The following day we headed further afield within the Gheralta range, to the Maryam and Daniel Korkor churches/monasteries. Upon boarding our van for the day, we were all given fistfuls of grass with the explanation of "it's Sunday." I accepted and then pocketed this token of the Lord's day.
This churchie cluster resides atop a plateau, the path to it requiring us to rock step our way up through a narrowing rock corridor.
A peek back at where we came from/the rest of the crew
Narrower and narrower, the steps led us upward. Felt akin to hiking up the narrows in Zion, except with none of the water and it being a relentless uphill slog.
Melissa handles the waist high stairs, followed by Mr. Elkins. Thankfully, M was allowed to climb up and see Maryam and Daniel with the rest of us males.
Nearing the top, or at least the part that was a more level hike
Mahjong set dug into the rock midway through our hike up
Missing a "d", but I appreciate the effort
The churches were atop all those rock piles, elegant and ancient
Looking across to our friend of the day before, Abuna
Melissa lizard basking before our final ascent
The crew in shadow, year two of adventures together
Almost there
The last of the hike, our horizontal stroll before finding them double churches
A close up on Steve's impressive sweat production
Just outside Daniel Korkor. While it was the smaller of the two churches. It did have the most commanding view. Here we are basking in it, right on the edge
Doorway to Daniel, topped with megaphone
Frescoes on the roof of Dan
Resident monk who let us into each place of worship up there
Our guide shows us the ark of David (replica. They seemed to be in all of the churches we visited) and monk at rest
Steve with ancient pigment
Close up of a head explosion/erosion
Outside of Mr. Korkor, one of the guides that made our way up to those heights easier (mostly through his comic relief) continues in his hyperdrive berserker mode for the benefit of locals and tourists alike
Close up on ENERGY, got him to stand still long enough for this picture. I'm sure he danced off wildly moments after this photo was taken. He told us of his time shepherding in that area before he took on the job of schlepping tourists gear up and down the mountain for them, of the nights that he spent in caves with a fire going at the mouth of it to keep the local apex predators away from him and his flock. The past is present
A different guide rock pocketed above Melissa as we waited for Steve to finish filming inside and outside of Dan
Steve finding more angles right next to the official shoe of Ethiopia
Shelf-scoot back around to Maryam
Before we got there, though, we explored the monk and nun's quarter's pictured below, at the base of that rock mound
Passed by these littles on the way, the momma had crosses cut into her forehead. Weird religious expression or weirdness expressed religiously, either way, it stopped me in my tracks
Local nun living quarters, up close. Steve filmed her reading from her bible, in Ge'ez (ancient language precursor to modern Amharic that most Ethiopian Orthodox people read the scriptures in, akin to Catholics reading in Latin) inside of her dwelling. I felt weird taking photos of her during this sacred feeling time, the frail but determined
Back out to see sheep fam
and their food source
Spotted the shepherd's pants below and got stoked, showing him my own patched up pants, asking if I could take a photo of his britches. He was amused and nodded his approval
Monk in his zone among the clouds
And his cubby hole, directly across that expanse from the nun's quarters
We then made our way to Maryam K, passing by this blue rest stop along the way
The impressive facade of Maryam Korkor
and then into the vast inner sanctum
Beardy G-d pillar
Roofward views
Looking towards the back and the rest of the ancient pillars, adorned with G-ds and saints and beards
Hopefully, not a load bearing arch
Shadowplay, an effort to digitally map the interior
The way back home, well worn into rock
Cremaster looking symbol on the purplish way down, befitting of such a male dominated sect/ancient place of worship
Back the way we came
We would see this type of terracing all over northern Ethiopia and when we exited the stairway from Maryam and Daniel K, we were greeted with more. We asked our driver about it and he said it was to control erosion and to help what rainwater they do receive sink in instead of runoff. People get a subsidy from the government to create these massive earthworks
Anyhow, after we drove back to "town" we drove right back to our usual post rock-hewn hang out, with the coffee ceremony beginning shortly after our arrival
Hyper tour guide and his bestie next to a St. George stack in said zone
Back at the lodge, had to hand wash the only pair of pants I brought, then walked around in my boxers/skirt while th'denim quickly dried in that dry Tigrean sun
Later that evening, Steve and his drone, all put together and ready to launch
Neighborhood kids were stoked
Elkins holds court after the trial run, very far above their village
Everyday, a new display
After a few more test flights, Steve uploaded the footage and then hosted a screening of it for the neighborhood kids, who got a whole new vantage of their zone
Surveys say, "cutest littles in the world." Below, you will find proof. Stay tuned for the third and final installment of our time based at the Gheralta Lodge, exploring the nearby rock hewn wonders.
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