Not far from Karlovy Vary is the town of Loket with an old castle on top of a large rock above the river.
The castle dates from the 12th century.
The name Loket comes from the bend of a river in this place, resembling an elbow.In one of the dungeons of the castle, the future king Charles 4 and his mother were imprisoned for 3 months.
The town adjoins the castle,
looking like a multi-colored toy from houses.
There’s a lot of symbolism on the houses,
including related to Freemasonry.
There is a museum of Freemasonry. The future king considered Loket his home.
From the castle and now it blows warmth and protection from the home. It’s nice to walk along the streets of the town.
At present, the town of Loket has received a rebirth – old houses are being restored, on weekends many people come here for picnics by the river.
Prague is full of surprises. For me, the discovery was the alchemical tower.
The turret is next to the museum and is open,
but not for tourists
and for people practicing in the occult sciences.
In Prague, magic is in agreement.
Maybe it came from the time of Emperor Rudolph ll, who invited the astronomer and astrologer John Dee. He worked with angels and mirrors. John Dee studied the world with Edward Kelly. Kelly got rich in Prague, bought a village, married a noblewoman. Three years later, John Dee left for England, and Kelly stayed to live in Prague. Kelly was jailed due to debt. In prison, he did not want to sit, he ran, broke his leg and died. They were both outstanding personalities. Edward Kelly was engaged in alchemy and according to contemporary reviews, he managed to get gold. At the place where Kelly lived and worked, they made a museum and a cafe.
It turned out an atmospheric place.
Another place in Prague related to alchemy is the house of Faust.
Faust House is one of the most mystical places in Prague.
It seems to be a house, like a house. Previously, an alchemist lived in him, who served as a prototype of Goethe’s Faust. Faust House is located on a strong spot on which Charles 4 built temples and monasteries.
In the 14th century, the Olavsky house stood in this place, in which Prince Wenceslas was fond of alchemy.
In the 16th century, the famous English alchemist Edward Kelly worked in the house. In the 18th century, Ferdinand Antonin Mladota settled in the house of Faust with alchemical experiments. Now there is a blood transfusion hospital.
I went into the arch of the house, stood for a while,
I tuned in and I felt bad.
So bad that I realized that I was about to faint. I recalled my half-fainting state, similar to this when I was in the tombs in the city of the dead in Luxor. Maybe it came from the strong smell of medicines standing here, or maybe the energy of the place, the smell, all together create a difficult atmosphere in the house. I quickly left the house. Then we went down Charles Square down to the Emmaussa Monastery, then returned across the square past the Faust House to a stop, went to a cafe to drink coffee, and everywhere on Charles Square, in the visibility area of the Faust House, I periodically smelled like smoke something else from this house. An unforgettable experience.
Visegrad in Prague always gives me a double feeling – there is a story, there is energy, there are secrets and at the same time, there is something unpleasant, absorbing, affecting a person. We pass through the arch.
and we get to the medieval pavement.
A cobblestone road leads past the rotunda of St. Martin with the Templar crosses,
then past the chapel of Ave Maria.
The chapel was very tiny inside.
We turn right and go past the stone bas-relief with which the legend of Bishop Prokop, who defeated demons, is associated. Demons plowed a field for him.
Then I remembered Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol and his “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. We greet with a big and smart raven living in a big cage with the entrance to a big house.
We walk through the park past the three pillars with which such a legend is associated.
Once a priest and a demon argued. The latter lost the argument. The demon dragged the pillar down and broke it into three parts. Before us is a view of the 19th-century Gothic cathedral of Peter and Paul.
In front of the cathedral is a cemetery of the most famous people of the Czech Republic. How many times I pass by, so many and feel very unpleasant sensations in this place. Legends about the spear of Longin are associated with the cathedral.
The sarcophagus, in which the relics of St. Longinus used to be, is located inside the cathedral. On the observation deck, on a high river bank, Princess Libushe made her predictions. On the territory of Vysehrad, long before Libushe there were sanctuaries of the Slavs and possibly the Celts.
