The Pyrénées are the mountain range that separates Southern France and Northern Spain, straddling the franco-spanish border for just under 500 km. To the East the range terminates close to the Mediterranean shore near Collioure, to the West it ends earlier leaving the soft plain that stretches to the Atlantic seaboard at Biarritz. To the East lies the southern tip of the Languedoc and Cathar country, to the West the Basque country, both deep in a rich and often violent history.
The mountain’s name came from the legend of Hercules and Pyrene, a young princess violated by the drunken Hercules, who, once sober, could not forgive himself for his crime. In 732 AD, after decades of a ferocious campaign through the Pyrénées and Provence, the Muslim armies are stopped at Tours, marking the end of the Muslim invasion of Gaul.
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- Beyond the Pyrenees: French Basque Country (impositivelysomewhere.wordpress.com)
- Collioure France – Languedoc-Roussillon’s Gem on the Mediterranean (stylehiclub.com)
I’m loving your A-Z Challenge postings Monsieur Dupuis. I’m learning more about Geography/History than I ever did at school.
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I like the little bit of history you interject
I always thought the Basque culture rich and unique
The Pyrenees a natural defense
Thanks Honore for your smile along the A to Z passageway
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