citadel, and have visited yet more mosques, but I was tired. I headed back to my houseboat to recharge my batteries after an exhausting day. My guidebook advised to visit Islamic Cairo in several small chunks – they were right, but I did not have enough time to allow this.

In the evening, I had a pleasant problem. I was due to leave the next day, but had changed too much money into Egyptian pounds. It was hard to change money back into dollars, so I needed to spend what I left. For my last night I found the most expensive restaurant serving Egyptian food – and booked a table. The food was very good, but the live entertainment – which I had not been expecting – was even better. First there were two very good Egyptian singers, a man followed by a woman. Then there was a traditional Egyptian band with dancers.

Finally there was a belly dancer. This form of dance was invented in Cairo, and is still popular here. The performer didn’t seem to dance much with her belly, instead she shook various other parts of her body vigorously. It was a complete contrast to the heavily covered women I had seen in Islamic Cairo.

The performance attracted a crowd of mostly local people, who seemed to be enjoying themselves enormously. It was interesting to see how much fun people could have without needing to drink alcohol. I stayed until nearly midnight (the manager proudly told me that they were open until 1.30am) and slept soundly back in my houseboat.

Next Post: Dashur and Saqqara – the Zoser, Bent and Red Pyramids

Previous Post: Cairo, the city that never sleeps

Tag: Citadel

Back to France – Foix and Carcassonne

The overpowering maze of Islamic Cairo