Vysehrad is fully consistent with Scorpio in mystical qualities,
an abundance of secrets, the energy of life and death, holiness and power. august 2019
We are looking for the basics of the Leo sign in Prague in the Strahov Monastery on the top of Petrin Hill. The monastic order of the Premonstrats settled in the monastery.
The Order was founded in 1120 by St. Norbert, as an independent part of the Catholic Church. The monks wear white clothes and are engaged in the storage and study of books. Strahov Monastery occupies a large territory and includes an area surrounded by the buildings of the monastery, a bell tower.
On the inner square in the monastery stands a majestic stone lion.
A stone lion indicates a place of power. The lion is a royal symbol that is often found on the arms and buildings of the royal families. And Leo serves us as an indication that we have come to a place associated with the lion sign of the zodiac.
On the other hand, the basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary adjoins the monastery.
Near the basilica is the entrance to the theological hall, the room of curiosities and the philosophical hall. The library needs a special entrance. From the museum you can see high walls with bookcases to the ceiling. From a huge number of books breathes knowledge.
Strahov Monastery offers views of the whole of Prague.
Petrin hill is known since ancient times. In pagan times there was a sanctuary of Perun. Charles 4 erected on the hill, on its circumference, the Hungry Wall. Its remains can be found walking along the paths of the hill. Now Petrshinsky hill is a three hundred meter green mountain on which there are 8 parks with ponds and rose gardens, different types of plants, and museums at the foot of the hill.
In any case, whether it is the birth of a person or an idea, there is a starting point. In Prague, it’s Orloj’s clock on Old Town Square.
On the watch, in addition to time, there is the position of the Sun and the Moon among the zodiac constellations, phases of the moon, sunrise and sunset. At the center of the watch is a dial showing Old Czech, Babylonian, modern and stellar time. Below is the dial with the day and month of the year.
I look at the clock and don’t understand how in the distant 14th century they could create such a clock mechanism? It turns out that this watch is the oldest working watch in the world.
The watch contains the exact cycle of the moon’s revolution around the earth, the annual cycle of rotation of the earth around the sun and the daily cycle of rotation of the earth.
I, as an astrologer, work with these cycles and I know that there are errors due to the fact that the orbits are not round, due to the liberation of the planet and other factors. Maybe periodically adjust the clock manually? It’s not easy to stand under the clock, and not only because many people want to get to this place. Here the axis of time is activated, here the personal and social past gain density. Here the value of every minute of life is enhanced. From here a vector is built from the past through the present to the future. Next to the clock, the concept of karma takes on real forms, which are clearly reminded by the figures on the clock. The skeleton pulls the rope and 12 apostles come out, after which the cockerel begins to sing. Is not this what happens in human life. “Memento mori” – remember death, as the ancients said. Death is the best incentive to awakening, to the joy of life, the urge to action. Rooster cry – symbolizes the beginning of a new day. Since ancient times, the cock has been a symbol of courage, and with its first cry, evil spirits disappear. The cockerel is calling for the beginning of a new stage in life. Before the cry of a rooster, figures of 12 apostles leave. All the same system of 12 months, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 qualities coming from space to planet earth. In the center of the Prague Chimes there is a stone angel – a fighter with dark forces. There are 4 figures on the sides of the astronomical dial. One of them is a vanity figure with a mirror, similar to a modern selfie. Another wallet figurine symbolizes greed. The figure of the Turk symbolizes, apparently, an external enemy. There are 4 figures on the sides of the lower calendar dial – a philosopher, Archangel Michael, an astronomer and a chronicler. The basilisks on the sides, the cock and the angel perform a protective function against supernatural forces.
When I stand under the watch, I remember that under my feet is an underground city. Now there is a museum with partially open premises. In the Middle Ages, these cellars were used as a prison. And even earlier, there was a city with houses. For millennia, everything has gone deep underground. The clock tower itself resembles a large music box with toys from which something wonderful is about to jump out.
And with the last stroke of the clock, a new cycle in life will begin. Prague. august 19
For me, the Scythians began with a golden ridge from Solokh barrow. In 2013, I visited the exhibition “Gold of Scythian barrows” at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Under the fine work, the signature was a golden crest – the village of Velikaya Znamenka of the Zaporozhye region was found in the Solokha burial mound. Ukraine.
