We started our morning with the laundry since they were
closed last evening. Then we headed to
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer under beautiful blue skies. The three saints Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome
and Mary Jacobe, whose relics are the focus of the devotions of pilgrims, are
believed to be the women who were the first witnesses to the empty tomb at the
resurrection of Jesus. After the Crucifixion of Jesus, Mary Salome, Mary
Jacobe, and Mary Magdalene set sail from Alexandria, Egypt with their uncle
Joseph of Arimathea. According to a longstanding French legend, they either
sailed to or were cast adrift - either way they arrived off the coast of what
is now France, at "a sort of fortress named Oppidum-Râ". The location
was known as Notre-Dame-de-Ratis (Râ becoming Ratis, or boat).
The magnificent 6th century (some say 12th)
Church of Saintes Maries de la Mer is
named after Mary Salomé and Mary Jacobé who landed along French Riviera shore
with their servant Sarah in 42 BC. & others from Palestine. In honour
of the three who decided to stay here, a small chapel was built in the 4th
century on a small wooded island named Sainte-Marie de l’Ilot or
Sainte-Marie-de-Ratis, which was destroyed by Saracen invasions and
successively restored. Later excavations
in the old crypt revealed the ancient relics of the Saintes Maries, which are
now exhibited in a reliquary in the High Chapel. When the Saintes were found, their
heads were based on a block of marble that was called the pillow of sacred and
which is still preserved in a wall of the Church. In the
mid 1830s the church acquired the current denomination of Church of Saintes
Maries de la Mer.
The church is visible from everywhere in the town and the
surrounding villages. It was conceived as a massive fortress because of its
strategic position: the village of Saintes Maries de la Mer was often subject
to invasions and depredations. The church, therefore, was designed to resist
the attacks and a big well was built to provide water to the refugees. The
Church of Saintes Maries de la Mer also features a high tower with defensive
battlements and its roof is surrounded by a walkaway as a lookout. The south
facade once featured the magnificent Portal of the Lions reminiscent of a previous
pagan temple.
The Church of Saintes Maries de la Mer has a wonderful
churchyard with a decorated pink marble paving and the trees that we’ve only
seen pollarded were full and leafy. The
church is accessed from a small lateral door surmounted by the Cross of the
Camargue, ancient emblem composed of three overlapped symbols: a cross
symbolizing Faith, whose wings end with the guardians harpoon symbolizing the
daily hard work, an anchor representing Hope, and a heart symbolizing
Love.
The interior of the Church of Saintes Maries de la Mer
features a single nave without any decorations nor side chapels, except from a
small statue of an old woman with a veil on her head and a bucket in her hands.
At the centre of the nave there is a fresh water well which provided water to
the people who sought refuge in the church during the invasions. The crypt
features a low ceiling and lots of candles, which causes many people to faint
while entering it. The crypt hosts a statue of Sainte Sarah which, in the past,
could have been linked to the worship of the Black Virgins. A mystery surrounds
the figure of Sainte Sarah since the Holy Writ doesn’t mention her but she
appears in a number of old traditions: she could have been a servant of the
three Maries who reached the French Riviera shores on a raft, or a noble lady
from the Camargue who welcomed the three women and converted to Catholicism, or
even the abbes of a monastery in Lybia (sp). Sainte Sarah became the patron
saint of all Gypsies, who pay homage to her statue by forming a procession from
the old church to carry it back to the sea the night between the 24th and the
25th of May. The town is a pilgrimage
destination for Roma (Gypsies), who gather yearly in the town for a religious
festival in honor of Saint Sarah. Some say she was a dark-skinned Egyptian
servant of the three Marys, some say she was one of the Priestesses of Isis who
fled Egypt when the temples were closed carrying the mysteries of the Tarot
deck with them, and some say she was Marie Madeleine and Jesus’s daughter. Until 1912, only Romanies were permitted to
enter the crypt. There are two very old
altars here—one a pagan one used to sacrifice bulls in worship of Mithras and
the other a Christian one dating from the 3rd century.
The crypt of the Church of Saintes Maries de la Mer also
hosts a smooth stone set in the wall known as the ‘Pillow of the three Sainte
Maries”, a statue of the Saintes surrounded by thousands of votive offerings,
and an ancient reliquary that keeps the few relics saved from the devastations
of the French Revolution.
Three times a year the village of Saintes Maries of the sea
brings huge crowds come render homage a their Holy patrons and express a simple
and intense faith. These pilgrimage
ceremonies are always the same and date back to the middle ages. At the
beginning of each day, the chest with the relics is winched down from the High
Chapel above the altar. Throughout the
ropes are hooked bouquets presented by pilgrims. The Assembly sings old Provencal
songs, rhythms like the waves of the sea.
