Tag: ET – Rock-Hewn Churches Lalibela

French Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, on Wednesday officially launched renovation works on the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ethiopia.The project is being undertaken with funding and technical support from the French government.  A team of experts from France will head to the site next week to assess…

Source: France renovates Ethiopia World Heritage sites – Journal du Cameroun

Today’s Luxury Escapes Travel Deal: A 10-Day Small-Group Discovery Tour: Ethiopia, Africa’s best-kept Secret. Buy Now & Save 32% on Luxury Escapes Travel Deals.

Source: A 10-Day Small-Group Discovery Tour: Ethiopia, Africa’s best-kept Secret

Dating back to the 12th and 13th Centuries, the churches are designated a World Heritage site.

Source: Exploring the churches carved from rock

Africa is a diverse continent rich in cultural artifacts and history. This continent has a lot of secrets for those who are patient and willing to explore.

Source: Top Ten Sites To Visit While In Africa – Africa.com

The UNESCO site at Lalibela in Ethiopia is to be lit up with green lights this St Patrick’s Day, it was announced today.

Source: Ethiopian UNESCO site to go green for St Patrick’s Day

The much-vaunted rock-hewn churches of Lalibela have lately become the surprising source of protests and local tensions.

Source: Lalibela: Ethiopian holy city mired in protests and controversy

Ethiopia is a beautiful country that is worth visiting without emptying your entire wallet.

Source: How to travel to Ethiopia on a budget | IOL Travel

Addis Ababa October 13/2018. The Rock-hewn Church of Lalibela, a world-renowned UNESCO world heritage site, needs an urgent repair, as the damage to the church is becoming serious. The monuments are severely degraded from water damage as the drainage ditches at the church were filled with earth for several centuries, before being cleared in the 20th century. A temporary shelter was built to protect the monuments from the rains, since erosion due mainly to weathering is damaging the stone surfaces of all the churches.

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The rock churches of Lalibela are among the main attractions of any trip to Ethiopia. The stone monuments of faith belong since 1978 to the Unesco world cultural heritage.

The town looks inconspicuous and dusty. However, visitors will never forget what visitors discover as they wander around: churches made of rust-red tufa, and a labyrinth of tunnels, corridors, rock openings and bridges, all of which have the sole purpose of connecting the ancient houses of worship. It’s pure magic that awaits the stranger.

And at the latest, he will understand the Portuguese priest Francisco Alvarez, who wrote the following sentences at the beginning of the 16th century: “It is enough for me to write further about these monuments, because probably nobody will believe me.”

The miracle of Ethiopia

With these lines he wanted to make known the wonder of Ethiopia in Europe. Recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site in 1978, Labyrinth of Lalibela is still one of the highlights of every trip to Ethiopia. The unique: In Lalibela, the churches were carved out of the rock.

Read more from source: The rock churches of Lalibela in the highlands of Ethiopia

Pilgrims continue to journey to the “New Jersualem,” built in reaction to the Muslim conquest of the Holy Land.

For centuries, Christian pilgrims — and tourists —  have travelled to the mountainous region of northern Ethiopia to visit the 11 spectacular medieval churches carved out of rock.

After Muslim conquests blocked Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land, King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who ruled Ethiopia in the late 12th century and early 13th century, set out to construct a “New Jerusalem,” which remains a pilgrimage site and place of devotion to this day.

Christianity’s roots in Ethiopia go back to the time of the Apostles, who in the first century A.D. set out to spread the Gospel throughout the world. By the 4th century, it was adopted as the state religion during the reign of the ancient Aksumite emperor Ezana.

Source: Ethiopia’s rock-hewn churches are an ancient wonder of the world

Addis Ababa- A restoration program aimed at replacing the temporary shelter of one of the rock-hewn churches of  Lalibela, Bete Golgotha Mikael, will start this month, Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) disclosed.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, ARCCH Cultural Heritage Conservation Director Hailu Zeleke said study of the project had to pass through critical evaluation from all stakeholders before approval.

The study conducted by international companies was followed by the assessment of Addis Ababa University and experts from the Authority.

According to the Director, the restoration is expected to get finalized by the middle of July this same year.

The rehabilitation project experience of  Biete Golgotha Church is a pilot project to restore the other “Wonders of Lalibela,” Hailu revealed.

The U.S Ambassador’s AFCP program and World Monuments Fund cover the conservation cost of Biete Golgotha.

