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Lalibela – Ethiopia’s Jerusalem

By on 7. May 2016 in Ethiopia
Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church, Lalibela, Ethiopia, Africa

Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church

Lalibela will most probably instill both a real fascination (especially if you are discovering Ethiopia’s Jerusalem for the first time) and a certain disappointment (especially if you are returning there after a few years)…

Fascination, because the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela probably belong to some of the most magnificent and breathtaking religious monuments you will see in your lifetime, and definitely the most unexpected ones. Fascination also, if you have the privilege to discover Lalibela over (Orthodox) Easter, when pilgrim congregate in Lalibela for a 3 day fasting marathon… A moment of rare devotion and spirituality! Continue Reading →

Crossing The River Jordan For Genata Maryam

By on 23. April 2011 in Ethiopia
Surroundings of Lalibela, Ethiopia, Africa

Surroundings of Lalibela, Ethiopia, Africa

Travelling to Genata Maryam took us through stunning landscape. Crossing the oasis-like River Jordan was only one of the highlights! Together with a German family, we rented a taxi to this rock-hewn church an hour’s drive outside Lalibela. Continue Reading →

Wordly Lalibela

By on 23. April 2011 in Ethiopia
Women using Umbrellas against the sun, Lalibela, Ethiopia

Women using Umbrellas against the sun, Lalibela, Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s most visited tourist destination, we expected Lalibela to be a pretty developed place. Wrong again! We were taken aback by the squalor and slum like dwellings that line the road up to the “city center”. Only the two mile road that connects the hotels down the hill up to the “town center” is paved with large cobble stones. Everywhere else, only muddy trails! Between the wooden shacks, you find a few stalls selling textiles and men sewing raggedy clothes on ancient Singer machines. Children enjoy chasing each other around the ditches running along the road. Continue Reading →

Lalibela’s Friday Market

By on 23. April 2011 in Ethiopia
Market in Lalibela, Ethiopia

Market in Lalibela, Ethiopia

Lalibela’s Friday market offered a nice break from churches spotting. Cramped with stalls selling vegetables, fruits and clothes – it was huge. Nearly everyone was selling red onions, some merchants only a handful, some seating next to a small hill, some skillfully stacking them, others just spilling them on the ground. Continue Reading →

Lalibela – Ethiopia’s Jerusalem

By on 22. April 2011 in Ethiopia
Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church, Lalibela, Ethiopia

Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church, Lalibela, Ethiopia

Our dream image of Lalibela on Easter Sunday? Swaying among white-clad worshippers and chanting priests. Reality hit hard! Worshippers, having fasted for three days, covered every inch of the churches’ floor, sleeping off their hunger and thirst. Wrapped into their large white shawls they looked like corpses. So Sunday evening there was no way to get in. The churches may look huge from the outside, the inside is very compartmentalized and some parts are strictly reserved for priests. Continue Reading →