UPDATE — Pilgrimage to Understanding
JUNE 15—I spent a little time today re-arranging the blog so it now reads from beginning to end, rather than newest post first. If all goes well, within a week or two I will rework and reformat many of the posts and make this record of our journey available in pdf. Shalom, dk
Pilgrimage to Understanding
I'm leaving home for the month of May. It's a bad month to be away, but I didn't set the schedule when Charles Nienkirchen organized a Journey to Two Holy Lands. When I first heard about it last summer, I knew I had to go.
The first Holy Land we'll be traveling to is Ethiopia. I know that most of the people on this journey think of Ethiopia as the uttermost part of the earth, but to me this visit will be a homecoming of sorts. I was born and raised in that beautiful country, where my parents served as missionaries. I left a long time ago, 35 years ago to be more precise. I'm eager to see it again. We'll spend 10 days meeting people while exploring the country's religious heritage.
Our May trip then takes us to the more traditional Holy Lands in the Middle East, where we'll spend nearly three weeks seeing holy sites and learning from a wonderful assortment of knowledgeable instructors. We seek greater understanding of the places familiar from the Bible and the peoples who live there now.
I said it was a bad month to be away. That's because I'm leaving a ton of unfinished projects to my colleagues in the office. And I'm abandoning my wife, Margaret, for her both her birthday and Mother's Day. And May is when we usually move the yard work ahead. And, and, and ....
I'm grateful to my co-workers and family for supporting me on this pilgrimage to understanding. I'll be listening as carefully as I can, learning as much as I can absorb, discerning to the best of my ability and sharing the stories I discover on the way.
I'll be posting to this blog as frequently as two conditions are met. First, I'll need Internet access (not always a given). Second, I'll need something to say. Readers will be the judge of that.
The first Holy Land we'll be traveling to is Ethiopia. I know that most of the people on this journey think of Ethiopia as the uttermost part of the earth, but to me this visit will be a homecoming of sorts. I was born and raised in that beautiful country, where my parents served as missionaries. I left a long time ago, 35 years ago to be more precise. I'm eager to see it again. We'll spend 10 days meeting people while exploring the country's religious heritage.
Our May trip then takes us to the more traditional Holy Lands in the Middle East, where we'll spend nearly three weeks seeing holy sites and learning from a wonderful assortment of knowledgeable instructors. We seek greater understanding of the places familiar from the Bible and the peoples who live there now.
I said it was a bad month to be away. That's because I'm leaving a ton of unfinished projects to my colleagues in the office. And I'm abandoning my wife, Margaret, for her both her birthday and Mother's Day. And May is when we usually move the yard work ahead. And, and, and ....
I'm grateful to my co-workers and family for supporting me on this pilgrimage to understanding. I'll be listening as carefully as I can, learning as much as I can absorb, discerning to the best of my ability and sharing the stories I discover on the way.
I'll be posting to this blog as frequently as two conditions are met. First, I'll need Internet access (not always a given). Second, I'll need something to say. Readers will be the judge of that.
A will for the way
I'm still in Canada, but flight time is drawing near. Getting ready for a major journey has kindled action on some neglected tasks, including the update of our wills. It's funny to think about now, but the first time I got a will was back in 1985 when my young family was getting ready to go to Kenya. We never needed it. Our will lay unread in the dark recesses of a bank vault.
Still, travel abroad is a great catalyst to get things done. I don't really expect an updated will to be needed anytime soon, but a sense of prudence kicks in as I prepare to fly away. A desire to ensure that affairs are in order rises to the surface. Just in case scenarios come to the fore. Protection and care of those near and dear becomes an active priority. Travel of any sort carries certain risks. Travels in countries like Ethiopia add a degree of hazard. Travel in places like Israel and Jordan, especially at a time of heightened celebration (Israel turns 60 on May 15) introduces new layers of complexity.
So we do the prudent thing and make sure the will makes sense, even if it stays out of sight for decades. In just more than a month I'll be back home, hanging out with family and friends and getting reacquainted with my office. Soon enough it will be like I never went away.
Opportunities that suit a person like this journey fits me don't present themselves everyday. Then it takes a lot to make them actually happen. It has taken a lot. However, I've heard it said that where there's a will, there's a way. Maybe that's why.