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Negotiation is underway between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and United Nations Education Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) to find lasting solution to the threats facing the Lalilbel’s monolithic Rock-Hewn Churches.

Years ago, a metal roof was erected as temporary solution to protect possible cracks and damages caused by sun slights. But the shelter has not been removed for several years.

Some residents fear that the protective shield could be damaging to the churches, Getu Asefa, UNESCO Cultural Program Officer told The Ethiopian Herald. Negotiation is ongoing between the ministry and UNESCO to put in place other mechanisms that were proved effective in other churches such as Bete Geberael and Bete Rufael.

The metal shelters were meant to shield the churches from winds and sun light and should have been removed earlier as possible collapses may damage the churches.

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With their offers of eternal life, churches can seem like timeless places that are recognizable the world over. Yet people have always shaped their places of worship according to the style of the time and the fashion of their culture.

Churches are as varied as the people who build them—and some of them can seem very strange to most of us. Here are 10 fascinating churches from around the world which may not be like your local parish house of prayer.

10 Sedlec Ossuary

An ossuary is a place used for the storage of bones. It can be as small as a wooden box or as large as a city. In the catacombs beneath Paris, there are the bones of an estimated six million people who died in the city over the centuries.

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President Donald Trump has already made it clear he doesn’t welcome visitors from certain countries to the United States. But how does he feel about United States citizens traveling abroad?

Although Trump hasn’t declared places, such as Iraq, Iran, and Libya off-limits to Americans, the U.S. Department of State does strongly discourage people from traveling to these countries, along with 38 others around the world.

How does a country end up on the travel warnings list? It’s not because of the way the president feels about them. Rather, according to the State Department, they issue a warning because of factors, such as an “unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks.”

Some of the places the U.S. government is concerned about should be avoided for obvious reasons.

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The sacred site is a place of pilgrimage for those in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is said Lalibela churches were built in only 24 years.

The 11 medieval churches hewn from solid, volcanic rock in the heart of Ethiopia were built on the orders of King Lalibela in the 12th century. Lalibela set out to construct a “New Jerusalem” in Africa after Muslims conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Legend has it that the design and layout of the churches mimic those observed by the king in Jerusalem, which he had visited as a youth. Many place names across the town are also said to originate from the king’s memories of the Biblical city.

Christianity has a long and rich tradition in Africa, especially in Ethiopia, where the religion was originally introduced all the way back in the 1st century AD. This makes it one of the first countries in the world to embrace Christianity, alongside Armenia. That is why there are some incredibly old and beautiful churches in Ethiopia as well as other African nations. All of them well worth exploring if you have an interest in religion, culture or architecture.

Here are the 5 Oldest Churches and Monasteries in Africa.

5. Lalibela: Ethiopia, 12th century

The Lalibela church complex in Ethiopia may not be the oldest in Africa, but it is still very old, and probably the best known around the world. Containing 11 churches in all, the site was entered into the UNESCO World Heritage registry back in 1978.

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President Donald Trump has already made it clear that he doesn’t welcome visitors from certain countries to the United States. But how does he feel about United States citizens traveling abroad?

While Trump hasn’t declared places like Iraq, Iran, and Libya off-limits to Americans, the U.S. Department of State does strongly discourage people from traveling to these countries, along with 38 others around the world.

How does a country end up on the travel warnings list? It’s not because of the way the President feels about them. Rather, according to the State Department, they issue a warning because of factors like an “unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks.”

Some of the places the U.S. government is concerned about should be avoided for obvious reasons.

Read more

There’s not much to be said for the views, but underground cities have frequently been used throughout history as wartime shelters, refuges from the elements and sacred spaces. Many even included dedicated infrastructure and their own subterranean schools and churches. From ancient hideouts to Cold War-era bunkers, explore eight astonishing settlements beneath the earth’s surface.

IT’S impossible to see until you’re standing right on top of it, and even then it takes a moment for the significance to register.

The roof is level with the ground, and carved to look like a Greek Orthodox Church. Pilgrims dressed in white gather around, close but not too close. The cross is in the middle of a man-made crater, and there’s a 12-metre drop to the bottom.

The church of St George was carved from solid rock in the 12th century. It’s one of 11 churches near the village of Lalibela, nestled in the hills of northern Ethiopia. The churches are connected by a maze of tunnels, complete with hermit caves and catacombs.

Some refer to it as “New Jerusalem”.

When the original holy city was captured by Muslims in 1187, King Lalibela ordered a second one be built.

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