– Wow, I thought. – This is not far from Zaporozhye. The next summer, together with a group of students in a car, we drove to the Great Znamenka.
Mound of Solokha
Now, I understand how lucky we are. When we climbed to the top of Solokh mound, a view of the remaining mounds opened from it. What did we see from above?
A large field overgrown with green grass, and purple circles with a yellow middle follow it. Beautiful and amazing! Around Solokha and all the other mounds, purple and yellow flowers grew. Plants themselves indicated the location of the mounds. If it weren’t for flower circles, then we wouldn’t have seen many mounds, they are almost equal to the level of the earth.
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According to archaeologists, there were 75 mounds. The tallest, and therefore royal – the mound of Solokha.
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We counted other mounds only 7. And where are the others? The Solokha field, for the most part, has already been plowed. Apparently, we already ate most of the mounds with bread grown on the field.
This place may well claim the Scythian Gerra – the sacred land of the ancestors for the Scythians – “The seventh river – Herr flows from Borisfen in that place to which the Borisfen flow is known. It branches in this place, and its name, common with the locality, is Herr. This river flows to the sea, forming the border between the lands of the nomadic and royal Scythians, and then flows into Gipakiris ”(Herodotus).
In front of the entrance to Solokh barrow there is a stone sign with the inscription – Monument of national importance of Ukraine.
Who are the Scythians? The mysterious people who did not leave written sources, conquered Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Palestine, and conquered lands from the Volga to the Danube. We know about the Scythians from Herodotus and research in the mounds.
By the things that they find there, by the skeletons of people and animals, household items, clothes, jewelry, dishes, we have an idea about the life of the Scythians.
Scythians came to the lands of Ukraine as winners. Scientists call them the Scythian horde (Murzin V. Yu. “Scythian problem”). They lived on the lands of present-day Ukraine from the 7th to the 4th century BC. Not so little. Recall that this was the heyday of the ancient Greek city-policies, the states of Asia Minor and Europe. On the lands of the Sea of Azov tribes of the royal Scythians lived. Of the entire Scythian society, Scythian warriors accounted for 15-20%, the rest – women, children, old people. Scythians warriors did not work. They were miners, warriors. What did the Scythians have from wars?
The slaves they blinded, slaves, gold. They killed every hundredth prisoner. They were paid tribute to neighboring states for not disturbing them.
Gold of Scythian barrows is looted gold or tribute to other peoples.
We do not know the details about the life of the Scythians, but they wore the scalps of defeated enemies in the form of key chains. A warrior who did not kill the enemy was not allowed to the feast. It was a society with a cult of warriors. “Among all the peoples known to us, only Scythians possess one, but the most important art for human life. It consists in the fact that they do not allow any enemy who attacked their country to be saved; and no one can overtake them, unless they themselves allow it. After all, the Scythians have neither cities, nor fortifications, and they carry their dwellings with them. They are all horse archers and hunt not with agriculture, but with cattle breeding; their homes are in wagons. How can such a people not be irresistible and impregnable? ”(Herodotus).
Scythians were squeezed out by the Sarmatians in the 4th century BC on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and Romania. Part of the Scythian tribes remained and mixed with the Sarmatians.
The Scythians did not build stone houses, did not use writing. It was a nomadic people. They lived and moved in wagons, bred horses and livestock. Their life depended on pastures, lands, nature. If the Scythians remained to live as a single people, now they would have no chance to survive. The Scythian way of life required large free territories for pastures.
Scythians left behind only mounds. At the time when the Scythians built mounds, everywhere on the planet was a cult of the dead. In Egypt and Greece, the cities of the dead were built, the worlds of the dead were created. Since birth, people have been preparing for the afterlife. This was the most important thing for people of that era. Scythians apparently did the same. They built the Scythian Gerra – the sacred city of their ancestors, which they guarded “The tombs of the kings are in Gerra (before this, Borisfen is still navigable.” (Herodotus). And as King Idanfirs told Darius: “We don’t have any cities or cultivated land. We don’t we’re afraid of their ruin and devastation and therefore didn’t engage in battle with you immediately. If you want to fight with us no matter what, then we have fatherly graves. Find them and try to destroy them, and then you will find out if we will whether we fight for these graves or not, but until we forget judged, we will not engage in battle with you … ”(Herodotus)
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On the very first visit to Solokha we were met by a pair of eagles. They accompanied the car until we stopped and went out in front of the sign of Solokha. Then, when they were leaving the mounds, eagles appeared again and we left with honorary escort of birds.
