Rock-hewn churches

Lalibela which is famous for the rock-hewn churches, ie. churches carved into the rock. Somewhat like Petra in Jordan except that there are some that are monolithic ie. rather than being carved into rock-faces, they are free-standing.

We started at the Northern Group. The most impressive is St George’s.
Visitors and worshippers descend through a ramp to access the church which was dug into the top of a large rock. The carpets in the church play host to fleas so precaution was required (see photos).

The king of the time created these churches so that Ethiopians wouldn’t have to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem. It was somewhat a replica of Jerusalem I guess. Such pilgrimages are arduous and result in many casualties. But building a church out of rock didn’t seem like the simplest solution to this problem.

Ethiopians believe that they are descended from Jews and their (former) kings’ lineage is from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

As it was just after Christmas, we encountered small groups of worshippers chanting, singing, dancing and “lelelele”-ing with drums and tambourines. I often associate the “lelelele” with Arabs but they do it here too!

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: The churches in Lalibela play host to fleas. Flea powder on socks are a good idea.

: But one has to remove shoes to enter the churches … so the “European” fashion of socks with sandals is very practical. But a bit slippery for my liking.

: The River Jordan reproduced here.

: Impressive St George is carved into the rock.

: Outside the church.

: Another view of St George.

: The cross on your left is called the Lalibela Cross. There are many versions of the Cross in Ethiopia, eg. Axum cross, Gonder cross etc. They are elaborate and will have multiple crosses within … eg. 12 little crosses for the disciples etc.

: Another view of St George.

Like Yemen, it was hot in the sun and cool in the shade. Umbrella weather really. So Marie decided to buy a colourful umbrella and sought the help of our guide. After happily making the purchase, she was told by some locals on the walk home that it was a church umbrella, meaning it was one for use by the clergy when taking the tablets (of the ten commandments) out of the church. It was not for normal use. I wonder why the guide didn’t explain?

At about 1500, we headed to the Southern Group which was a bit further. The layout was complex and we latched on to a French group to navigate it better. We returned to the hotel around 1800and took dinner at the same place as lunch, called Seven Olives.