Lalibela

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Another flight, this time slightly longer and a drink refreshment, but once again delayed due to late arrival. These passengers are all foreigners and many Rastas, these are the first I've seen, I expected more visiting the motherland of their faith. They are all American and Caribbean.
The town is about 30mins from the airport, down a very windy yet paved road. The road is lined with over 30 buses which have been bringing pilgrims to the town all week. When we reach town, there are people everywhere. I am staying at the Bete Abraham which is a brand new hotel, my guide is late so we start into town immediately to see the rock hewn churches and I bump into Scott and Sarah on the way so they join my tour. Entry is 350Birr for all 11 churches and the museum, this is included in my tour though. Up a few stairs we can see the UNESCO canopies for the churches, it's amazing how they are in the centre of town and the area is already full of pilgrims for Christmas week. There are people, mainly dressed in white shawls, sat on logs all around the area, many are standing looking down on the churches praying while mass is taking place. The first church we see is Bet Medhane Alem. This is the largest rock hewn church in the world and the sight is spectacular. We are about 12m up looking into a pit carved from the rock with an almost perfect rock building, which has also been carved, not built. Later when we see inside it is equally impressive, there are carved pillars and cornices, perfectly smooth walls, ornate windows, absolutely amazing to think these were all built in a period of only 23 years, by hand in the 12th Century! King Lalibela is responsible for the building of all of these churches, which is why the town changed its name from Roha. The first was started high up on a nearby hill, but apparently God instructed him to stop and look for the light for the new location, which is where the churches now stand. It is the African Jerusalem so many of the names match the original.
Mass is currently in progress so we cannot enter the churches, we also see Bet Maryam from above and Bet Danaghel. As mass will continue for another 30mins, we take the short walk across to Bet Giyorgis. This was the last church to be built, as apparently Saint George visited King Lalibela on his horse and was upset that there was no church dedicated to him, so King Lalibela said he would build another church, the most beautiful, for George. This is the famous church of Ethiopia and is in all tourist literature. It is shaped in a cross and once again deep in a carved hole. The original drainage system for the roof can still be seen and as this is always photographed from above, and it is well preserved due to the lack of pillars, no canopy has been added. We wait briefly for mass to finish and then it's a race to enter with the pilgrims. There is a carved gulley around one side, very narrow but luckily everyone is going the same way, we even pass St George's horse prints up one side! At the base we can see the full splendour of the carving. It was built to represent Noah's ark so the lower windows are false, just carved outlines, so that the water does not get in. The higher levels have real open windows. Around the back at one corner is a mound up to the top of the hole which represents Mount Arafat where Noah's Ark landed. Once again we have to take our shoes off to enter the church, but due to the number of people we are told the safety of our shoes is at risk so we have to pay a man to follow us around all afternoon to guard them, he will cost 20Birr per person! Inside St George's church the carving continues, each branch of the cross ceiling has another cross carved into it. There are also two original olive wood boxes, olive trees have no fruit here, which also have the original corkscrew locking system, although to preserve the box a new opening at the front has been made. Leaving the church is much more difficult as the pilgrims have descended now, so the climb back up the gulley is a tough one.
Next we continue back to some of the Northern churches, it is good we have a guide as the paths and tunnels lead all over the place and it's easy to get lost. Each church is as amazing as the first, all hand carved, all ornate inside and out. We then pass to the southern churches, these are over the 'River Jordan', following the Jerusalem naming theme. Here the church is carved in an even bigger canyon, there a walkway up one side which represents the walk to heaven. People used to walk up, if they made it they would go to heaven, if they fell off, and surely died, they would go to hell. We pass over a bridge to enter Bet Gariel-Rufael, luckily I have not paid too much attention as once we are on the other side we can see the bridge is not very thick and does not look too strong. It reminds me of the bridge in Indiana Jones, where he has to throw sand on it to see it, like an optical illusion. There are many things which remind me of Indiana Jones on this trip, it's surprising they haven't based one of the films here, it is far better than Petra! Inside this church it is more basic in design, but there are more paintings hung on the wall. Next is a very small walkway which is extremely crowded, it takes a lot of pushing and shoving to get up to the next level, through a original large wooden door. To get to Bet Merkorios we have to take the walk of hell... This is a small tunnel, about 20m long, but pitch black. We walked very slowly with one hand on the right wall and one hand on the ceiling as it became very low in places. The walk seemed to take forever, with no light at all, and changing surface, it was quite scary. It is understandable that people cheer for joy when they reach the other end, light and fresh air feel fabulous. The pilgrims cheer for joy by making a sound similar to American Indians, but more like lalalalalalala. They do this often when they see a rock hewn church for the first time. For many this is their first pilgrimage and possibly the only time they will see these churches. The churches close at 5:30 so we visit a few more quickly, then climb up high to see the view of the area. Most of the surrounding rocks are covered in pilgrims or priests with crosses, blessing people. Incredible sight.
For dinner we eat at Lasta, the food is average but quite expensive. We discover that most of Lalibela is expensive. Afterwards we go to the Old Abysinia Coffee House for a tej, a local honey brew, served in a vase type glass. An odd taste but nice. After a short while the local band starts playing and singing and traditional dancing begins. A lot of it involves moving the shoulders, but some is acted out like a play, but in Amharic so we don't understand. Sarah and I get dragged to dance, which is tricky. When we go to pay we also get ready to tip the performance but they have added 20Birr per person for traditional music so we refrain from tipping. They could have informed us off the charge, quite cheeky!