This time we were again met by an eagle. He flew around the field with mounds in a businesslike way. On this trip to the Scythian mounds, we always came across animals and birds. Scythians were natural people, they loved nature and depended on it. And since we went to them, we got into the Scythian world, filled with animals, birds and fish.
When we entered the field with mounds, the world immediately changed, as if we had crossed an invisible elastic boundary.
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In terms of energy, the Solokha field is different from the usual field. Here time moves in a different way and there is a space with unusual qualities. This Scythian barrow field cannot be called empty. The Scythian spirit has been preserved here.
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Sitting in silence at the top of the mound, it seems that time has turned back, and somewhere in the distance Scythians on horseback are jumping.
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On the way to Solokha we visited the museum in Kamenka
The most mystical exhibit in the museum is a stone anthropomorphic pillar, which is called the “Scythian boy”. The pillar lies on the floor in the Scythian hall.
This stone pillar was brought into the museum’s storeroom. And miracles began. For unknown reasons, the alarm turned on at night. When employees ran to the museum at night on a signal, they sometimes saw a blue ball above a stone Scythian boy. They summoned the priest. Did not help. Invited psychics. They talked with the spirit of stone and ordered the Scythian boy to be brought to the museum. After that, the alarm stopped working. But, still in the stone pillar there is a presence of spirit.
But the question remains for us, how could the Scythians associate spirit with stone for millennia? Apparently, they had knowledge of how to handle perfumes, how to build mounds. They had their own rites for burial.
They possessed military magic.
“The Scythian warrior brings the heads of all those killed by him in battle to the king. After all, only those who bring the head of the enemy receive their share of the spoils, otherwise they will not. The skin from the head is stripped as follows: a cut is made around the head around the ears, then they grab onto the hair and shake the head out of the skin. Then the skin is cleaned of meat with a bull rib and wrinkled with her hands. The Scythian warrior uses the made-up leather as a towel for his hands, attaches his horse to the bridle and proudly flaunts it. Who has the most of these leather towels is considered the most valiant husband. Others even make raincoats from stripped skin, stitching them like goat skins. Others from the skin of the enemy corpses, torn along with the nails on the right hand, make covers for their quivers. Human skin is indeed thick and shiny and shines brighter than almost any other. Many Scythians finally rip off all the skin from the enemy corpse, pull it on the boards and then carry it with them on horses. ”
Wearing scalps and body parts of enemies is part of many military traditions of the world. Rites with the drinking of wine from skulls, with swords and scalps increase military and magical power. Burials of ancestors were carried out using rituals, in certain places and according to the rules.
“When the king dies at the Scythians, a large quadrangular pit is pulled out there. Having prepared the pit, the body is lifted onto a cart, covered with wax; then cut the stomach of the deceased; then they clean it and fill it with crushed keeper, incense and seeds of celery and anise. Then the stomach is again sutured and taken on a cart to another tribe … ”
The Scythians knew the nature of life and death, military magic, and therefore Scythian mounds still preserve the Scythian world and are places of power. Mounds inherited from the Scythians. Our task is to preserve them for future generations. After all, this is the story of our land.
In April, the weather in Sofia changes every hour – rain and sun, heat and cold. In the sun the city reveals blooming greenery and white flowers of fruit trees. Under the sunlight, old houses with beige stucco smile amiably, and the streets, paved with yellow bricks, warm with warm light.
In an instant, a cloud with a drizzling rain draws in the sky, and the picture changes. Mount Vitosha, in clear weather, whitewashed by snowy peaks over Sofia, is hiding in the fog. It becomes noticeable how many old ruined or semi-ruined houses are here.
From the airport by metro we go to the central part of Sofia. At the metro station Serdika, a kind of archaeological museum is equipped. The metro began to be built in the 90s and during the construction they discovered a large city of the Roman era. Serdika, the city was called before.