As the descent is initiated, suddenly, all the faithful, a
candle lit in hand, raise their arms and call out in jubilation: Vive the Holy Maries,
viva saint Sarah.
Ste-Maries-de-la-Mer was a fishing village, built on an
island in the heart of the Camargue, where the Petit Rhône joins the sea. The
original village was grouped around the Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer church, spreading
out as it grew. The town is not picturesque in the style of the medieval
villages of the "back country". Today it's a compact seaside resort
town, full of shops and activities oriented for the tourist trade. Ste-Maries-de-la-Mer
has a wonderful location, on the sea and in the Camargue, and the atmosphere in
the busy seasons is festive.
The Camargue area is known for its horses. The Camargue horse is an ancient breed of
horse indigenous to the Camargue area in southern France. Its origins remain
relatively unknown, although it is generally considered one of the oldest
breeds of horses in the world. For centuries, possibly thousands of years, these
small horses have lived wild in the harsh environment of the Camargue marshes
and wetlands of the Rhone delta. There
they developed the stamina, hardiness and agility for which they are known
today. Traditionally, they live in semi-feral conditions in the marshy land of
the region. The Camargue horse is the traditional mount of the gardians, the
Camargue "cowboys" who herd the black Camargue bulls used in
bullfighting in southern France. Camargue horses galloping through water is a
popular and romantic image of the region.
Camargue horses are always gray. This means that they have
black skin underlying a white hair coat as adult horses. They are born with a
hair coat that is black or dark brown in color, but as they grow to adulthood,
their hair coat becomes ever more intermingled with white hairs until it is
completely white. They are small horses, but, despite their small size, they
have the strength to carry grown adults.
The church is so very
old. We’ve visited here several times
before and I find the legends fascinating.
They are very serious about them here and firmly believe that the three
Marys arrived here in the early 1st century.
Vincent van Gogh painted Street in Saintes-Maries here in
1888. And Tori Amos wrote a song, "Marys of the Sea", inspired by Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,
most notably Mary Magdalene. We saw the
relics and the statue of Saint Sarah that they keep dressed in fine clothing in
the crypt and the chest high up in its alcove that they let down and carry to
the sea on horseback during ceremonies.
The sea is very beautiful here and I found a pretty seashell
to keep as a souvenir. We had coffee at
a sidewalk café then walked around until we found a wonderful sign that seemed
to say that they had scrambled eggs at this one café—Sucre Sale Pains et
Patisseries Artisanales. I was so
excited about this, that I forgot I was in France and just starting asking the very
nice owner for the scrambled eggs meal.
He totally didn’t understand what I wanted and I had to remember where I
was and asked for Le Petit Dejeuner avec les oeufs brouilles. I’m getting pretty good at this, if I say so
myself. And hand-motions as if I were
scrambling an egg may have helped. This
meal—oh my—when he brought it, it was so beautiful. It is a VERY rare thing to find SCRAMBLED
eggs in France. And delicious ones are
rarer still. The owner had toasted
delicious bread for us and scrambled the eggs to perfection and chopped up a
tomato for us AND had the best bacon I’ve had on this entire trip. I was so appreciative and told him so and we
left a very good tip for him. We sat
inside on sofas but the room was open to the outside with the curtains blowing
in the door and wonderful street scenes outside. It was very nearly perfect.
We tried to find a bakery to see if they sell navettes here
so that the navettes could redeem themselves after the Marseilles experience,
but none were open.
So we headed northward to Arles, where we tried again to get
into the Alyscamps Necropolis, which had been closed on a past trip, and this
time we found it open. This is an
amazing cemetery. It is a Roman
necropolis only a short distance outside the walled city of Arles. It was one of the most famous necropolises of
the ancient world. The name is a
corruption of the Latin Elissi Campi or Champs-Elysees or Elysian Fields. The Roman cities forbade burials within city
limits so roads right outside would be lined with tombs and mausoleums. The Alyscamps was Arles’ main burial ground
for nearly 1500 years. It was the final
segment of the Aurelian Way leading up to the city gates and was used as a
burial ground for well-off citizens whose memorials ranged from simple
sarcophagi to elaborate monuments. In
the 12th century, pilgrims stopped to pray here on their way to St.
Jacques de Compostelle. Both Gauguin and
Van Gogh did paintings of it and Dante referred to it in “Inferno.” The long avenue through the middle of the
sarcophagi is bordered by old cypress trees and ends at the church of St.
