The first to notice is the rugged nature of the terrain. Looking at the terrain from the aircraft, the only noticeable thing is the rocky nature of the terrain.
The land does not look fertile, except for patches of shrubs that dot the rocky hill. On ground, the perception does not change.
There is a simple, yet very functional airport. The Bombadier twin propeller aircraft was filled to the brim with tourists.
There were tour operators with their buses waiting to convey their guests to the ancient town of Lalibella which is about seven to 10 kilometres from the airport.
The bus negotiated through the single -lane road. While on one side, there was the comfort of being protected by the hill, and while on the other side, it was sharp descent.
As the vehicle climbed, the road became more steep. It was as if at any moment, the vehicle would come crashing down what seemed an unprotected road side with small boulders as the only wage.
The driver, obviously used to the road, did not seem to feel any trepidation. Looking outside, some gazelles were jumping smartly from one jutting rock to the other. They balanced on the rocks without falling. Also, donkeys lazily grazed, snapping at the shrubs that their leaves seemed to have dried up.
It was after one of the snake turnings, winding precariously round the rocks that Lalibella came into view. There was nothing spectacular. As the bus drove up the rocky hills, the mild cold one felt at the airport was gradually turning icy.
For many, it was as if a huge stone had been placed on the chest making breathing difficult. It was later the reason became clear. Sitting at about 2600 metres above the sea level, Lalibella, located in the heart of Ethiopia in the Amhara region, is one of the highest points in the world. The air was thin with little oxygen. For those coming from places with lower altitude, breathing would become difficult.
The terrain seems uninhabitable. The land is mostly rocks. The farming is not a very attractive venture. There is little or no flat land to build on. Yet this is one of the most important towns in Ethiopia, and every year, thousands of visitors stream to the town for adventure and religious tourism.
Lalibella is the second holy site of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church after Axum, in the Tigray region. The reason is the existence of the monolithic churches. These monolithic churches were hewn out of rocks.
In building these gigantic structure, what the founder of the town, St. Labilella, a former king of the town, simply carved out the church from the rocks. They are spectacular structures built in 11th century by the ancient king of Ethiopia, King Lalibella.
To understand the importance of this holy site of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one has to understand the romance between Christianity and Ethiopia right from the recorded conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch in the Bible (Acts 8:26-40) when he was converted by Philip, one of Jesus Christ’s disciples. The Queen of Sheba mentioned also in the Bible (1Kings 10:13-) who came to visit Israel’s King Solomon was said to have come from Ethiopia.
The town was named after him. His goal was to create a new Jerusalem after it had become difficult for Ethiopians to visit Jerusalem due to war. This led to his hewing 11 churches from the rocks. These churches, referred to as monolithic churches because they were hewn from a single rock, have lasted more than 1000 years. Even by modern standard architecture, they are spectacular.
Worship still goes on in them. For the Orthodox Ethiopian Christians and Egyptian Coptics, Labilella churches are holy sites and millions annually visit there for worship. They have become a UNESCO Heritage Site.The churches are divided into two groups, the northen and eastern churches.
The first point of call was to the biggest of the rock churches which is Bieta Medhane Alem (House of the Redeemer). To protect the structure, the UNESCO has built a shelter over it to reduce the effect of weather.
There is a small bridge that links up the space between the rock it was hewn from and the church. The rock leaves one with amazement as to the ingenuity of the builder with crude technology that was available in 11th century.
The pillars were finely hewn out. The building is about 12 metres high. It has intricate symbols on the walls and pillars each with the meaning of their own. Inside the church, it is cold and well ventilated. No one enters with shoes. The inside was designed in Byzantine style architecture.
There were worshippers inside. Around the compound are tombs of monks and priests that lived there in the past. Among the eleven were also Biete Maryam (House of Mary), Bieta Maskal), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins) and others.
The most spectacular of this ancient monolithic churches is Bieta Giyorgis (House of St. George). According to history, it was the last of the rock churches built by King Labilella. From the top of the rock, there is a design of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church cross.
The walkway into the church was also carved out from the rock. The finishing is superb. It has about four floors. Around the rocks within the tombs around the church are bones of monks that died many years ago. They did not decay, but simply dried up.
They are still inside one of the tombs for people to see with the simple net used to shield the remains that had dried up leaving on bones and parches of flesh clinging to the bones.
The tour guide that took this reporter and some others around the churches, Mr. Gaitana, talked about the lifestyles of the people and the practice in the churches.
“We build mostly stone houses. Some construct wooden houses because of cheap labour. It is completed within two or three days, but the rock houses take at least two months. But most prefer rock houses.”
At the entrance of the each of the churches are wooden staffs. He said they are for chants: “The staffs symbolise the cross of Jesus Christ and each movement during chants has its own symbolic imitation. When they move up and down, it is the symbol of descending and ascending of Jesus Christ. The priests when they are chanting, they put it on their shoulders and move front and back . Jesus carried his cross to climb up Mount Calvary. He fell down on the way. The movement of the priests reminds us of the pains of Jesus Christ . The staff is one of the instruments of the chanters. The chanters are trained. They learn the chants in the monasteries. Of course, if I know how to chant, I can chant it.
“ Among the church staff are the Pope who is based in Addis. There are monks; there are administrators; there are priests, deacons and other church workers.”
The religious activities in these churches involve a lot of chants. There were even some Egyptian Coptic priests on a visit to the churches who engaged in the chants.
Gaitana said: “The chant is different from that of the Egyptian Coptic Christians. The belief is the same, but the chant is different.”
Unlike the modern day pentecostal churches, women play prominent roles at the Lalibella churches. The activities are male dominated.
“The nuns have some roles in the church, preparing bread, fetching water and some other activities, but they don’t conduct service. It is only the priests and the men.
“ The bishops and monks cannot marry. There are two kinds of monks: the first are those since their birth are virgins. The second are those, for example, persons who lost their wives and decided to become monks and other categories of people. After becoming a monk, you can’t give birth to children again. The priest can marry, but it has to be only one wife throughout his life. If he marries another woman, he loses his priesthood,”he said.
On the presence of the ancient monolithic churches in Lalibella, Gaitana said: “It has affected us positively. Majority of the people living in the town earn their income from tourism. Outside the town, majority are farmers. But a large number of the people living in the town are also into agriculture. Basically, most people here are into agriculture and tourism.
“The church servants, guides, hotel owners, workers are souvenir shops are the direct beneficiaries. You know all these people. When they get money from tourism, they would go to market and buy things. This way, the money trickles down.”
The practice of Christianity in the monolithic churches is distinct from what obtains in today’s churches. The monks and priests, having giving their lives to their maker, have little or no concern for material things. There were no cars packed by the leaders of the church, rather they looked austere, wearing their simple attire with slippers on.
Some of them slept on bare rocks and tombs with simple clothing to wade off the inclement weather. Despite the huge wealth around them that could be acquired from those who travel far and near to get to Lalibella, material things seem to be of little interest to them. The modern church with all the glitz that goes with Christianity seems like something from a distant land.