Upstairs above the metro are open areas with what remains of ancient Serdica. In order not to destroy the ancient foundations, modern buildings were built above them on piles.
In Bulgaria they protect their history, value and love their past. I was convinced of it having visited a basilica Sofia. Underneath is an underground necropolis. It is noticeable that they did not spare the money for restoration.
I would also like to mention food in Sofia. Maybe because I walked along the main streets, I met cafes, coffee houses, restaurants, small and large markets at every step.
At the cafe, I ordered chicken breast and salad. The chicken breast turned out to be very tasty, stuffed with basil paste and cheese. The next day, the cafe asked for soup. They brought soup in mutton bread. Delicious crispy bread, a lot of lamb.
There are many temples in Sofia. There are old ones. Temples of various religious denominations: mosques and synagogues, Christian churches, which are undoubtedly the majority.
The underground necropolis under the Basilica of Sofia is so big that I got lost there. The basilica is located next to the famous and majestic temple of Alexander Nevsky. In the morning, almost no one entered the church of Alexander Nevsky. But people entered and exited the basilica. So by accident, I got into the basilica. To the left of the entrance was a staircase to the underground museum-necropolis. Admission was free that day.
The underground city is well equipped with ventilation, lighting. It is evident that they did not spare the funds for restoration. On the tablet it was written that the people living at that time wanted to be buried in this place. The top of the temple is very good.
And I walked along the corridors of the dungeon, took pictures. When I decided to go, I went to the green icons with arrows.
And in the end, wherever I went, I always ran into dead ends, into tombs. Trying to get out several times, I was upset and stopped. I saw a man and a girl pass me by and decided to wait for them. Together with them I went to the center of the necropolis. Then again she went alone, and … again she rested on the locked door. The door was low, it was possible to climb. But a child was baptized in the temple, there were people, music was playing and singing psalms. I had to return to the dungeon again.
I flew out of the necropolis with a bullet.
Yes, the grass above is greener and brighter in color.
Plovdiv ancient Rome. He is the very story of the life of European peoples. It even looks like a layered cake. In the city center there is a descent down to the Roman amphitheaters and to the street. During ancient Rome there was a city. The earliest settlements date back to the 6th millennium BC.
Plovdiv is a city of seven hills. On the first hill with the name Bunardzhik, there is the park of the hero of the liberator Alyosha. The monumental Alyosha rises above the whole of Plovdiv. Beautiful park, well maintained with beautiful views of the city. In Bulgaria, people are grateful. They remember who helped them, who freed, who fought for their independence. This is a very good quality inherent in all the people. It is both memory and love in their hearts.
Another hill called Markov, was dismantled into stones for the construction of the city. Dismantle a high mountain into stones. How old is the city? To answer this question will have to go deeper into the history of mankind.
We visited another hill with the remains of the Nebet Tepe fortress – the guardian hill. It is a long-standing place of the 4th century BC. with the remains of a fortress on top of a mountain. Unusual place. It seems to be an ordinary mountain peak, but here everything is different – and the colors are not the same and the transparency of the air, and in general, good, gracious. There are too many visitors, but this is understandable, everyone wants to be in such a good place.
Before the conquest of the Macedonian king Philip II, Plovdiv was a Thracian city called Eumolpia, and after Pulpudev and then Audris. The Romans called the city of Trimontius. In the 9th century, it was called Pyldin. During the Ottoman Empire, Plovdiv was called Filipe. That’s how many names a small city has!
In the 8th-9th centuries, Plovdiv was the center of pilgrimage. From bogomiliya went the development of the Cathars in Languedoc. This is a mixture of esotericism, oriental teachings, ancient cults and philosophical views. Qatar, as a historical phenomenon, we studied in France. Cathars and bogomiliya cause me great personal resonance and interest. Bogomiliya was a progressive course for its time, talking about the breadth of views and the level of people. Plovdiv still has openness and respect for various beliefs. There are mosques, churches and the adoption of various views.
The train from Sofia to Plovdiv takes 2.5 hours, the ticket costs about 10 lev about 5 dollars. The road goes first along the valley, and then between the mountains covered with trees. A stormy mountain river with muddy green-brown water flows along the railway.
