Lalibela (ኢትዮጵያ Part Seven)

Before we left for this trip, the most prominent image I had in my head of Ethiopia was that of Lalibela (or, as I'd find out on this trip, of just one of the many churches of Lalibela). Somehow, miraculously, there was a massive rock hewn church in the ground, that had been carved by a bee-blessed king and a gaggle of helpful Angels. I had obsessed about them from afar, on computer screens and books from the library, daydreaming about their magically hewn forms and never thinking I would get to see them so early in my life (much like how I felt before we were able to visit the land of Tuva way back when and the magical song forms we were able to experience there, so early in our lives). Before we get to fulfilling further daydreams of young Ted, we should resume the larger narrative of this overly long recitation of our month in the horn of Africa. We left the blistering borderlands of Danakil, and travelled west to the lovely Tigrean capital city of Mekele. We wandered about the city in the dying light of that travel day, basking in the sub-100 degree weather. Perhaps because of the visual over stimulation of Danakil, I neglected to keep up with the frantic photo taking pace of the past few days and therefore do not have photos to share from our time in Mekele. We shall instead skip to the following day, as we began the seven hour drive down to Lalibela, and ran into the first of many traffic jams.

All of the driving that we engaged in around the top of Ethiopia provided many similar livestock blockades/viewing opportunities. Most of our drivers had an impressive/slightly terrifying disregard for the lives of these creatures, never really slowing down when approaching them. There always seemed to be a way to get around them, though, without car-slaughtering them.

Spotted this ghoul outside of a restaurant pit stop we made as we journeyed South to the land of churches liberated from rock

Seven hours later, we were deposited here, our home for the next few days (very nice, indeed, but our recommendations for accommodations in that zone will come later, from when we got to know the town a bit better).

Melissa enjoying the merciful sun of the Lalibelan highlands, just outside of our rock stacked room.

When watching Ethiopian news at breakfast that morning at our hotel, 2007 somehow came back to haunt us (Ethiopia goes by a different calendar than most of the rest of the world, one which has an extra month). Our hotel for our time in Lalibela usually was tuned into the local news station and each time 2007 flashed across the screen, twas a jolt. Time is malleable (if you want it).

Breakfast bros beneath painted forms

Morning light, table adverts beautiful enough to document and share

Brekky vegetable matter remembrance for Melissa 

Sugars for flies atop our breakfast table, quite surprised by the abilities of my lowly camera

Post breakfast, we ventured out to get our first views of the nearby cluster of rock hewn/dug churches that we traveled out there for. On the way, we passed by this ephemeral human dwelling, to put the six or seven hundred year old churches we were about to see in further contrast with current day human housing concerns.

And then, we were at the foot of this ancient, monolithic house of G-d

Overwhelming and awe-inspiring. I could only manage to take photos of various details that stuck out to me in those first moments in which we encountered these edifices. The totality of them was too overwhelming to attempt photo-summations

Monks squatted and recited scripture and prayers to themselves all over the place, but I did not feel comfortable getting too close to them with my intrusive camera, so here is one from afar.

An open door to the labyrinthine and well worn footpaths of the faithful

Melissa takes her turn

Monk water source near that first monolith we gawked at

One of a few of these forms found on many of the churches, predating the hateful co-opted versions that proliferated at various points during last century by hundreds of years (and, one could argue, even to this day). Perhaps one day it will be reclaimed, perhaps the power of hate is too strong (this guy doesn't seem to thinks so).

Some of the first coffin holes we spotted dug into one of the sides of the larger church 

Vernacular modes, lightplay and an overwhelming then-present

Finally, inside of one of those first Lalibelan Churches we explored the perimeter of.

A close up on Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus inside the above mentioned church. Their pigment in that painting is probably more accurate than the likenesses I grew up with.

closer up on death curiosity as part of the same painterly innards we were then-exploring

Tiny door and more shapes stone-dug by the faithful, the inside looking out

Finding ways around and through

Call to worship rock window

Ancient death memorialized and scattered about the walls of the sanctuary

Feeble attempts at capturing the stunning dimensions of churchie innards

Half monk, and the day's light oozing in

Back to exteriors and my gawking camera angles

Entryway, and part of the hideous roofs that Unesco erected above the churches in order to protect them from the elements.

