Ethiopia Part 1: Lalibela

Friends and Family,

The past 9 days I was able to experience the wonder, intrigue, and history of Ethiopia.  I took over 800 photos, which (much to your dismay, I know...) is WAY too many to post to this blog.  I do, however, believe this country is worth a few blog posts.  So as I sort through all of these pictures, I'm choosing my favorites and will do a series of posts to give you a glimpse into the beautifully diverse landscape of Ethiopia. 

Our journey began December 20th, with a 3 hour flight from Kigali to Addis.  I traveled with my good friends Kerry and Doug, who teach 1st and 3rd grade, and also happen to be married to one another.  Our first night was spent in Addis Ababa with a friend from Kigali who had just moved to Addis.  He took us to dinner at a great pizza place (it was pretty legit - no gouda cheese!) and then we crashed at his house.  We were back at the airport early the next morning to fly to Lalibela.  This town has a fascinating history.  I'll point you to this wikipedia article to learn more about it. Lalibela is famous for its rock-hewn churches.  What amazed me most was that these structures were hand-chiseled, from the top down.  These churches stood in the middle of deep holes, dug out of hard rock.  So incredible.

A woman praying outside the door to the church.  

Another door.

Old paintings on the ceiling, believed to be painted in the late 12th century.

Another beautiful door.

Door to a chapel about a 1 hour drive from Lalibela.  This church was built inside a natural cave.  The marble was transported from Jerusalem in the 12th century.

My favorite door.

A house up near the cave church.  Most houses look like this in the area.

Every place we ate, there was amazing juice - here is banana, orange and guava juice mixed together.  We enjoyed juice while playing a few games of rummy.

A mossy rock, overlooking the town and mountains below.

I can't resist the beautiful orange moss.  Reminds me of Lake Superior.

A narrow, underground passageway connecting churches.

More ceiling paintings.

A priest outside a stone church.

Notice the dip in the stairs.  It is said this wood wears down from all the years of people entering and exiting the churches. Amazing.

Lunch: lamb tibbis with injera and a pancake.  Delicious.

One of the more magnificent structures.

The view from St. George's church. (One of the most famous, most photographed churches in Lalibela.)

This is St. George Church.  You can see how they chiseled rock from the top down to build this.

Exploring.

Old paintings.

Wood, marble, and stone, all aging in a beautiful way.

As we walked among the rock and stone, faithful people came to pray in and outside of the churches.  I was particularly moved by the intense devotion displayed by people coming to pray.  We visited about two weeks before Ethiopian Christmas.  The second week of January, thousands of pilgrims will make their way on foot to Lalibela, from all over the country.  Some will walk for weeks.   

Although I know buildings are not in and of themselves holy, I am truly challenged and inspired by what these structures symbolize.  Over thousands of years, people have worn down a piece of wood by entering and exiting a chapel. They have spent countless hours on their knees, praying and trusting in God's provision and direction.  They have chiseled into stone, bit by bit, to create something beautiful.  I can assume not all motives were pure throughout this process, but I am sure many of the people working away at this stone knew they were creating a place for people to worship God.  I pray for this sort of devotion in our daily lives - that we can work, bit by bit, to let more light enter, to usher in God's presence, to create something beautiful.