Camargue - Irrigation Canal from the 1500's

The Camargue area of Provence is the river delta of the Rhone River.  It is a flat area.  Rice is grown there since World War II, but it has always been an important agricultural area due to the richness of the land, which is river silt deposited by the Rhone River through the ages.  This irrigation canal was dug in the 1500's.

Aigues-Mortes - City Gate

This is one of the gates of the walled town of Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue.  I have posted other pictures of the walls and ramparts of this beautiful medieval town.

Poppies by an ancient canal

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This ancient canal was hand-dug in the 1500's as an irrigation canal.  It is located in the Camargue region of Provence.  Poppies bloom canal-side in the spring.

Noah's Ark Lookout - Camargue Museum

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The Camargue is considered the "wild" place of France.  It is the area of the Rhone River delta.  It is a flat area created by the millions of years of sediment deposition from the Rhone.  It is also perhaps the most interesting area of France.  It is rich in medieval tradition.  Two crusades departed from its fortified town.  Ancient tradition says that the Saint Marys (Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus) landed there after being blown off course en route to Ephesus.  The history is rich.  They raise the Camargue horse (a white war breed that is now ubiquitous in dude riding places all over the Camargue) and the black Camargue fighting bull with the upswept horns.  They grow a decent rose wine in the sediment sands -- "Vin Sablons".  All of the saulniers or salt making places are there, and the Carmargue Fleur de Sel is world famous.  Rice is grown in the flooded paddies created by the pump stations and the irrigation canals some of which were dug in the 1500's.

The Camargue Museum is a mostly outdoor museum currently undergoing renovation.  One can see over the flat fields by going on the Noah's Ark lookout.  The most ironic thing about it, is that it was designed by a Japanese, not French architect.

Shepherd's Grass House in the Camargue

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These grasses are thick sedges that grow in the Camargue.  They are stitched together, and used as walls against a wooden frame.  Then mortar is applied to the surface creating a strong wall.  The roof is thatched over.  These cabanes are rounded at the back and the rounded back faces the north wind and the mistral winds.

Bull Sausage - Delicacy of The Camargue

We stopped by the roadside at a place selling vegetables to buy some for our dinner, when we saw this sausage.  It is made out of the famous bulls that are bred in the Camargue for bullfighting.  They are black bulls with upswept horns.  They are delicious.  The sausage is cultured sausage, so the skin has the white patina on it, and it goes well with a baguette and a glass of wine.  The brand is Le Trident Noir Au Taureau de Camargue, and if you see it for sale, you owe it to yourself to try it.

Aigues-Mortes Main Street

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The last two entries were the outside walls of Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue area of Provence, and what the walls looked like from the inside.  As soon as you enter, you see the main shopping street and it looks like this.

Aigues-Mortes Outside Walls

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Aigues-Mortes is translated from the Occitan language as Dead Water.  It has its fortifications origins in the 13th century and at least two Crusades were launched from this seaside town in the Camargue.  This is the main entrance to the town.