Gordes and the Village des Boires

We visited the nearby village of Gordes, a spectacular cliff top village with houses clinging to the side of a cliff.  It is also the setting of much of the Russell Crowe movie, A Good Year.  Near the village is a now abandoned but reconstructed village made entirely of stone without any mortar.  The village is known as the Village des Boires - which is the name given to the type of hut constructed. It is believed to date back to the 12th century.  It is fascinating seeing all the different types of construction for dwellings, animal shelter, storage - even wine caves! There is the remnant of a herb and vegetable garden,  lots of olive trees, they grew cotton and silk worms, had sheep and goats.  They were entirely self sufficient up until the early 19th century when they abandoned the village to move to Gordes.  Even in Gordes, the construction of dry stone walls and buildings on a much larger scale is evident.