Early start, breakfast at 6:30 and meet the guide, Sarah and Scott at 7. A very short drive to the centre of town and then we walk through the local houses to the start of the hill walk. There is King Lalibela's first church on top of this hill, quite a steep 1.5hr walk. Mainly through farmland and a few local huts, then rocky hillside. We pass many pilgrims on their way down, they must have started very early, mainly to avoid the heat of the day. At one point on a narrow hillside pass, rocks start falling from above, one large one nearly hits a pilgrim. The culprit is a cheeky rock hyrax!
Finally we reach the ticket point, a man sat on a rock, then it's just a few more carved steps to the church, through a carved channel in the rock. The church is impressive but not as ornate as the lower churches. It was not finished by King Lalibela after his command from God to change location, so was later completed by Na'akuto La'ab. There are many pilgrims here being blessed and some sing and dance outside the entrance as others cry out with joy. There is a further walk to the summit which is where King Lalibela is meant to have seen the light from God marking the church location, but this is not safe so not advised for tourists. The views are very impressive, all of Lalibela town can be seen, it has grown hugely in the last 10 years. The walk down is leisurely except near the precarious death spot where the rock hyrax has now left but some goats are still knocking rocks down, we wait for a quiet patch then run!! We arrive back in the centre of town about 11:30 so have a papaya and banana juice, any excuse at the juices here are delicious, then lunch at the Blue Lal hotel.
We meet my guide again and Sarah and I go to the Na'akuto La'ab church, a rock built church in a natural cave out of town. It is also dated to the 12th Century but has a newer section built in 18th Century by Empress Zewditu. This slightly ruins the appeal but the original walls are impressive. There is water dripping from the mountain above, this varies per season but apparently the water inside the church always drips at a constant speed so is collected in stone troughs by priests as holy water. There are many people being blessed by the priests here. There is a painting depicting the life of Na'akuto La'ab, it is still unknown where his body is buried. King Lalibela is buried in Bet Golgotha, which also contains the tomb of Christ, supposedly to match the Jerusalem version.
For sunset we try to go up to the 7 Olives Hotel, which has a garden area with great views and hundreds of birds. Unfortunately our shortcut turns out to be longer and we get slightly lost so we miss sunset. We have great juices of strawberry, papaya, avocado and guava though and a good but pricey meal. We go back the road route...


Lazy day in Lalibela, late breakfast at 9 then a walk around town. We enter the animal market, utter chaos. There are horses lined up each side and people checking them out, money changing hands and animals being dragged in and out. We squeeze through trying to not get kicked by anything. Lower down is the cattle market and further up the hill are goats and sheep. One little girl has a bowl of dung that she is trying to sell, she follows us for a while, not sure what we'd want it for! Further up on the flat is the food and spices market, many women selling chat and chillies. Then the plastics, clothes and fabric items. The whole place is heaving with people. Back to the 7 olives hotel for juices and relaxing. While there I get interviewed for Ethiopian TV!! Very basic questions about how I find Ethiopia and strangely the service of Lalibela hotels. We spend the rest of the afternoon shopping in the Christmas market, mainly for normal sized t-shirts. Ready for the evening's festivities....
Passing through the church area later that evening, the pilgrims have all found viewing spots and the ground is covered, they are waiting for the priest's mass at 10pm. We pass by and have dinner in Unique Restaurant while we wait but unfortunately I become ill so don't eat and go home to sleep. This also means I can't get up early to see any more religious sermons, but the atmosphere has been excellent so I don't mind. When I meet Scott and Sarah at 9 the streets are filled as the pilgrims file out for their journeys home.

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