Still, travel abroad is a great catalyst to get things done. I don't really expect an updated will to be needed anytime soon, but a sense of prudence kicks in as I prepare to fly away. A desire to ensure that affairs are in order rises to the surface. Just in case scenarios come to the fore. Protection and care of those near and dear becomes an active priority. Travel of any sort carries certain risks. Travels in countries like Ethiopia add a degree of hazard. Travel in places like Israel and Jordan, especially at a time of heightened celebration (Israel turns 60 on May 15) introduces new layers of complexity.
So we do the prudent thing and make sure the will makes sense, even if it stays out of sight for decades. In just more than a month I'll be back home, hanging out with family and friends and getting reacquainted with my office. Soon enough it will be like I never went away.
Opportunities that suit a person like this journey fits me don't present themselves everyday. Then it takes a lot to make them actually happen. It has taken a lot. However, I've heard it said that where there's a will, there's a way. Maybe that's why.
When is it?
MAY 1—We were bleary. Yep, that’s the best word to describe the group that landed in Addis Ababa in the wee hours of the morning May 1. What passes for “sleep” on an airliner is more like a geriatric fox trying to relax in its den—resting, yes, but with a wary ear attune to interruptions and a cranky hip that can’t quite get comfortable. Our first foray after getting visas and baggage (a fairly lengthy process) was for a bed to stretch out on and a pillow to lay our heads.
Jet lag and ordinary travel disorientation are more than enough to make us lose track of time. But even in our more alert moments, dates and times in this country are an enigma of their own. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which means it runs seven years behind what most of the world observes. Ethiopians celebrated the millennium last September.
The Ethiopian month also features 13 months, not 12. One of them is very short.
Ethiopian time telling makes considerable good sense, except once again it’s different from the global 24-hour standard that begins the count at midnight. The Ethiopian day starts at dawn — what we call 6 a.m. That make it’s 6 o’clock at what we call noon, and the sun goes down around 12 o’clock (Ethiopian time that is).
None of these differences are too hard to figure out. The confusion comes when you’re not sure which system is being used.
Jet lag and ordinary travel disorientation are more than enough to make us lose track of time. But even in our more alert moments, dates and times in this country are an enigma of their own. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which means it runs seven years behind what most of the world observes. Ethiopians celebrated the millennium last September.
The Ethiopian month also features 13 months, not 12. One of them is very short.
Ethiopian time telling makes considerable good sense, except once again it’s different from the global 24-hour standard that begins the count at midnight. The Ethiopian day starts at dawn — what we call 6 a.m. That make it’s 6 o’clock at what we call noon, and the sun goes down around 12 o’clock (Ethiopian time that is).
None of these differences are too hard to figure out. The confusion comes when you’re not sure which system is being used.
A few reasons for this long journey
This post comes from Heathrow Airport in London. One long leg of the flight from Calgary to Addis Ababa is behind us. An even longer leg lies ahead for this group of 25 tiring but still eager travelers. Why are we doing this? The reasons are many. Here are just a few.
1) Ethiopia is “the oldest Christian empire in the world.” We will walk some early pathways of Christian faith in Africa.
2) Ethiopia is a travelers delight. We will see magnificent mountains and great gorges, get to know some of the most beautiful people in the world and eat incredibly tasty dishes. We will drink bottled water only.
3) Ethiopia is the source of the Blue Nile River. We will sail on the vast inland lake that sends highland waters to Egypt, and visit a few of its 34 island monasteries.
4) We will experience some uncomfortable situations as we get a glimpse into the workings of a very poor country.
5) Our timing is wonderful. We arrive in Israel on Pentecost Sunday in time to worship at a holy site at the heart of the holy land.
6) More good timing. Our visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. Certain to be interesting.
7) Our location is good too. The place we’ll be staying in Israel is in Jerusalem, on the road to Bethlehem. Here we will learn from many instructors representing a wide variety of opinions and experiences of contemporary life in the land where Jesus walked.
8) Other site visits too numerous to mention. Check back. There’s much to learn, and no doubt there will be many stories to tell.
1) Ethiopia is “the oldest Christian empire in the world.” We will walk some early pathways of Christian faith in Africa.
2) Ethiopia is a travelers delight. We will see magnificent mountains and great gorges, get to know some of the most beautiful people in the world and eat incredibly tasty dishes. We will drink bottled water only.
3) Ethiopia is the source of the Blue Nile River. We will sail on the vast inland lake that sends highland waters to Egypt, and visit a few of its 34 island monasteries.
4) We will experience some uncomfortable situations as we get a glimpse into the workings of a very poor country.
5) Our timing is wonderful. We arrive in Israel on Pentecost Sunday in time to worship at a holy site at the heart of the holy land.
