A view of the walled city of Carcassonne. The fortifications date from about 100 B.C. & were at various times held by the Romans, Visigoths, Saracens, Cathars & finally the French. As my friend & I entered the walled city towards evening, throngs of colorfully dressed people carrying bright flags were leaving. We were told that they were Cathars who were having some sort of celebration. Cathars were originally a religious sect formed in the 11th century. They rejected the materialism & rituals of the Catholic Church & believed in a dualistic theology in which one god, Rex Mundi (Latin, meaning "king of the world") represented the evil, physical, chaotic world & another pure, spiritual, non-physical god represented love, order & peace. They also believed in reincarnation. They flourished somewhat in the 12th & 13th centuries, but the Catholic Church, perceiving them as a threat, launched crusades & inquisitions in the 13th century which effectively wiped out the Cathars. They also burned almost all Cathar texts, so there isn't very much specific information left about their beliefs. The Cathars that remain today are descendants, but no longer practice the religion. We found a restaurant in town & were seated at a table on the second floor, where the only other diners were a group of about two dozen or so Cathars - mostly young men & women (in their 20's or 30's) with a few older men. They were finishing their meal as we started ours & one of them started singing. They soon all joined in, singing loudly & with great gusto. Then one started playing an accordion, another a violin & a third a flute & they became even more animated. They were still going strong, singing & drinking, when we finished our meal & left over an hour later. We clapped as we left - they had made our meal & evening in Carcassonne a memorable one...