Honorat. This is a beautiful old church
with an octagonal tower and even more sarcophaguses and stained glass. To step into the interior felt as if you were
stepping back into time—it was SO ancient.
And dark. And inside was a pretty
kitty cat that was guarding the place and followed me when I started to
leave. This place would be so eery on a
dark night.
We drove next to Tarascon to see the Royal Collegiate Church
of St. Martha. This is the church where
Mary Magdalene’s sister, Martha, preached and healed and supposedly tamed a
dragon! She is buried in the crypt which
dates from the 3rd century in a beautiful tomb. The relics were found in the church during a
reconstruction in 1187 and were reburied in a new shrine at that time. At the base of the tomb are two openings
through which the relics could be touched.
It has three reliefs on front—one of Saint Martha and the Tarasque
(monster or dragon), one of Saint Mary Magdalene born aloft by the angels, and
Lazarus as Bishop of Marseilles with his mitre & staff. The apse shelters the 4th century
AD sarcophagus of Saint Maratha. ON its
side are sculpted scenes from the Old & New Testaments. The crypt and the south door are the only
remnants of the church consecrated in 1197.
Upstairs was a very pretty shiny
gold statue of Martha’s head. The church
was very old and simple. Outside were
spires and towers—very impressive.
The history of the church states that about 48 AD, Martha
and her two companions (Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome from Saintes Maries de la
Mer) and Lazarus and Maximinus and Marcella and Mary Magdalene left Palestine
in a boat and were cast up on the shores of Provence. Arriving in the area of Avignon, Martha was
begged by the terrorized inhabitants of Tarascon to deliver them from a
monster, the Tarasque, who devoured men and beasts and dragged them to her
lair. Martha approached the cave with a
cross as her only defense and ordered the monster in the name of Christ to come
to her without harming anyone. The
monster obeyed and she passed her girdle around its neck and led it to the
people who killed it. Kings have been
coming here to venerate Martha’s relics since 500 AD and possibly sooner. In 500 AD Clovis came and was healed of the
plague. Kings of France and Sicily,
cardinals, one pope and one future pope came to pray to her.
During Allied bombings in 1944, the spine and belfry were
destroyed. Of the 4 bells,3 were
broken. Only the oldest survived, that
of King Rene, cast in 1469, currently displayed in the window of the second
floor of the tower and striking the hour.
Father Boulat worked to restore the church to its 15th
century state.
Across the street was King Rene’s Castle. The construction of the current castle of
Tarascon was started in 1401 by Louis II of Anjou, after the previous castle
was destroyed. The construction was continued by his first son, Louis III of
Anjou, and was completed in 1449 by his second son, René I of Naples. Thus, the
castle is often referred to as le château du roi René ("King René's castle"). It was turned into a military prison in the
17th century, until its acquisition by the state in 1932.
Dinner was at Quick followed by shopping. Tomorrow we climb St. Baume.
Notes--had to look up
3 traffic terms today:
Risque de Chute
danger of falling
Chaussee Deformee deformed
road
Rappel reminder of
speed limit
One of the doors to Church at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer:
Inside the Church at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer:
Sarah:
View while having Le Petit Dejeuner:
View from our table/sofas:
Sucre Sale where we ate:
Beach where the boat with the Marys landed:
Arles--you can see Van Gogh and Picasso's inspirations here--the lighting is amazing:
Alyscamps:
Messieur Lizarde at Alycamps:
Going into courtyard at St. Honorat Chapel at Alycamps:
Old old pillar at St. Honorat Chapel:
This is the place where St. Trophimus said that upon his visit, Jesus appeared and knelt down and asked that he build a church here to St. Mary. supposedly Jesus left two impressions in the pavement with his knees and it is called Chapel La Genouillade--The Kneeling Place:
Guardian Kitty Cat:
Tower of St. Honorat:
Royal Collegiate Church of St. Martha in Tarascon:
Another photo right out of a painting by Van Gogh:
Inside church:
Reliquary of St. Martha:
Bas Relief of Saint Mary Magdalene:
Depictions from old of St. Martha taming the monster:
Sarcophagus of St. Martha up close:
Inner crypt chapel:
Door knocker at home behind church:
Castle de Roi Rene:
Church from the Castle:
Stone depiction of the Monster:
One last view of the Church & Castle:
Ice in France! AND it's CRUSHED!!
Feux Tricolores=traffic light:
Mr. Bump in French!
Typical house in this area:
And now as I promised--a Phoebe clip from the French Friends:
and a bonus--JANICE!!! She starts out saying her usual slow--Oh my god (Oh Mon Dieu!) but I didn't catch that. There is the laugh, though--not nearly as good as OUR Janice's:
