Photo: Petrified Procession Lure Mountain Provence

The petrified procession of Les Penitents des Mees in the Lure Mountain in the Alpes de Haute in Provence, France.

The tale behind the petrified procession of Les Penitents des Mees in the Lure mountain near the village of Les Mees, in the Alpes de Haute in Provence, France is an interesting legend. According to the story this strange event happened during the Saracen invasions when a lord came back from a crusade with a bevy of lovely 'Mauresque' women.Unfortunately the Lure mountain monks were captivated by these girls and fell in love with them, which of course was forbidden. Saint Donat punished the monks by turning them to stone.Whether or not there is any truth to this story or not, the two kilometer long mountain certainly does look like a petrified procession of penitent monks with hooded heads bowed.Apart from legends and mystery, the village of Les Mees in Provence, France has the largest olive groves in the area and the olive oil produced there is of the highest quality and has won many awards to prove it. ... continue below the picture...

... The little community at the base of 'les penitents' has a population of around 3000 and was, at one time. a wall-enclosed village. Today, there are just remains of gateways, to remind us of the past, plus of course, the ever-present 'Les Penitents des Mees' looking down from the Lure mountain, in the Alpes de Haute, Provence in France.Les Penitents des Mees, rows of columnar rocks over 100 metres high and over 2 kms long near the village of Les Mees, Alpes de Haute, Provence, France, Europe.