My image right outside of one of the churches, imprinted on film via Melissa's camera

Then, back into the rock hewn walkways connecting church to church

When she dips, you dip, we dip

Nearing what felt like an exit

We found our way down to it

And then out through it, but it deposited us instead atop other churches to explore

and other vistas to take in

We were lead to pathways ground level again from this perch

and faced another one of these

And were able to get up close and personal with some more coffin holes

Church and the strata from which it was liberated

More edge-skirting to try and wrap our minds around those houses of worship

That pathway connectivity lead us to this thing, at long last. Although I had scoped many photos of it, none of them could prepare me for the sheer enormity of it and the unbelievable feat of engineering that it represents.

We walked around it a few times, looking for angles to photographically retell these dimensional truths

Quite a difficult task while also trying to real-time ascertain them

circumnavigation almost complete

Ground and church levels, one in the same

Another family portrait

I think this is the one for our Christmas card (should we ever do one). That first encounter with Bet Giyorgis far exceeded any expectations I had for the place and honestly left me a bit dumbfounded (in the best way). We would return in the following days to try and understand and/or work the reality of the place into our minds and hearts to accept its extraordinary reality.

We found a way to get to the bottom of it

Through tunnels and stairways, shadows and lightplay

Eventually, we were looking up at St. George

Entryway sub-ground level

Another water source near stairs time-weather worn

Windows? Doors? Spirit holes?

With our hearts and heads full, we took our exit of that first cluster of churches and made our way back to our hotel, the long way. We came across a market devoid of people, but still piled

and with these guys hanging out

and various stick stalls awaiting the frantic commerce of market day

This scene as well, sketchy tree removal techniques (look closely)

Gutter skulls near the butcher shop

And another symbol, familiar and yet re-contextualized to be somewhat mysterious 

Three layered juice break at the site of our Lalibelan hotel recommendation (Seven Olives, but we will get to that soon and very soon).

Although the meal below was not captured all up close and in its business like some of the food pornographers we know would have done, the meal below was one of the best we experienced while in Ethiopia. Everything on that platter was flawless. The tri-un juice and this platter of perfection all came from the "Seven Olives" hotel, which (obviously) also slings food. No hotel website to link to, unfortunately, just know that you must stay/eat there while ensconced in rock churches in that part of Northern Ethiopia. We bemoaned our not staying there for our time in Lalibela, but you can't always get what you want (even if what you want is unknown at the time of you booking hotels).

Injera hat! This man wouldn't leave us alone with his cuteness

We wish we could

That nite, we rolled through the hills via tuk-tuk to one of a couple hill top eateries overlooking all of Lalibela and the hills beyond. Nite time tuk-tuk rides were the best and this was the one driver to rule them all (more on that in a bit).

We (Melissa and I) woke up just before the sun the next day to walk over to Bet Giyorgis to get to know him a bit better

The quiet stillness of that morning before the village was fully awake, with the murmuring monks a all around us was worth the truncated sleep

Smallish morning Ted getting to know George 

With the morning light spilling in o'er the top of the church

and this man keeping careful watch over us/the scene, we felt the blessing of that place and a deeper understanding of its holiness began to set in

We then walked back to the hotel for breakfast and tried to figure out postage to get rectangular pieces of paper from that part of Africa to other friended parts of the world

Twas a trying task, indeed. All three of our brains trying to calculate how many Ibex stamps to affix

More newscasts from 2007

and then, day two of Lalibelan rock forms. Unesco erected what they term "temporary" protective shelters for most of the rock hewn churches of the area because of what they saw as the corrosive effects of the natural world around and above these important sites. From reading what they have to say, they will be working to restore as much as they can of these churches and then remove the protective metal framework. From the look of things, though, it seems they are around to stay

Closer up on the majesty of natural forms morphing into human made forms

Roof-swoop down into the hand chiseled facade. 