The Maritsa River flows through Plovdiv, which divides the city into 2 parts – northern and southern. In ancient times, the river was called Gebr. Her name sounds old sounds and sends me to the past.
We settled in the old part of town. Around the bend of our street, ancient houses began. Maybe because the Ottomans lived and ruled the city from the 14th to the 19th century, there is a mixture of oriental and western styles in the city. We went to the Juma mosque, on one side of it was a boulevard going from the mosque to the river. It is noisy and busy at any time. On the other hand, there is an antique amphitheater, going down, and then begins the street of Alexander I with beautiful houses of the 19th century and active pedestrian traffic.
Wandering the streets of Plovdiv is a real pleasure. Behind every turn something unusual opens up – carved windows, unusual architecture. They dig up a lot of things in the city. In the excavation scheme, I saw that there was still more to be excavated than was excavated now.
For myself, I highlighted the ancient Plovdiv with a restored theater, a stadium and many ancient buildings that are excavated in the center. And another part of Plovdiv is a medieval city. This includes the churches of St. Demetrius, St. Marina, the Church of the Holy Week, the Church of Helena and Constantine, the Ethnographic Museum, and the streets and houses adjacent to them.
Roads in the city are mainly made of cobblestone, and in the ancient part of Plovdiv, which is several meters below the modern city, the road is made of very large stones, pieces of rock more than a meter in diameter. I felt an unusual sensation when I walked along such a road, as if you were walking along a mountain.
I was in Plovdiv for 2 days. This is very little for such an interesting city full of endless history.
I want to return for a deeper study of Plovdiv 04/12/19
At a distance of 51 km from Montsegur is the second, no less legendary object – Rennes-le-Chateau. Legends, mysticism and secrets have always surrounded this small village. It would be unforgivable to be so close and not visit Rennes-le-Chateau. In the 8th century, on this site was the large city of Reda, the capital of the county of Razes. After the plague, the city went into oblivion. Since 1885, abbot Sauniere has come here. During the reconstruction of the church, in one of the columns he finds 4 parchment scrolls and inscriptions on stone slabs. He builds Villa Betania, the tower of Magdal, fills the place with strange figures and signs.
And we climb the stairs, we pass along the old village street, which rests on the courtyard with the church and the house of the abbot Beranger Sauniere.
Now it is a house-museum with a library, a prayer room, and living quarters.
Everywhere there are photos and models of the abbot and his housekeeper. In the courtyard behind the house is his grave.
We rise to the turret-greenhouse, from it leads a covered gallery to the famous Magdal tower.
Later, having run around all the surrounding attractions, I sat on a hill on the green grass near the Magdala tower. This place offers magnificent views of the mountains. A man and a woman approached the tower. The man looked at me as I was eating a sandwich and I felt that I was almost sinning by eating near the tower. Then he stood near the tower, either praying, or meditating, after which he took the stone below, like a relic with him. Then I also took a stone from there.
My scan of the tower gave a kind of energy plus the energy of the past and the inclusion in the secret power of money and power. Near the house of the abbot Beranger Sauniere is the church of Magdalene. When I was preparing for the trip, I saw a photo with the peculiarity of the church – the red devil on its horns holds the cup.
Apparently, the Holy Grail was meant. Now the devil has no head. Abnormal fanatical woman broke her head sculpture. On the floor there are only leaves with photographs of the head and eyes.
Above the bowl are female figures with wings. This is a picture of a channel. The Church of Mary Magdalene is associated with the religion of the blood of the Lord, blood kinship and the continuation of the line of Jesus. There is such a direction of Christianity, its spiritual and secret part, of course not accepted by the majority.
Down the street there is an old building in which a treasure was found, but it was closed to the entrance. On the day of our arrival, some famous person conducted esoteric meditations. The event was thoroughly prepared and everywhere in Rennes-le-Chateau I saw his posters.
