The ancient Egyptians used turquoise in jewelry. Turquoise is greenish-blue or pale sky blue. The name means Turkish stone as it came to Europe by way of Turkey. Turquoise was mined more than 6,000 years ago in Sinai.
Coulonges is situated in the Charente (Poitou-Charentes region) in the west of France at 21 km from Angouleme, the department capital. (General information: Coulonges is 377 km from Paris).
The Saone-et-Loire department is situated in the south-west corner of the Burgundy region of France, with Macon maÃ§on the (capital) prefecture of the. departmentassing now towards the south-west of Saone-et-Loire, be sure to visit the 12th century basilica at Paray-le-Monial. This pilgrimages site attracts more than a million visitors each year and also helps understand what the abbey at Cluny would have been like when it was first constructed.