Medieval Village Gate and Wall

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Back in the medieval times when villagers built walls to keep out the travelling robbers, warriors, invaders and other low lifes, this is what the entrance to the village looked like.  In times of yore there would be sturdy wooden gates to be closed and barred.

Medieval Festival - Aigues Mortes

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A medieval festival was held outside the rampart walls at Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue area of France.  Not only were there vendors selling medieval clothing and such, but there were battle re-enactments, buskers and a fair as well.

Aigues-Mortes Inside The Walls

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The posting immediately below shows the outer walls main gate of Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue area of Provence.  This is the view just as you enter the main gate with the steps to the ramparts.

House Built Into A Village Wall

Black shutters keep the sun out of a house built right into the southern exposure of a village wall.

Street Meets Gate in Village Wall

As you drive through the village on the narrow streets, you come to the ancient wall of the old village. This was a gate in the wall. It is obvious that the car will not fit through a gate made for donkeys and horses. And you have to back up all the way, because there is no place to turn around. These are some of the quaint surprises in the hilltop villages of Provence. In another place, the road changes abruptly into stairs.

Medieval Walls and Vine

This old rock wall abuts the wall of a hilltop village. A solitary grape vine grows against the ancient rock and doorway lintel. The mortar is made with ocher.

Castle Turret

This turret wall is on the castle in the village of Gordes. What caught my eye, was the shooting port in the castle wall, where a defender could fire from.

Wall Bushes

This wall was photographed in the town of Ménerbes , which is the town featured in Peter Mayles book and film -- "A Year in Provence".

Gordes

This is a distant view of the mountain-top village of Gordes -- one of the more famous and picturesque in Provence. Ex-president Francois Mitterand had a summer home here.

This is a view from a property that has a hermit's grave from the 13th Century, a Roman aquaduct, a Gaulois old stone wall from the time of Asterix, was the home of a famous French philosopher, has a courtyard, a truffle grounds, a vineyard, grows all of the herbs of Provence, and the Lovely One won't let me buy the property.

Three Tiers

Here you can see the three tiers of a hilltop village. I am standing on the low tier of the village. The upper tier has a broken down wall from the days of yore.

Medieval Walls

At one point, this hilltop village was walled as a fortress to prevent attacks. On this road around the bend, you can see an arch through the wall. The wall has fallen down, and you can see up top where it abruptly ends.