6) More good timing. Our visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. Certain to be interesting.
7) Our location is good too. The place we’ll be staying in Israel is in Jerusalem, on the road to Bethlehem. Here we will learn from many instructors representing a wide variety of opinions and experiences of contemporary life in the land where Jesus walked.
8) Other site visits too numerous to mention. Check back. There’s much to learn, and no doubt there will be many stories to tell.
Welcome to Bahir Dahr
MAY 2—Morning came early; very early. Everyone made it to breakfast at 5, and in the air on the way from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dahr shortly after 7. An hour later we stepped into a warmer climate and a buzz of weaverbirds building nests in an acacia tree. Bahir Dahr is on the shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River.
The Ethiopians call the river Abaya. It flows from the southern end of the lake for several miles. Then it spills over a spectacular waterfall and becomes a raging, untamable river that’s carved a deep gorge through the highlands. It doesn’t gentle until it reaches the Sudan border.
Two buses transported our group of 31 through a bustling city filled with tuk-tuks, buses, donkeys and people. On our drive to see the falls led down a rocky gravel road. We stopped on the way to watch a woman bake injera (the “bread” used to eat the Ethiopian national food). Crowds of children came to pose, smile and beg. People are poor.
We walked from our bus to the banks of the Blue Nile, were ferried across on small launch, and then walked a leisurely half hour (with plenty of children along the way) to overlook the waterfalls. A hydroelectric dam on the river has reduced the breadth of the falls. Previously, at the height of the rainy season, they stretched nearly 400 yards across. Our view was more modest but magnificent nonetheless.
The water gushing over these falls is the lifeblood of Egypt. Some 85 per cent of the water in the Nile originates in the highlands of Ethiopia. And it isn’t just the water that’s valuable. The soil carried in the runoff from Ethiopian fields yields a fertile deposit in Egypt.
Funny stories from a veteran tour guide
MAY 2—Firew is an experienced tour guide. A geographer by training, he is a very informative and much-in-demand host. He regales us with tidbits of cultural and historical interest, displaying broad general knowledge and a lively sense of humour.
Firew laughed as he told me how some members of a group of American tourists picked up the flat (crepe-like) injera and laid it on their laps as a napkin, not realizing it was their bread.
He also recalled a British tourist who neglected to close his bathroom door when he stepped into the shower. The water cut out while he was all soaped up. The poor fellow got soap in his eye and couldn’t see. He groped his naked way along until he got to what he thought was the bathroom door, but which took him into the corridor instead. Then, like a scene out of Mr. Bean, the door shut and he was locked in the hallway. Fortunately, it was Firew who found and rescued him.
Understanding what?
MAY 2—I’ve called this blog a pilgrimage to understanding. It’s a simple way of communicating a little bit of what we see and experience each day. But what are we trying to understand?
There is no short answer. We each have our personal agendas to process coupled with a student’s desire to know and understand more. I guess we think more knowledge and more experience may one day add up to more wisdom. May it be so.
I’m not the only one seeking to understand. I hear others talking. “What are you thinking?” one asks. “My thoughts are just kind of floating,” comes the reply. And what most of us are mostly thinking about is that we are very rich and privileged compared with the people we see. And we don’t know what to do about it.
We see a lot of enterprising spirit and many smiles. But we see great sadness too. We see rags and disease, bad shoes and bare feet, heavy loads and skinny cattle, squalid houses, dirty streets — living situations we could never countenance for ourselves. “Why do people shit where they work?”
We know that our small gifts and the best intentions of our kind hearts make scant difference in a place that needs so much more. This understanding thing is elusive, and the path of discovery very hard. Not trying to understand is worse.
There is no short answer. We each have our personal agendas to process coupled with a student’s desire to know and understand more. I guess we think more knowledge and more experience may one day add up to more wisdom. May it be so.
I’m not the only one seeking to understand. I hear others talking. “What are you thinking?” one asks. “My thoughts are just kind of floating,” comes the reply. And what most of us are mostly thinking about is that we are very rich and privileged compared with the people we see. And we don’t know what to do about it.
We see a lot of enterprising spirit and many smiles. But we see great sadness too. We see rags and disease, bad shoes and bare feet, heavy loads and skinny cattle, squalid houses, dirty streets — living situations we could never countenance for ourselves. “Why do people shit where they work?”
We know that our small gifts and the best intentions of our kind hearts make scant difference in a place that needs so much more. This understanding thing is elusive, and the path of discovery very hard. Not trying to understand is worse.
Turn your stomach
MAY 3—Several in the group are at war with their bodies. Or vice versa. Immodium is increasingly popular. Everyone carries his or her own small supply of toilet paper.
We are cautioned not to drink any unbottled water — “not even to brush your teeth!” We heed this warning. We are told not to eat any raw vegetables or too much of anything. We pay attention. We take precautions.
But these days we are strangers paying a visit to a different biosphere. Our stomachs are typically comfortable with what they know and uncomfortable with strange stuff. They have minds of their own and Africa has thousands of “bugs” our bodies don’t know what to do with. So they decide to expel the foreign bodies and are quite adept at keeping both ends busy. The process is unpleasant and horribly inconvenient.
It’s small comfort to know that this is “normal,” and that most people get over it fairly quickly and can enjoy the itinerary more fully again. Charles reminded us that our prayer for “daily bread” is also a prayer for strength — for everything that is necessary for us to live abundantly. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.
* Personal PS to my wife. I’m fine. No problems so far.
We are cautioned not to drink any unbottled water — “not even to brush your teeth!” We heed this warning. We are told not to eat any raw vegetables or too much of anything. We pay attention. We take precautions.
But these days we are strangers paying a visit to a different biosphere. Our stomachs are typically comfortable with what they know and uncomfortable with strange stuff. They have minds of their own and Africa has thousands of “bugs” our bodies don’t know what to do with. So they decide to expel the foreign bodies and are quite adept at keeping both ends busy. The process is unpleasant and horribly inconvenient.
It’s small comfort to know that this is “normal,” and that most people get over it fairly quickly and can enjoy the itinerary more fully again. Charles reminded us that our prayer for “daily bread” is also a prayer for strength — for everything that is necessary for us to live abundantly. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.
* Personal PS to my wife. I’m fine. No problems so far.
A day on Lake Tana
MAY 3—We boarded a boat on Lake Tana and chugged pleasantly to the end of long peninsula to visit a 16th century monastery dedicated to Saint Mary. The walk from the dock up the hill to the major compound was a little bit muddy and a lot rocky.
For me, personally, it evoked powerful memories of my own childhood experiences trekking in various places in Ethiopia. There are places where footpaths matter so much more than highways.
Which is altogether fitting for the “down ancient paths” journey we are traveling. We are in a place where it seems time stood still. The monks lean on their prayer sticks. The children beg.
We enter the monastery compound and prepare to enter the circular church (see next entry about etiquette). The church comprises three concentric circles. The smallest circle the holy of holies, where none but the priests can enter. The doors to the centre are immense and made of hard juniper wood and covered with paintings.
Indeed, virtually the entire outer wall is filled with iconic paintings depicting stories from the Bible and other sources recognized in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition. This particular monastery once served as a school of painting. That began at the end of the 16th century, when an Ethiopian queen invited some Italians to teach new methods to the local artists.
These paintings were the primary means of teaching the Christian story in an illiterate society. They are greatly venerated; they are not worshiped.
The monastery and church function as an engine of community. They must be self-sustaining and they serve others. This one now grows coffee and has its own elementary school. The tourist industry is the next frontier. Souvenir stands are popping up and a big Coca Cola sign offers a welcome.
We returned to the boat to continue our trip across the large lake. Pelicans abound. A couple hours of cruising brought us to Narga Island, which features a church built in the 16th century. The construction is heavily influenced by the Portuguese, who at various time is history have been welcome (and unwelcome) in Ethiopia. It is surrounded by fortress walls and built with stone and mortar, rather than wood and mud plaster.
Narga Selassie is one of 34 monasteries found on 20 of Lake Tana’s 37 islands. It is the Church of the Trinity, although some of the iconography on its walls would be unwelcome in most Christian traditions because they depict the Holy Trinity as three identical and equal persons.
The priests were very hospitable. After we toured the church they showed us some precious treasures. First they displayed a couple of large ceremonial crosses finely rendered in silver and gold. Then they showed us a lectionary manuscript from the late 16th century, written with charcoal ink on goatskin with bright illuminations of select passages.
I’m writing this on Saturday, May 3, on the rear deck of the launch as we work our way across Lake Tana. (I have no idea when I’ll find a proper Internet connection to post it. Hopefully this evening.) We have another 90 minutes on the lake and then another 90 minutes (65 kilometres in a bus) to Gondar.
House rules
MAY 3—It’s always important to mind your manners, especially when you are a visitor in someone else’s culture. Today we got a lesson in this and no doubt can expect a few more along the way.