Rock staple stitch

During our second day of rock church wanderings, our Lalibela travelling companion, Mehgan (and old Friend of Steve's who had been living in Kenya for quite some time and took the opportunity to visit Lalibela with us while were in that part of the world), attracted a lot of attention from these classmates on a field trip to Lalibela

They all wanted pictures with her and we laughed at her from afar (until their attentions turned on us, wanting a bunch of photos with us as well. (Almost) instant karma).

Even ground/roof level onlookers wanted a piece of the action

Door monster at the entrance to one of the sanctuaries

Trash/treasure at another entrance

Melissa mid shoe ritual, one which we got into down there among them holy spaces. Off and on and off again relationship

Up to and through another mystery door

Opening up into further sanctuaries

The ever lovely results of the film that Melissa slogged about and shot in those spaces

Looking out at us through the years

Somewhat like the rings of a tree

Cruciform light-ooze inside one of the many churches of that second day of church-steppin'

This monk met us mid way through our church walk and led us through the rest of it. 

Most of which was through this hole in the ground

Melissa spearheaded our subterranean jaunt

Slow and steady, as always

Eventually, we were lead to this space

The labyrinthine quality of those spaces was magical/meditative

Another scaffolding lookout/deadend

This way? Probably?

Through there?

Down there?

Sure

Connective spaces

Melissa goes towards the light

Another spirit door?

Toe-hole-boring lil feets

Ventilation system

New trash men forms

Pathways of the faithful

and the beautiful patterns they make

Upon exit from that second day's cluster, we came upon this home building scene

and then found our way to yet another coffee ceremony (I was just there for the frankincense)

All around town, we would see locals carrying around these horse hair whip looking contraptions that they would use to shoo away flies. Melissa was enamored by them every time and when she spotted one in a gift shop, she excitedly gave the shop owner some birr to take home this functional artwork

So incredibly stoked

Then, we dug into some more triple juices

and more java worship

It being market day, we wandered over to those spaces we scoped the day before, and were stopped (briefly) in our tracks by the appearance of this hoofer

Overview of market day madness

Sugarcane, donk and baby slings

Toms at work. Upon further investigation, this lil Tom seemed flimsier and worse made than the versions we get out here in the first world. When we asked some Ethio locals about the shoes, they confirmed their crappiness and preference for the more localized colorful plastic shoes that I have covered before in this bloggage and will not get into now.

Salt piles that took a similar journey out of Danakil that we had taken a few days previously

Other varied piles, complete with salesmen/women

Us Aid can and a chicken firmly tucked still life 

Although we saw similar white button covered clothing during our time in Lalibela, this was the only photo I could snap of this striking vernacular dress. We discovered that people sporting this uniform are usually from Gondar and/or the larger Gojjam region, a bit west from Lalibela herself.

More chicken carrying scenes to behold as well as stoked locals

Eventually, the market scene became too much for me and I had to leave the teeming masses before the rest of our crew was ready to leave. I told them all to meet me at St. George and got out of there as fast as I could, bee-lining for the relative comfort and quiet of a place that somehow became a normal part of our lives while we were out there.

Thank you

We then retired to a restaurant (for yet another java worship service, no doubt) near our hotel that has nothing to recommend it other than the following photo of its ceiling

We found the tuk-tuk driver of the night before to take us to another hill top eatery that evening

Had to shake that man's hand for jobs well done, music well played and decorations well made for the inside of his machine. What a hunk

That night's hilltop eatery deserves special mention, indeed. Besides Bet Gyorgis, the other image I had in my head when thinking about Ethiopia (besides Bet Giyorgis), especially once in the thick of research before we left for this trip, was this amazing looking spaceship on a hill that also serves food. What we learned was called "Ben Abeba" (a Scottish-Amharic term that roughly translates to "hill of flowers") was quite high on the must-see list while we were in that part of Ethiopia. Ben Abeba is the brainchild of an expat Scottish pensioner (Susan Aitchison) and a local Lalibelan gentleman (Habtamu Baye) and was an incredible sight to behold in person. Like most places we love, it was difficult to properly capture in picture form, and I had to give up trying shortly into our visit there (which I will explain soon). For the time being, feast your eyes on the Ethio-Scottish imagination made physical reality below.

