Martel

Sometimes you drive through a place and just have to stop for a closer look. So it was with Martel, on the way back to Sarlat. According to tradition, it was founded by Charles Martel, of Tours/Poitiers fame (732), but that was not the attraction. Rather, it was the church and the Medieval center. Just a few pix.

Side note: what the rest of the world calls the Battle of Tours (732), the French call the Battle of Poitiers, often characterized as a glorious victory for Charles and Christian Europe over the invading Moors. The battlefield is thought to have been somewhere between Tours and Poitiers. The Battle of Poitiers, as the rest of the world knows it (1356), was not one of France's glorious victories: their King, John, was actually captured by the Black Prince and taken hostage to England. Further side note: according to the Moors, what Charles defeated in 732 was merely a raid or reconnaissance-in-force. Indeed it would take another seven and a half centuries of fighting to extricate all the Moors from Europe. 

PS. As it happens, Martel just this year became a member of les beaux villages de France!

The church of St. Maur

Medieval Martel scenes 

A pizza vending machine; we've seen these before
in France; and only in France

A fine Medieval tower; ignore the spider that ate
Cleveland: the French have some unusual ideas about
public sculpture and its placement

As we got back to Sarlat, there was a fine double rainbow, a reminder
of the day's earlier excitement