Hats came off when we came into the church compound at Kidane Mariam. We removed our shoes before entering the church. These were the house rules, and we understand they are there for a reason. We needed to in some small way prepare our bodies to be on holy ground. Inside we were asked not to chew gum or candy, or even to sip from our drinking bottles. The church is a place for spiritual feeding. Other needs are distractions.
Community standards of etiquette are stringently enforced in many cultures. Western societies allow individuals a lot more latitude. We also have a tendency to assume others think as we do (or, at least, they ought to). Some of the rules we encounter in other cultures make little or no sense to us.
That doesn’t really matter, at least not at the introductory stage. Anytime we desire to establish a positive relationship, it’s important to be sensitive to the rules of the house and behave accordingly. If we are truly seeking to understand, we must for a time put away our own inclinations and begin to enter the world of the other.
Hats came off when we came into the church compound at Kidane Mariam. We removed our shoes before entering the church. These were the house rules, and we understand they are there for a reason. We needed to in some small way prepare our bodies to be on holy ground. Inside we were asked not to chew gum or candy, or even to sip from our drinking bottles. The church is a place for spiritual feeding. Other needs are distractions.
Community standards of etiquette are stringently enforced in many cultures. Western societies allow individuals a lot more latitude. We also have a tendency to assume others think as we do (or, at least, they ought to). Some of the rules we encounter in other cultures make little or no sense to us.
That doesn’t really matter, at least not at the introductory stage. Anytime we desire to establish a positive relationship, it’s important to be sensitive to the rules of the house and behave accordingly. If we are truly seeking to understand, we must for a time put away our own inclinations and begin to enter the world of the other.
A personal aside
MAY 4—It rained hard last night, loud and long. Snuggled in my warm bed the sound was strangely comforting. It blended with the resonating prayers of Ethiopian Orthodox priests chanting through the night. This too was warm and comforting. The outside morning air was thick with the pungent smell of damp earth and wood smoke. It’s been 35 years since I last experienced these sounds and smells. They were still deeply familiar. My body still knows what my mind hasn’t bothered to recollect.
Still on the nostalgia tour, I cannot overlook the donkeys. How sweet it is to see streets filled with donkeys both laden and free. These beasts of burden are a huge boon to the poor farmers of Ethiopia. Apparently there are eight million in the country. Only China has more.
Still on the nostalgia tour, I cannot overlook the donkeys. How sweet it is to see streets filled with donkeys both laden and free. These beasts of burden are a huge boon to the poor farmers of Ethiopia. Apparently there are eight million in the country. Only China has more.
Medieval palaces
MAY 4—Imagine the ruins of fantastic medieval castles in the highlands of northern Ethiopia. Better yet, visit them. We did. Built 500 years ago, the architectural style is a unique blend of Portuguese, Egyptian and Indian influences. It was the height of luxurious living in 16th century Ethiopia.King Faisal built the original palace. He chose Gondar as his capital after Ethiopian control was restored in a region previously overrun by Muslim armies. His father had invited the Portuguese to help oust the Muslim invaders. The Portuguese contingent came from Goa in India, bringing Indians along with them. Christopher da Gama, Vasco da Gama’s brother, was killed in one of the battles, but the Muslims were ultimately defeated.
This Christian success, however, created another crisis. Next on the Portuguese agenda was to convert the Ethiopian Orthodox to Roman Catholicism. The local populace fiercely resisted this. Eventually, Faisal assumed the reins of power, kicked out the foreigners and established his kingdom on a hill.
Succeeding kings built more palaces within the same compound, allowing the extended family of the previous king to stay in their homes. Today the palaces lie in ruins, but they remain magnificent.
Angels on the ceiling
MAY 4—The faces of a thousand angels peer from the ceiling of the Debre Birhan Selassie church. As we meditated inside the sanctuary of the oldest church in Ethiopia, we sensed the eyes of the heavens upon our souls. We felt the nearness of the spiritual world that the activities of daily living so often obscure. In this place, the presence of both God and devil — good and evil — were deeply evident.
The church itself is fascinating. It’s a rectangular stone construction modeled after ancient King Solomon’s temple and originally conceived as a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant (long story). Stone walls surround the church. The inner one features 12 towers representing the apostles, and a main gate honouring Jesus Christ.
Impure people (see the Old Testament book of Leviticus for a good idea of what impure means) are welcome only in the outer area. A separate building on the compound is for infant baptism. A woman who gives childbirth is still impure until the baby is baptized.
