Ethiopia – The Wonder of the World Built by Angels

December 30-January 1

Hello everyone!

Welcome to what Ethiopians call the Eighth Wonder of the World.

The Church of St. George, Lalibela

Pilgrims praying at a mass service, which started at 5:30am

This is Lalibela, a pilgrimage site for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. A short flight north from Addis takes you up to 2,600 metres above sea level, to a village famous for its churches which are in excess of 800 years old.

A Bombardier, the way to travel quickly across Ethiopia

Bete Medhane Alem, one of the larger churches

To the unknowing eye, these places of worship look intriguing and impressive. To those who know how they were created, they are simply staggering.

The contrast between the church and the rock its etched from

A combination of the Jewish Star of David
and the Orthodox cross

Before construction started on these eleven churches during the time of King Lalibela, the area where the churches stand was rock. All rock. These churches were chiselled out of the soft tufa rock which is found in the hills of the village.

This church is rumoured to be King Lalibela's house when he was alive

  

The larger churches are protected from the weather
by large roofs, which are an unfortunate eyesore

Unlike most buildings, which are built from bottom to top, these pretty intricate designs were started from the top. The rock was gradually chiselled away into the shape of a church. They then carved the inside so that there were rooms inside this rock. The best comparison I can think of is if you have a block of wood and you remove parts of it to create a sculpture. In this case, the ‘wood’ is the soil of our own planet.

Bete Maryam - Church of St. Mary

     

The designs inside the churches are incredibly
complex considering their construction

The result is that you can stand on the original rock and look down into parts of an underground system of buildings which seems fairly unique. The northern cluster in particular look like an early indication of town planning, with tunnels and narrow pathways etched between them. Many of the churches are monolithic, meaning that they are free-standing and independent of any support from the sides by the original rock. Some, such as the two below, are in excess of 15 metres tall.

Some of the churches have been renovated
recently, as shown by the newer pillars

This is a rock-hewn church, meaning
you can walk all around it

Others are semi-monolithic, meaning that they can be walked around but are supported from the roof. This one, called Bet Abba Libanos, looks a lot like the world-famous Petra in Jordan. As soon as I saw it, I thought of Indiana Jones.

This church is built into the rock, with the back wall and
roof supporting the carved structure

Bete Abba Libanos, which reminded me
of Indiana Jones

What adds to the aura of Lalibela is that these churches are all actively used on a daily basis. Even when staying two kilometres away from the two sites where the buildings are found, a person can wake at sunrise to the sound of chanting or lecturing. This is a live exhibition of the Ethiopian Orthodox religion.

Pilgrims with whiter robes are generally from towns,
with the off-white robes belonging to people from the countryside

         

Lalibela also showcases a religious passion which seems to have disappeared from much of Europe. The unstinting belief of the stories behind the churches and their creator, King Lalibela, shows complete dedication to their religion. The SparkNotes version of the story is that King Lalibela went to Jerusalem and was told by God to build these churches in a particular place to create a ‘New Jerusalem’. No US Embassy in sight, by the way. Lalibela returned and then built most of the churches in 23 years. Depending on who you listen to, he was helped by up to 40,000 men…or angels.

King Lalibela is the third King, with the green robe

   

Replicas of the Ark of the Covenant are
behind the curtains - only priests can see it

Understandably for a place of pilgrimage, everything has a religious link. Many of the churches have nine windows, reflecting the number of saints worshipped in Orthodoxism. Most have four pillars inside, one for each Orthodox evangelist. Some have eyes carved into the pillars to represent the vision of the angels. The trenches from the northern and southern clusters join to make the Jordan River.

A carving of an Orthodox saint

This is a fertility pool - women have to be lowered
in with a rope as it's quite deep

One which I really enjoyed was the ‘Tunnel to Heaven’. You start at the bottom of a narrow opening and carefully tread upwards into pitch-black darkness: ‘hell’. Only being guided by putting your hands out to the sides (and above your head if you’re reasonably tall), you trek through the claustrophobic passageway for about forty metres before seeing a shaft of light: ‘heaven’. Many believers will start hollering ‘ai-ai-ai-ai’ when they emerge into the light, next to another church.

