An 18th Century Pharmacy in Saint-Lizier, Ariège-Pyrenées

The town of Saint-Lizier in the Pyrenees dates from the 5th Century and has a rich variety of historical monuments of many periods. It is on the pilgrim route to Compostela and its cathedral is dedicated to St James.

       An 18th century Bishop founded a Hotel Dieu [hospital], which was completed in 1764. The entrance to the hospital and pharmacy is through the blue gate in the photo above. The pharmacy remains exactly as it was originally built. The amber coloured wood used for the shelves and cupboards came from fruit trees and is made in the style of Louis XV.

As well as the straight shelves on all four walls, there are four matching corner cupboards, with glass panelled fronts. All the pots and bowls on the shelves were made specially at a pottery near Toulouse. Every pot has the name of the remedy it contains painted on before the pots were fired, so there was no possibility of mistakes with the contents.

                 

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A little more grisly, in one of the corner cupboards there is the set of surgical tools, including knives and saws. There are also two large, marble topped tables for preparing medicines or for operating on sick people. Close by the tables are two enormous marble mortars and pestles for preparing and mixing medicines.

                                 

The Vinegar of the Four Thieves

From records kept in the hospital, it has been possible to reconstitute the 'Vinegar of the Four Thieves'. This remedy protected against the plague. During one terrible outbreak of plague in Toulouse in 1630, four thieves were caught stealing from the dead victims. These four did not become ill with plague, and the doctors discovered that the men had concocted a lotion that they spread on themselves, [hands, face, armpits and nether regions] which prevented the fleas from jumping on them. In exchange for the recipe, they escaped execution. The remedy is based on vinegar and many herbs, plus camphor.

                                       

                 For more information on Saint-Lizier, see :

https://www.ariege.com/en/discover-ariege/must-see-places/saint-lizier

Rome

A four day trip to Rome is enough time to exhaust yourself but woefully inadequate to see much of the Eternal City. However, we managed to fit in at least two churches and two museums each day as well as a splendid exhibition of Titian's paintings, a hike across the Borghese Park and a stroll round the Trastevere district with its quaint little alleys and squares. Of course, anyone walking around Rome comes across piazza after piazza, fountain after fountain - and all decorated with enormous baroque statues. Then there are the mighty columns and the obelisks. I gave up counting those - but it seems an obelisk was the must-have souvenir for any Roman general of the classical period. Add to this the antique ruins and the palaces of many styles and ages and you have a mix that is special to Rome. 

And the streets are mostly cobbled....

Perhaps that is why my favourite discovery was the splendid Garden frescoes from the Villa of Livia. They are on display in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. In about 30 BC, Livia, wife of Augustus, decorated her dining room with these garden frescoes to give the impression of being outdoors. In the fierce summer heat, they created a feeling of coolness. They are wonderfully fresh and soothing, even today.

 

Inspirational Valentines, one and all.

I know I'm not the only writer to get inspiration for my characters from film clips or photos of actors. The fictional character has his path set out and his actions planned, but to get him walking off the page, I need inspiration - and where better to find it than in by mixing and adapting the appearance, the voices and mannerisms of such a bunch of gorgeous guys.

Thank you, fellas, for providing the details that really help to bring my heroes and their friends to life. This is a virtual Valentine's Day party for you - and all the others, too numerous to post here. There's plenty of champagne and canapés.

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*In case* anyone doesn't recognise one or other of them....

1 Antonio Banderas    2 Burak Ozcivit     3 Dan Stevens    4 George Clooney   
5 Henry Cavill    6 Ildebrando d'Arcangelo     7 Mehmet Gunsur   
8 Richard Armitage    9 Santiago Cabrera    10 Colin Salmon

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Difficult Times - the reign of Sultan Selim III

         Sultan Selim III came to the Ottoman throne in 1789, at the age of 27. 

He was a good looking, slender young man, able and energetic, an accomplished musician and a poet. He corresponded with King Louis XVI of France, who faced similar difficulties to those that Selim would now discover.
        The previous sultan, Abdulhamid I, had complained of sleepless nights. Selim soon grasped why. His empire was beset by war, disobedient soldiers, economic decline, a restless populace and thrusting minorities, aggressive neighbours, religious fundamentalism, frequent fires in Constantinople as well as outbreaks of plague.

Selim set about initiating reforms of the taxation system and especially of the army. It was obvious that without radical modernisation, the Ottoman army would never hold back the constant attempts at invasion by the Russian and Austrian forces. In spite of much opposition from conservative elements, Selim managed to set his reforms in motion. By 1807 he had established the Nizam-i-Cedid, the New Military Order; 27 thousand troops trained in modern European drill and tactics. These troops were stationed outside the city to avoid inflaming the hatred of reactionary elements in Ottoman society, and in particular, the janissaries, who resisted anything that might harm their privileged status.

Selim gave many parties in the gardens of his palaces. In April 1797 he gave a tulip fete. This is the last known mention of such an event, which had been so popular at the Ottoman court throughout the 18th century. He was an active man and took part in jirit matches, together with his young nephew, the future Sultan Mahmud II. They made up teams from the palace gardeners and the pageboys. Mahmud led the bamya team and Selim the cabbage team.

At the Sultan's invitation, foreign advisers from many European countries flooded into Constantinople.  Selim's court was the centre for introducing European culture into Turkish society. France, Turkey's oldest ally, was particularly favoured. The Sultan gained a reputation for favouring western civilisation.  In addition, he was attracted to the artistic pleasures of rebuilding and decorating his many palaces. [We can see some of these through the paintings of Antoine-Ignace Melling, who became decorator to the Sultan and to his sister, Hatice Sultan.]
                                  

Struggling under a heavy burden of taxation, the people protested, sometimes violently. Selim lacked the ruthlessness necessary to resist the growing pressure.
In May 1807, a revolt broke out in a fort at the top of the Bosphorus. The unrest grew until the Sultan was forced to abdicate in favour of his weak-minded cousin, Mustafa IV.  
Over the following year matters grew steadily worse. The Russians were occupying Wallachia and Moldavia, which meant food was scarce in Constantinople.  A loyal Governor attempted to restore Selim to the throne but in the struggle, reactionary soldiers murdered Selim on 28th July 1808.  

Today he is remembered for his music and poetry as well as for his efforts at reform. Some of his music is still played on Turkish radio. His favourite summer palace on the shores of the Golden Horn, is now the State Music Museum.

Aynalikavak Kasri - the Pavilion of the Mirrored Poplars
[top] facade facing the Golden Horn
[below] the composition room

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The plan to modernise the Turkish army is a basic theme of April and May, set in Constantinople in 1804.

April and May

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The attempt to end the long running war with Russia is the background

 to  Scandalous Lady, also set in Constantinople in 1811.

Scandalous Lady

                                                     

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A Holiday Blog Party

Fellow writer Jean Bull is hosting a Holiday Blog Party this week. Jean is visiting many interesting destinations and sending postcards back to show all the delights of a sunshine holiday. For full details, visit her blog at 

                                           Jean Bull's Writing Blog

       And now for a few postcards from my recent holiday in the Pyrenees. This stunning region is the setting for my second story about the Montailhac brothers. Remote, dramatic and starkly beautiful, this mountainous area never fails to delight me.

  

The Lake of Bethmale. 

                                                                   

The Valley of Niaux with its prehistoric caverns

The Ferme de Méras, worked by oxen and mules. 

I could go on - but I'd rather plan a return visit....soon!