Lalibela – “The bees recognised his sovereignty”

Our guide Fikreselassie points up “See that green hill? It’s the Mount of Olives, and to its left you can see the river Jordan”. He smiled as I raised my head from the camera in surprise. “We are another image of Israel; don’t forget Solomon was the father of our first Emperor Menelik 1!” There are 11 monolithic churches in this 12th century ‘New Jerusalem’ town area, situated in this mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia. Lalibela is still a high place of Ethiopian Christianity almost a millennium later, a place of pilgrimage and devotion.

We arrived in Lalibela in the afternoon hence could only trek around the town area as the churches are closed to public at five. Walking back down the cobbled road to our lovely hotel, perched on the very edge of a hill top, we passed a house where a party was going on. Heads popped out from behind the curtain which doubled as the front door, “Ma friends wanna’ ave sum beers? Come on come in!” I couldn’t help being just a trifle nervous because the greeting startled me, but it was obvious they were a simple lot who just wanted to show some hospitality and make new friends. The host’s brother was an Azmari who played a Masenqo making up the words as he went along. Azmaris are the local folk singers who play a single string fiddle and can mainly be seen and heard in Tej Bets or local ‘honey wine bars’. It was great fun and the party ended with almost the entire party walking us back to the hotel gates. Well that’s Ethiopia for you maan.

Darkness comes early in these mountains and the temperature can drop to about 8oC. We decided that our early dinner would be a pure Ethiopian experience. Out came several decanters of Tej, the local wine made from honey. It’s delicious and may I add quite strong but in Lalibela the very ambience is intoxicating so that makes for a serious high.

A tall basket was put in front of each of us. Then a huge plate with food was placed on them. “This looks like an Indian dosa,” I told my friend, Tesfa. “We call it Injeera”, he explained, “the national bread of Ethiopia, that’s meat, vegetable, egg curry, and salad with a big chilli.” Enjeera tasted tangy, a bit like idli when toddy is used for fermentation of the batter. The meal ended with several cups of hot black Ethiopian coffee. Legend says some shepherds discovered the red coffee berries which when eaten kept them awake and alert. Coffee was first eaten long before it became a liquid drink. That discovery is attributed to the monks of Ethiopia who used the coffee to stay awake during their long nights of prayer. It fanned out from Ethiopia to Egypt and Yemen before making its way to Europe and the rest of the world.

Now all that was left to make a fantastic evening of it was someone to regale us about the great Lalibela mystery! And Tesfa obliged. His face grew grave, and it certainly wasn’t the result of large quantities of Tej. “Actually you know this place was called Roha before 1100 AD. Then it was called Lalibela after the Ethiopian king of the same name. In Ethiopia we believe that the animal world can foretell the future. Legend has it that the royal baby’s mother saw him lying happily in his cradle surrounded by a dense swarm of bees. She immediately knew that he would become king”. He looked straight at me hoping to see some reaction. I guess my eyes were open wide enough because it seemed to encourage him to tell us a long and interesting story of Lalibela. That night I became a loyal subject of King Lalibela.

The next morning I was up at 1 AM. Now, before you think I’m nuts let me clarify: The way they address time is at a complete tangent to the rest of the world. The first daylight hour is calculated as the start of a 24 hour day. So whenever the sun rises AM commences. In other words I got out of bed at what would have been 6 AM anywhere else in the world. The Ethiopians follow a clock that has no relation to time as calculated from Greenwich. Their calendar observes 13 month in a year, 12 of 30 days each and a 13th of 5 to 6 days depending on whether it’s a leap year. All of the country operates on these measures. Go figure. But that’s just it; in Ethiopia a visitor can almost ‘live’ the experience of ancient culture and inexplicable mysteries.

Later, armed with newly acquired knowledge of Lalibela, Tesfa and I made our way determinedly across the very narrow river Jordon, walked hurriedly over the Mount of Olives and down a steep slope, when a young man named Assefa stopped me in my tracks. “Do not walk so fast, you’ll fall into the giant well”. “What well?” I asked “The church of Bet Giyorgis (St George)” he shot back, pointing ahead. Less than 75 yards in front was the distinctive Georgian cross which marked the church roof. It took my breath away, positively the most famous symbol of Lalibela churches and Ethiopia at large. It’s been referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and is a prized UNESCO heritage site. Carved 30 meters deep into one single piece of solid rock bed it is a stunning work of art. To get down one had to enter a tunnel on the far side that finally led into the church yard below. As I stepped out of the tunnel and faced the church from the corner of my eye I noticed something very unusual in the precipice wall behind me. I spun around shocked to see a whitened skull staring right back. It was placed atop a heap of dried human bones stored in an open crypt in the precipice wall. Seeing the shock writ across my face Tesfa explained “These are the bones of ancient pilgrims who came to worship at St. George and died here. Their remains are preserved to commemorate their devotion”.

Before I go any further I want you to understand that the churches are not simply built by carving into the hill sides, it means first digging down to create the outer shape and then carving into the rock to hollow out the rooms, shape pillars, windows and door ways….its an incredible sight, like nothing I have ever come across. No it’s not the same as the cave temples and monastries in India nor Petra in Jordan. It is a staggering feat of engineering that has left most architects and archaeologists gaping. Even with modern technology it would be extremely difficult to produce such edifices. Though not impossible, it would certainly take more than the well-documented 40 years it took the ancients.

The entire system is in some way connected by a labyrinth of tunnels that network one church area into another. I investigated one tunnel that worked its way upward and I actually end up having to climb out of the ground to reach the entrance of the church. And no, it was not hot inside, remember Lalibela is about 8,000 feet up and the weather is lovely throughout the year. We spent the whole day scouring the tunnels from one church to another. There are no electric lights and at every church entrance you need to take off your shoes so most of the way we walked bare footed. Inside the churches are three important elements, the guardian monk deep in mediation or standing in a very unusual manner praying, a massive leather bible and the sacred musical instruments for worship.

Finally I had witnessed both faces of Lalibela. First was the celebration of joy and the second, deep devotion to God. And it is the sheer simplicity and innocence of this beautiful people that binds both faces together.

As the four-wheel-drive winds down the mountain, cold air gives way to warmer winds of the plains, my minds trips back to the mystical rock hewn churches and the chanting heads that bowed down in veneration, hymned by unspeakable words in praise of God. I wonder what allowed me to remain there…..a voyeur into the lives of pious priests who paid no attention to my constant movement, my every effort to get that one great pious ‘shot’.

They simply got on with their labour of devotion.