Looks fine with a camera flash - in reality, this
was complete darkness

         

Pilgrims would holler loudly as they rise from the tunnel

There are many other legends and tales about Lalibela, many of which have been contested by academics. What they do, however, is add to the mystique and atmosphere of the village. This is particularly poignant at the moment as many pilgrims are flocking to Lalibela from across the country, often hundreds of kilometres by foot, to worship, learn and celebrate Genna on January 7^th: Ethiopian Christmas.

Apparently, this cross wasn't made, instead
being given to Lalibela by God

          

Pilgrims were sleeping in the open in large groups

With little more than their white (or off-white if from the countryside) robes, a Bible and a smile, the pilgrims – many of whom seem to be of pensionable age – wander around the churches, kissing the walls and muttering prayers.

This will be full as Genna approaches

          

Pilgrims massing around the Church of St. George

Lalibela is at its most spiritual in the early morning. On Sunday, each church hosts a 5:30am mass for two hours, before priests start teaching. With more and more pilgrims arriving in the run-up to Christmas, it makes for a memorable atmosphere, with people of all ages squashed into the churches or listening intently in the grounds or on the hills above, all bound by their common faith. On the Monday, everyone flocked to the most photogenic church, the symmetrical, cross-shaped Bet Giorgys (House of St. George).

Most can't fit inside the church so have to stand outside

Modern technology has obviously permeated the Orthodox church...

Waking up for the latter was a challenge as I had been celebrating Western New Year’s Eve the night before. This crazy design is actually a restaurant called Ben Abeba, a Scottish-Ethiopian adventure which possesses stunning panoramas of the valleys way below.

Ben is Scottish for mountain; Abeba is Amharic for flower

           

Sitting by the fire, where we listened to local musicians
while eating tablet & shortbread

We had taken a tuk-tuk to the restaurant. After a brief chat with the driver, he asked if any of us wanted to drive. I thought he was joking…

Tuk-tuks are easy to drive - apparently it's just like a moped

  

The real driver kept suggesting I was driving too fast...

Lalibela is an incredible place, particularly with so many pilgrims arriving to add to its air of spirituality. I still can’t get my head around how these rock-hewn churches were carefully carved out of the rocks which you can stand on metres away. I can certainly see why it’s sometimes said to be the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.

Sunset view from Ben Abeba

An incredible landscape

          

           

Secret tunnels and lots of adventure

Love you all and Happy New Year,

Matt

Ethiopia – Feed the World

December 28-29

If I were to say Ethiopia to you, what would you think of? Maybe not this…

Fruit stall in Addis

Ethiopia made global news in 1985, when a horrendous famine ravaged the country. It was the purpose behind Live Aid. Famine and crop failure has been a problem here for time immemorial. The 1985 famine, however, was the culmination of three failures across the country and exacerbated by politics, initially the West’s reluctance to aid a socialist country and then Chairman Mengistu’s refusal to help the Tigrai province, near what is now Eritrea in the north.

Michael Buerk's BBC report sent shockwaves around the world
in 1984

One in five Ethiopians were affected by the famine

This is what many people think of when they hear ‘Ethiopia’. Though famine does happen about once a decade, they are often in isolated areas in the north and east. Ethiopia produces lots of amazing food, and was a major factor in me wanting to visit.

Talapia is a fish found in Ethiopian lakes

Traditional Ethiopian food is said to be unique in Africa, and I have never had anything like it. The closest dish I can think of is a south Indian thali, in that there are lots of different little dishes and one bread-type food on which to place morsels of the other dishes. Even then, that’s quite a tenuous link.

A traditional meal, consisting of different wats and tips

That bread-type dish is called injera, a soft, flat, pimpled flatbread made of tef, an endemic grain. It is spread very thinly, like a pancake, meaning it can be easily torn to grab the mini dishes which sit atop it. These are necessary – injera is bland on its own, reminiscent of sourdough. It’s also required as it works as your cutlery. You pull a piece of injera, grab a bit of the little dish, twist slightly so it can close up in your fingers (right hand only), and then pop it into your mouth.

Injera gluten-free and more calcium than a glass of milk

It’s the mini-dishes that make Ethiopian cuisine so delicious and different. Full of different herbs, spices and colour, these sauces – called wats – bring your mouth to life. My favourite one of these so far is called something like shiro niter kibbeh, which is chickpeas cooked in clarified butter. They may also use meats in these dishes: tips.