The interior of the church is filled with paintings depicting both biblical and extra-biblical scenes. One currently controversial painting tucked quietly in a dark corner would likely provoke a hate crimes trial in North America. It shows the prophet Mohammed on a camel being led by the devil.
There may be angels on the ceiling, but the devil is in the details.
Falasha village
MAY 4—Judaism has a long history in Ethiopia. It reaches far back as the time of King Solomon in Israel, who was famously visited by none other than the Queen of Sheba. Their child was named Menelik. The former monarchy of Ethiopia traced their lineage all the way back to him.
Early traders also introduced Jewish practices into the country, and in the early Middle Ages a Judaistic tribe led by Queen Yodit, the “fire lady,” took political control of the country. They remained a significant factor for centuries, although their influence declined.
In recent centuries the “Falasha” were considered outcast. Still, they continued to observe an ancient form of Judaism, which took on a great deal of local character as well. They are not Jewish by blood or DNA; they were early converts and faithful practitioners.
In the 1980s Israel recognized the persecuted Falasha of Ethiopia as Jews and mounted Operation Moses, bringing thousands to live in Israel. Today there are virtually none left in the country. But their arts and crafts survive, manufactured and peddled to tourists like us by their nearest former neighbours.
Flight to Lalibela
May 5—Early breakfast and another bus ride through crowded Gondar to the airport where we eventually passed through several levels of security and boarded a turbo-prop airplane for a 35-minute flight to Lalibela. We should be grateful we didn’t have to drive through the rugged mountains and deep valleys.
The bus ride from the airport to town is memorable on its own. The road climbs steeply through small villages and rocky plots of land. Farmers use the rocks that seem to sprout like weeds in the fields to terrace the hillside. It seems like a lot of work with rather discouraging results. But this is toward the end of the dry season.
And then we reach Lalibela. Rough roads wind through the villages that turn into a town, twisting up and down the slopes until we reach a new section with a paving stone road leading to hotels and tourist stores. We find our hotel and take a break for lunch, a brief rest to prepare for an afternoon of sightseeing.
The bus ride from the airport to town is memorable on its own. The road climbs steeply through small villages and rocky plots of land. Farmers use the rocks that seem to sprout like weeds in the fields to terrace the hillside. It seems like a lot of work with rather discouraging results. But this is toward the end of the dry season.
And then we reach Lalibela. Rough roads wind through the villages that turn into a town, twisting up and down the slopes until we reach a new section with a paving stone road leading to hotels and tourist stores. We find our hotel and take a break for lunch, a brief rest to prepare for an afternoon of sightseeing.
Rock-hewn churches
May 5—The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are a true marvel of the ancient world. They were not “constructed,” they were “excavated”—carved laboriously into the mountainside. King Lalibela commissioned them in the 12th century, about the same time St. Francis of Assisi was active in Italy. The churches bear the marks of chisels, but most details about the planning and excavation methods remain a mystery. It took 24 years to complete them.
Before becoming king, Lalibela lived in Israel for 12 years. Then when he returned to power in Ethiopia he wanted to create a New Jerusalem, which is why names like Bethlehem, Jordan River and Sinai (and many more) mark places in the Lalibela area. He developed a pilgrimage site to represent Jerusalem in Ethiopia. Even now the churches remain functional and active. Many pilgrims visit annually and hermits abound in the area.
This blog cannot begin to recount the details of the six churches we visited this afternoon. Inside these ancient stones with cross-carved windows, priests displayed their treasures—800-year-old gold crosses, some with interesting stories of their own. Only a few of the churches had paintings. One, Golgotha, is the burial place of King Lalibela.
The jewel in the crown, separated a short distance from the others in this overall grouping of six, is Bet Giorgis, a church dedicated to St. George. It was the last one built. The entire “excavation” is in the shape of a cross, literally cut down into the hard rock of the mountain. Today its walls bear yellow hues of lichen. Inside is King Lalibela’s treasure chest.
One of the students in our group approached the priest in Bet Giorgis to ask how long he had served in this place. The man spoke no English; the student spoke no Amharic. An Ethiopian visitor stepped in to interpret. “Thirty-one years, 16 as head priest” the priest eventually replied. “It feels like two days,” he added, as a wide smile spread across his face.
The churches of Lalibela really must be seen to be believed. Handmade in Ethiopia, eh? Eight hundred years ago? More and more people are seeing and believing. The tourism industry in Ethiopia got a big boost when Lalibela was featured on The Amazing Race television program.
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