September 9, 2010 - "A Quiet Summer Evening"

Thanks for the comments on yesterdays stairway image, the comments are much appreciated. I had to shoot the steps from a low vantage point on hands and knees with the camera lens poking through through a locked gate.

This evening image was shot in the fortified Cité de Carcassonne, France. Most of the tourists were gone for the day, leaving only me on this street and the ghosts of history dating back to before the Roman Empire.

For more night images of the fortification go to my gallery
http://www.dakotacowboyphotography.com/Travel/France/Carcasssonne-At-Night/13528833_FQv7M#985645170_sfnu2

"...First signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3500 BC, but the hill site of Carsac – a Celtic place-name that has been retained at other sites in the south – became an important trading place in the 6th century BC. The Volcae Tectosages fortified the oppidum.
Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum (the process of swapping consonant is a metathesis). ...
....Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. After capturing Raymond-Roger de Trencavel, imprisoning him and allowing him to die, Montfort made himself the new viscount. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and the kingdom of Aragon (Spain). ..."

September 8, 2010 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne

Dakota Cowboy Photography

Carcasssonne At Night 2010