One of these meals is very filling - I get the feeling they put
 extra rolls of injera on the side for a challenge

One meat you won’t find is pork, due to the country’s strong religious nature. This extends to eating certain foods on certain days. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, a majority in the country, have to fast for many days of the year. I couldn’t find an exact number: different sources range from 190 to 208. Ethiopian Orthodox will fast for the forty days before Christmas and up to 55 days before Easter, in addition to Wednesdays and Fridays.

Cubed beef is a popular bar snack - I can't remember its local name

Fasting is different to that of other religions. A fasting ‘day’ finishes at 3pm, and no meat products are allowed at all on those days. A consequence of this is that much of Ethiopia’s cuisine is vegan.

This was called 'fasting food' on the menu: completely vegan

In fact, many things are different here. For one, Christmas hasn’t happened yet. It’s on its way, as you can see from the pictures below, but it will happen on January 7^th. This happens in Russia, too – they follow the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar followed in much of the world.

I guess Santa doesn't have to deliver to much of Ethiopia on
December 24th - should save him some time?

Christmas market at the Piazza

When walking around with a local who ‘wanted to practise his English’ (he actually wanted me to buy him a book, which then gets returned to the shop at a slightly reduced rate so he can pocket the money), I ended up seeing a street cordoned off by police and full of people wearing white. They were celebrating Kulubi Gabriel – a festival for St. Gabriel.

Church of St. Gabriel

Pilgrims dress in white and come to celebrate Gabriel's
special period

Some differences regarding dates and times seem unique to Ethiopia. New Year here is on September 11^th – I know that from spontaneously going to the Ethiopian restaurant in Malawi on that date. Even more interesting is the fact that many Ethiopians tell the time in a completely different way to how Westerners do. They use a 12-hour clock, with 0:00 being sunrise (i.e. around 6am in ‘my time’). Our ‘midday’ is thus 6am in this system. Obviously, this wouldn’t work in the UK – we’d only have 8 hour days in a Scottish winter!

The time on the TV says 7:17 - I watched this
whilst eating my lunch

Oh, and the year is 2010. Meaning I was born in 1980…

The language is also unique. Amharic has a script that often looks like stick drawings of people; it’s also very difficult to translate into the Roman alphabet. Some phrases are simple – ‘ishi’ can mean ‘thanks’ or ‘OK’. Others, such as the formal way of saying thank you, are a bit more of a challenge.

If you say 'I'm a Single Lady', it sounds vaguely similar...

One of the easier Amharic words is ‘buna’: coffee. Coffee happens every day and is an Ethiopian institution – after all, they have claims on being the first use the bean.

Ethiopia is the world's fifth-largest coffee producer

The legend behind coffee’s discovery is brilliant. A young boy saw his goats going wild after eating some leaves. He then tried some, became hyperactive, and ran to tell monks in a nearby monastery. They basically called him evil and threw the berries into the fire, where they of course roasted and released their intoxicating smell.

The beans are roasted on a pan

Today Ethiopians drink Arabica coffee in espresso form and often serve it in an elaborate ceremony. The burning incense brought Indian temples to mind: until the beans start to burn and char in the pan. I was told that it’s rude to drink fewer than three cups of coffee in a sitting, as it’s mainly a time for chatting; most foreigners are excepted, and I was feeling enough of a buzz after one. It’s not quite as strong as espresso and reminded me more of Turkish coffee, albeit without the silty dregs at the bottom of the latter.

The beans in their different phases

The green leaf is added to create flavour

No matter what time it is – Western or Ethiopian – coffee is a way of life here. After the bucket-loads of delicious food, it’s a good way of ensuring one doesn’t fall into a food coma. Selfishly, I hope that, a bit like Korean food until it exploded a few years ago, Ethiopian food doesn’t become a global phenomenon – more for me!

Strawberry, orange, mango, papaya, avocado,
pineapple, banana...

Love you all,

Matt

Ethiopia – Where It All Began

December 28-29

Hello everyone!

For the next 10 days I’ll be traversing the large land of Ethiopia: Where It All Began.

Ethiopia's history: old

The lion is one of many Ethiopian symbols

That’s one of the more common tourism slogans for Africa’s second most populous country. I was starting in the biggest city: the delightfully-named Addis Ababa.

