ETHIOPIA: St George Church Lalibela
The town of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia is a sacred
place of pilgrimage for adherents of the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, one of
the oldest branches of Christendom. Following the decline of the ancient
Axumite kingdom of Ethiopia, power passed to the Zagwe dynasty, rulers of
Lalibela for more than 100 years. The construction of its famous cave
churches is attributed to King Lalibela (1181-1221) who dreamt of creating a `New Jerusalem` following the capture of the
Holy City by Muslim jihadists in 1187. Lalibela remained the capital
of Ethiopia into the 13th century when the churches were
hewn out of the volcanic rock. Some lie almost hidden in deep
trenches, others stand in open quarries linked by passages to
caves once occupied by medieval hermits. All eleven churches are monolithic
structures. Many feature frescoes of biblical scenes on the ceilings
and pillars. The beautiful cruciform-shaped Bete Giorgis pictured displays murals of Saint
George slaying the dragon. The northern group of churches Bete
Medhane Alem is home of the famous Lalibela Cross cut in the sloping
hillside. Today Lalibela is an almost wholly Christian town.
Many landmarks have biblical names - the town's river is known as the river Jordan.
Unchanged in 800 years, the Easter service in one of its churches is a climatic
celebration following the 56-day Lenten fast observed by devout
Ethiopian Christians. The rock churches were inscribed on the World Heritage List
in 1978.