From all sides, the village is surrounded by the ruins of ancient castles. This place was sacred to the Celts. Here in the distant past was the castle of the great master of Priory of Zion. The place is really magical, unusual, but difficult. When we got into our minibus, I sighed in relief. Already at home, looking at the photos from Rennes-le-Chateau, I was in a state of horror, I was sick of what I saw in the photo. I went out into the street and began to see the world differently; programs hanging on people showed up. Now these photos can be used to adjust the vision. There, on the spot, there was just a feeling of heaviness, mysticism, I wanted to leave quickly. Maybe I will return here again, but more prepared. 09/13/18
In Toulouse, we met with Elena, our guide. I met Elena on the Internet. The first place we visited in Toulouse with Elena was the Cathedral of St. Saturninus. This temple of venerable centuries-old in the shape of a cross was built at the end of the 12th century.
For myself, I already distinguish the buildings of the 11-12th century by the characteristic arches with columns at the top inside the temples.
The relics of the saint are open only on certain days in November. In the southern part of this temple begins the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela – the path of St. James. Our guide Elena showed the treasured door where they give out a pilgrim’s book and you can go to Spain, having overnight on the way and eating in special places, as I understand it, for free. Just in case, I took a picture of the door, suddenly I’m going to go along this path.
The next place we went to was the main temple of the Dominican Order, the Jacobite Church of the 13-14th century. Its feature is in majestic dimensions, the original Gothic architecture.
Stone gargoyles looking down on those wishing to enter. Partly chimeras and gargoyles were removed. We met them at the Museum of the Jacobins. In the cathedral, we admired the famous palm ceiling, which is a landmark of the cathedral and Toulouse. In the center of the cathedral stands a sarcophagus with the relics of Thomas Aquinas. The guide Elena told us that before they brought the relics here from Italy, they were brewed in wine. Then the bones were sent to Toulouse, and everything else after cooking was left in Italy. This story struck me. Cook the corpse of the saint, soak in wine …
The next item on our program was the Capitol.
On the square in front of the Capitol, a Occitan cross with zodiac signs at the ends of the cross is laid out of bronze. The Occitan or Qatari cross deserves attention. It looks like a uniform cross with bifurcated endings and another line in the center in the center. It turns out an equilateral figure with 12 ends. This fits the 12 dimensional symbolic zodiac signs, 12 months, 12 apostles. We stood on the signs, forming vicious circles. While we were working with the zodiac signs in the square, all the people left. Maybe out of politeness, so as not to interfere, and in addition, we formed a closed space with the signs of the zodiac and they were not comfortable. By the way, in this square in 1632 the last duke of Montmorency was executed.
Toulouse Town Hall Capitol – City Hall. Since 1190, Capitol de Toulouse. The capitals ruled the city. 8 columns of the building mean 8 chapters. In this pink building, there is an opera house and concert hall, the city administration. On the upper floors is the Hall of Fame with masterpieces. I liked the paintings on the walls, bright, as if living beautiful ladies and their faithful knights, troubadours. The picture with the beautiful lady of Toulouse standing on the balcony impresses. In this place there is a spirit of Languedoc, there is something special.
Then we walked along the ancient streets of Toulouse. They listened to stories about how a man was sacrificed to be torn to a bull, and then made a saint. Everywhere there are images of a bull. I think these are late Christian inventions, and the bull is depicted for another reason.
We went to the embankment of the Garonne River. The views here were, as in the pictures – the fairground, behind it a bridge, on the opposite side of the river an old red castle and a huge spinning ferris wheel.
The next day we started by visiting the violet barge located on the Garon Canal. The canal laid from the Mediterranean Sea to Toulouse for a long time and is a landmark of the city. In the barge there is a shop in which everything is violet – tea, honey, chocolate, sweets, perfumes, dolls. Nice and friendly hostess.
A few minutes later we approached the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in 1073. All the same palm ceilings. A rally was held on the other side of the temple in the square. There were people with posters. We met protesting people in France several times. Here, high social activity and personal responsibility for what is happening in the city. Several hours of our time in Toulouse were swallowed up by shops. Barely escaped from the store’s womb and entered the Jacobin museum. A large museum, temple, colonnade around the perimeter of the garden with all kinds of plants from figs to lavender. Then we sat for a long time on the opposite bank of the Garonne River on the green grass and talked about orders, Dominicans, Cathars and the peculiarities of the French nation. September 9-10, 18
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