"Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet him."
- Stone Bridge Church message board
Place: Lalibela, Northern Ethiopia
Time: June 25-29, 2016
For years I have had my covetous eyes on Lalibela. Like architectural porn, I lusted after these stone monoliths every time they appeared on the Travel Channel. Dating back to the 12th century, these medieval churches in Northern Ethiopia were carved out of solid rock. There is not a mortar joint to be seen anywhere. Taking 23 years, the devoted designers and workers dug with pick, hammer, chisel and wedge to release the churches from their surrounding bedrock.
A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, it is the cross roads of where the ancient meets the modern.
It is not one church, but many who were painstakingly released from the mountain.
Street life
Ethiopian religious art is wonderful to behold
Houses in Lalibela are made with stone instead of mud as their cousins in the south.
Entry way, one of the many, into the stone churches of Lalibela.
Solid Stone....imagine what it took to carve this out.
I can't get enough of these gorgeous African huts. The residents sleep up top and the animals sleep below.
Cobblestone in Africa???? I NEVER though I would see the day. Tourist dollars pouring into Lalibela allow such labor intensive work.
Doing my part to corrupt the local youth. Shatu shadowed me for several days. He is attempting to learn english and become a tour guide. He is in the 11th grade and has summer holidays.
The son of the owner of the Asheton guest house where I stayed. A very fun kid who loved to play games on my Apple Mac Computer.
Flies are bad in Lalibela. A local introduced me the leaves of the Coriander Plant who's magical properties keep the flies away when rubbed on the face and body. And it worked!!!...
...........for the first 15 seconds......kind of.........a bit........well.......Im not so sure...
.no.....it looks like its not working.....
.....actually, I think it might actually be attracting the flies...
yes....the lesson is clear....NEVER rub Coriander leaves on your body if you wish to keep the flies away.....