Closer to the hill of flowers, as the low battery warning on my camera flashed frantically

Top floor view and architectural details 

and then down to where we could find seating

Shortly after I took the photo below, my camera died, and thus the torrent of photos I was taking/wished to take had to come to an end and I was forced to confront the reality of that place with nothing other than my mind camera. Out of all of the times I have been unprepared and my camera has died, this one still fills me with the most regret. I'm thankful that I've a few visual reminders of that amazing place to share, but there were so incredibly many more details of that experience atop that hill of flowers that are somewhat lost to my memory now. Anyhow, it all felt like a mash up of a lot of art environments we've been to, but with its own unique take. Along with the stunning imaginative architectural forms all around us, we were able to enjoy foodstuffs we will never exactly have again (unless we return to Ben Abeba, of course). I enjoyed the Ethiopian Shepard's pie while there, and you can take a look for yourselvesat the rest of the unique Scottish-Ethio mash ups available there (including ye ol' bubble and squeek).

The next morning, the first stage of our multi stage return trip to California commenced with a flight down to Addis Ababa (to then be followed by Addis to Istanbul and finally, Istanbul back to LAX). Melissa, cat like upon the lovely colors of Ethiopian Airlines, gets further into some Farah.

Back at the Addis airport

We soon got busy strapping luggage to the top of our diminutive transport into town. Jan was not impressed by the situation

"I'm not usually this guy" Jan instas some drink excitement quite near the national museum

Melissa tries to woo a tortoise right outside of said institution

To some success

Ras Tafari and some literate children

Sculptures of this diminutive man proliferated throughout the capital city. Here he is pointing out some Amharic for our consideration

A regrettably dark photo of one of our ancestors inside the main hall of the national museum

Then, we made our way into some deep time, and the taming thereof

We stumbled upon Lucy/Dinkinesh in the basement of the National Museum. This extremely important 3.2 million distant relative of ours laid unguarded and housed in a very simple and seemingly non-alarmed case. Coming from 'merica and our blockbuster museum exhibits, it was shocking to encounter something so unbelievably valuable to our understanding of ourselves in such a humble housing situation.

Some more deep time

A trek quite similar to this guy's walk.

Cosmic visions among the historic ones

Ancestor clouds

Museum-adjacent avian vernacular

Tiny house on the streets of Addis

And this mysterious scaffolded art installation/slide

Back at Tomoca, Melissa losing her mind after discovering a vegan item on the menu that was hiding in plain sight

Much to the delight of our lovely coffee maven

Here it is, the object of Melissa's enthusiasm, the "fasting latte" (soy milk instead of cows milk). The last of the perfect coffee streak/java worship (in the horn of Africa, at least).

Some housing concerns as we walked about 

Like barnacles onna boat

Our last nite-move in Ethiopia was at Yod Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant. For how uncomfortable the name makes me to type out here, the atmosphere inside made me even more unsteady. The bands that performed that night were incredible. It was akin to sitting through a live performance of the entirety of the Ethiopiques catalogue in the depth, diversity and beauty of what we were blessed with as we ate our last meal in the horn of Africa. It all made me a bit uneasy mostly because it felt quite touristy and especially because of the overabundance of over weight/sweaty white doods with their obvious/gorgeous escorts for the night. Despite how yucky all of that was, the music and food was transcendent and we were left, overall, with nothing but thanksgiving as we made our way to the airport. 

The above mentioned last meal of the trip. Pretty perfect

And now, at last, we come to the end of this report from our time in Ethiopia. The trip was beyond all of our expectations and has left some lasting impressions on our long term memories. An intensely beautiful country and culture that although we were among it for about a month, feels like we barely scratched the surface of. Obviously, we would love to return as soon as possible, but other sights and sites have (and will) commanded/command our attentions (more on that soon, hopefully). We flew north to Istanbul that night, pushed past the twenty four hours awake mark inside Ataturk waiting for our flight west and butted up right against the forty eight hour mark awake as we touched down at LAX, all time obliterated to our feeble minds. With that, here's one last image from Ethiopia, stay tuned for other adventures, near and far.