Bilkent University
The Department of Archaeology & History of Art
Newsletter No. 3 - 2004
Walking the Medieval Pilgrimage Road to
Santiago de Compostela
Fig. 1 San Juan de Ortega
(Spain)
Spring semester, 20022003, I took a leave of
absence
from
my
teaching duties here at
Bilkent. The book I had
been working on for
many years was at last
finished (Ancient Cities:
The
Archaeology
of
Urban Life in the Ancient
Near East and Egypt,
Greece,
and
Rome,
London and New York:
Routledge, 2003), so it
was time for a break. I
spent the first three
months
in
Athens,
working in the great
library of the American
School
of
Classical
Studies. I was investigating especially the
history of excavation in
Cilicia and Hatay, with a
focus on the importance
given in these research
projects
to
the
Achaemenid
Persian
period (ca. 550-330 BC).
In late April, I left Athens
and Ankara and flew to
Paris
to
begin
a
completely
different
activity: hiking the famous
late Medieval pilgrimage
route to Santiago de
Compostela, in northwest
Spain. My older daughter,
Caroline, agreed to come
with me.
Fig. 2 Pilgrimage Routes
in France and Spain
20
Together, we took the
train to Le Puy-en-Velay,
in south central France,
one of the four classic
starting points in France.
From here we walked
750 km to the Spanish
border,
crossed
the
Pyrenees, then walked
an additional 750 km to
Santiago. The trip took
us 60 days; we hiked
for 58 of those days,
resting for two – a tiring
schedule
I
would
happily have stretched
out over an additional
week, if I had had the
time.
Initiated in the 9th-10th
centuries
after
the
discovery of the tomb
of James, a disciple of
Jesus Christ, in northwest
Spain,
the
pilgrimage to Santiago
ranked
third
in
importance,
after
Jerusalem and Rome,
as a religious journey
for western European
Christians. In the 16th
century, with the
Bilkent University
The Department of Archaeology & History of Art
Newsletter No. 3 - 2004
Fig. 3
Spain)
Entering Galicia (NW
Protestant Reformation
and resultant religious
wars in France and other
regions to the north, the
international character of
the pilgrimage was much
reduced. In the past two
decades,
interest
in
walking this trail has
revived. The route has
been
declared
a
European
Cultural
Itinerary, and Pope John
Paul II, visiting Santiago
in
1989,
gave
an
important endorsement.
To be an official pilgrim
(and receive a Certificate
from cathedral authorities
in Santiago), you need
only have walked the last
100 km or cycled the last
300 km.
Thousands
have walked or cycled
the route during the past
twenty years, most for
much longer than 100300 km. All are labeled
“pilgrims,” and carry a
small
booklet,
or
“passport,” that declares
a religious motivation
(this
“passport”
is
required in Spain if you
wish to stay in the many
low-cost
hostels
established by cities and
towns
for
pilgrims).
People walk the route for
a variety of reasons,
however:
not
only
spiritual, but also cultural
and physical, the sheer
pleasure of hiking.
I myself was attracted by
this mix. For one, I
wanted to do a long hike.
In the 1980s, I had hiked
in the Himalayas (in
Nepal and Kashmir),
around
Mont
Blanc
(France, Italy, Switzerland), and in Yosemite
Park (California), and
loved it. In the 1990s,
when I joined the Kinet
Höyük excavations, there
was no longer the time
for such hikes, to my
regret. Second, this route
promised a great variety
of things to see, including
Romanesque churches at
Conques and Moissac
that I teach in my first
year course, “Survey of
European
Art
and
Architecture.” And last, I
looked forward to the
spiritual dimensions, an
opening up of the soul as
I walked through the
countryside, villages, and
towns, an expression of
thanks and joy for the
many blessings in my life,
including,
of
course,
finishing Ancient Cities.
Caroline and I, carrying
backpacks of approx. 9
kg (Caroline) and 12 kg
(me), walked an average
Fig. 4
Soyarza Chapel, near
Ostabat (SW France)
21
of 25 km each day. Trail
conditions varied, from
narrow forest paths to
unpaved and even paved
roads.
In France, there were
more hills to climb and
descend, although in
Spain we hiked up and
over
three
sets
of
mountains. The French
route passes through
beautiful
countryside,
farms, villages, and small
towns.
The largest is
Cahors, a town of 25,000
dating from Roman times
and strategically located
on a bend in the Lot
River.
In Spain, in
contrast, large cities dot
the route, Pamplona,
Burgos,
Leon,
and
Santiago itself.
As a
result, before reaching
the historic city centers,
one spends much time
crossing dull outskirts.
We stayed in the hostels
established
to
serve
hikers and cyclists. In
France, these hostels are
often privately owned,
although some are sponsored by municipalities
and religious groups.
Kitchens are available,
but we signed up for
Bilkent University
The Department of Archaeology & History of Art
Newsletter No. 3 - 2004
prepared dinners and
breakfasts
whenever
offered. Dinner with 5-15
others was an excellent
way to meet other
pilgrims. People of many
nationalities and a variety
of occupations treated
France and Spain, the
hostels are dormitories,
men
and
women
together.
This group
living can be wearing: the
snoring, the early leavers
rustling around as they
prepare their packs, the
Fig. 5 St. James (18th c.,
Cathedral, Santiago)
each other in a friendly,
relaxed manner – a
model of how human
relationships should be.
In Spain, municipalities
run the majority of
hostels.
Facilities are
simpler, prices much
lower (3-5 euros per
night, per bed). In both
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hot water that has run
out, the stuffy air from
windows shut at night…
So from time to time we
treated ourselves to a
hotel.
When
we
reached
Santiago, we performed
the rituals that all pilgrims
do, shared even by those
22
not particularly religious.
We visited the old
Romanesque
portal,
putting our fingers into
well-worn holes on the
sculpted Tree of Jesse
and saluting the sculptor
himself,
portrayed
in
stone, by touching our
head to his. Then we
climbed up behind the
main altar and embraced
from behind the medieval
gold-covered statue of St.
James, and descended
into the crypt to pay our
respects to his remains,
kept in a silver casket.
Finally, we attended the
Mass held for pilgrims
every day at noon. The
nationalities and places
of departure of those
pilgrims who have arrived
during the previous 24
hours are read out: such
as, “from Le Puy, two
Americans, one Belgian,
two French…” And for
us, a special treat,
because we arrived on a
special day, 24 June, the
Feast of St. John the
Baptist (patron saint of
Quebec): at the end of
the Mass, the cathedral’s
famous “botafumeiro,” the
huge (80 kg) silver
incense
burner,
was
hoisted up on a pulley by
eight men and swung
back and forth, higher
and higher, faster and
faster. I held my breath –
wouldn’t it fly out of
control? But eventually
down it came, the Mass
ended, and then we went
out to enjoy two more
days
of
sightseeing,
relaxing,
talking
with
friends made on the long
journey
before
we
headed back home, to
Ankara and to New York.
Charles Gates
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