Beta Maryam

(March 18, 2007: Lalibela, Ethiopia.)

Beta Maryam, the Church of Mary

Opposite the west entrance to Medhane Alem, a tunnel cut into the rock wall leads into a large court containing three churches. Beta Maryam stands in the middle, Beta Masqal to the north and Beta Danagel to the south.

The various windows on the east facade, the cut-out designs, feature different crosses as well as different religious symbols.

Isn't she pretty?

In the courtyard, to the east, by the tunnel-entrance from the court of Medhane Alem, there is this baptistry. It has wide external stairs and two small interior staircases. Dedicated to the Mother Mary, this very deep pool is said to have miraculous properties. It is visited on certain special days by infertile women, the reeds are pushed aside and the women step down to immerse themselves in the water.

Beta Maryam is unique in that it has three exterior porches. They are closed at the sides except at the top where there are open arches. The front is open and has a central column with corbels. There is another column in the middle of the porch. Each porch leads to an entrance to Beta Maryam into the west half of the church, from the north, south and west sides.

Facing west here, we are looking at a passage way with a double entrance across from the west entrance of Beta Maryam. The two openings above are to an area known as the tribune or 'royal box' of Lalibela. It affords views of the western facade of Beta Maryam and the courtyard on this side, and out the other side, views of Lalibela village.

In contrast to the grand simplicity of Medhane Alem, Beta Maryam is highly decorated inside and out. The ceiling and upper walls are covered with frescoes, the columns and arches carved. Above, a carved bas-relief, above the western porch, of St. George fighting the dragon.

Worshipers outside the south entrance to Beta Masqal, some leaning on prayer sticks.

Note here the priest showing us another one of the treasured crosses. The style is very different from the Lalibela-style cross shown us in Medhane Alem (see previous post). Behind the priest is an example of the many holy paintings to be found in the churches, some brought out for display only on special occasions. I like this one for the stylized eyes typical of many sacred paintings in Ethiopia. Note the "afro" hair on some of the characters. (More on the sacred art later.)

Beta Maryam has three aisles, the centre aisle, or nave, much higher than the outer two. At the east end of the centre nave, in front of the Holy of Holies, there is a very tall column that rises right to the centre of the transverse arch. It is always kept veiled. The legend is that the Holy King Lalibela had a vision in which Christ himself leaned against this pillar. Now, it is said, "the past and future of the world" are inscribed upon it. It is called the Pillar of Light because once it was unveiled and a miraculous light flooded the area.

Entoto Mountains

(March 17, 2007: Entoto Mountains, north of Addis Ababa.)

The Entoto Road leads north out of the centre of the city of Addis Ababa, past the American Embassy and the campus of the University of Addis Ababa, to the Entoto Mountains.

These days, since 9/11, much of the beautiful gardens on the grounds of the American Embassy are hidden behind large concrete barriers. The surface of the barriers facing the street have been painted over with colourful murals. It's a sad thing to me, since it seems in my foggy memory of childhood, I think I can remember walking in the gardens of the embassy grounds, something probably very unlikely to be permitted now.

The Entoto Mountains were the site of the Emperor Menelik's former capital. However his wife Empress Taitu, a woman of strong influence, was granted title to some land in the foothills known as Filwoha, or "boiling water", after the hot springs found there. She named the site "Addis Ababa", or "new flower". Soon a settlement grew around the site and as the royal court began to spend more and more time there, the capital was eventually moved to Addis Ababa.

Menelik II (1889-1913) of Shoa, predecessor of the well-known Haile Selassie, was the ruler who, through many conquests, enlarged the Empire to more or less the borders of Ethiopia as it is today.

Ethiopia, unique in Africa, consistently resisted the efforts of European countries to colonize it. While Italy proclaimed its first colony in Eritrea in 1890, claiming a protectorate over the whole of Ethiopia, the humiliating defeat of the Ethiopians at the battle of Adwa, 1896, resulted in fueling a proud Ethiopian resistance to all further foreign influence.

Despite further wars with Italy, and the loss of Eritrea to Italy, Menelik largely succeeded in unifying the country and in maintaining its independence. Under Menelik, some modernization also took place, the building of railways, roads, banks, hospitals and schools.

Below, panaromic views of the city of Addis Ababa from the summit of Entoto Mountains:

I noticed that reddish haze above the skyline throughout Ethiopia. It was suggested that it is a perpetual dust in the air that blows over the mountains into Ethiopia off the Sahara Desert in the west. I find that easy to believe, because on the way to Ethiopia, my plane made a brief stop in Khartoum in a dust-storm the size of which I could not quite believe!

Near the summit, is the Beta Maryam Church (in the photo below), it's octagonal shape typical of the many smaller round churches found all over the countryside in Ethiopia, often on the top of a mountain. (More on religion in Ethiopia later.)

As we enjoyed the panaromic views of Addis Ababa from the summit, the sound of the sing-song chanted prayers carried up the mountain. The afternoon services were being broadcast over loudspeakers.

During my whole trip, in part because it occurred during Lent, but also because religion is a large part of everyday life in Ethiopia (most Ethiopians are Orthodox Christians),we were to hear those chanted prayers again and again and again.

oooooh! Wildlife, spotted catching a bit of warmth in the dying sun of late afternoon. As dusk falls in Ethiopia, temperatures fall quickly.