Addis became the capital in 1886

Up until now, my experience of Ethiopia’s capital city has been restricted to its airport, which is currently undergoing major renovation. At least that’s the justification for having portakabin toilets for the last 18 months.

Addis Airport: a work in progress

The construction is spearheaded by Asian investment, a common theme both in the city and across the African continent. The skeletons of tall buildings are beginning to dominate Addis, with some looking more secure than others.

Scaffolding which you're unlikely to see in Europe

The new national stadium

With help from the Chinese government, Addis was able to create its own overground system, a vital artery if crossing the metropolis. I boarded it once – after feeling like a sardine for three stops, I disembarked and decided to use my feet.

The light rail line started in 2015

Very crowded aboard the green line

On a map, much of the city will seem walkable. Distances between main points of interest don’t seem particularly onerous; the international airport is only about 5 km to the south. What the 2D map won’t reflect, however, is the hilly nature of the city. Being over 2,300 metres above sea level also contributes to walking becoming quite a chore, as does the fact that it’s 28’C in winter. Pollution is also an issue, with a layer of smog being clearly visible early in the morning.

All downhill on Churchill Road

Downtown Addis

In spite of all of this, I spent the majority of my time in Addis on foot, stomping along the pavement (and occasionally the road when this didn’t exist) to get a feel for the city. A few times I was joined by people who ‘wanted to practise their English’ or were ‘walking in the same direction as me’. I never felt threatened, though aware of the city’s reputation for pickpocketing, and actually saw some interesting places as a result – I’ll talk about them in the next blog.

Banana sellers rumbling down the hill

The Church of St. Gabriel

The one exception was when I took a taxi from the National Museum back to my hostel. There are a few modern taxis here, coloured yellow and green, but the vast majority are blue Ladas. A bone-shaking 10 km ride in one with a friendly driver called David reminded me of using cars like this in Kazakhstan on a regular basis.

The seatbelt didn't work, which made the ride interesting

A line for petrol

The number of Ladas may be linked to Ethiopia’s more recent past. For 13 years, the country was under the control of a left-wing military junta known as the Derg, with a man called Mengitsu Haile Mariam at its head. He then ‘democratised’ Ethiopia in 1987 and Ethiopia held elections, though the only nominees were Derg members. Links to other communist countries, such as Cuba and the USSR, are visible at the Tiglachen Memorial, which commemorates Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers who died fighting Somalis in 1978.

You have to pass through a police check
before gaining access to the monument

Marxist designs adorn the area

During this time the ‘Red Terror’ swept across Ethiopia, a mass purging and execution of those opposed – or not animatedly celebrating – the new Ethiopian order in 1974. It lasted four years, reputedly killed over half a million people (including a purging of many Derg officials in 1977), and was initiated by Mengistu throwing three bottles with a red liquid (possibly blood) into a large crowd, saying that this is what would happen to counter-revolutionaries. This picture, and many more, are found in the eponymous museum at Meksel Square, where that speech took place. Quite a chilling museum, and disturbing to me that I’d never heard of it.

Red blood being thrown by Mengitsu

A picture of a protester in the Red
Terror Museum

The National Museum, definitely worth a visit if you stop in Addis, traces the country’s past back way further than this time. The slogan I used at the start is a hint at the length of Ethiopia’s ‘human’ history. Ethiopia is where one of the oldest, fullest human skeletons was found: Lucy.

Lucy is an Australopithecus

A replica of the 3.2 million year old girl

The museum does a great job charting the progress and potential links between Homo Sapiens (us) and other hominids, as well as between humans and other animals. It also shows the remains of many species which are now extinct; incredibly, they suggested that 99.9% of species that have ever lived on Earth are extinct. Mind-blowing.

A comparison of ankle bones in mammals

The cranium of an extinct relative of the elephant

They have replicas of some of the more famous archaeological finds in Ethiopia and Eritrea, most of which come from the Afar region in the northeast of the region.

The story is that Lucy is named after a Beatles
song, which was being played in the camp upon discovery

Selam, the remains of a three-year-old who
died 150,000 years before Lucy

The land within the borders of modern-day Ethiopia is steeped in an incredible amount of history, some of which can be seen in its sprawling capital. Much of its recent past has been harrowing, and even now many people find Addis to be a challenging, chaotic, polluted mess. It is all of those. I also found it to be safe, colourful and looking forward. Then there’s the food…

Love you all,

Matt