BY STAFF REPORTER
Gishen Mariam DebreKerbe Monastery, located 483 kilometers north of Addis Ababa in Ambassel Woreda, North Wollo Zone of the Amhara State, is one of the oldest, most scared; and top pilgrimage sites in Ethiopia. The Monastery, which was built on the cross-shaped plateau in the 5th century by King Kaleb, is also the place where the original True Cross, on which Jesus was crucified, is buried underneath the church.
According to documents, Empress Helena burned incense and prayed for assistance to guide and indicate her to the direction where the Cross on which Jesus was crucified was hidden by the Jews. The smoke then led her towards the direction of the buried Cross. She dug and unearthed three crosses of which one of them was the True Cross used to crucify Jesus Christ. Empress Helena then gave a piece of the True Cross to all churches. This piece was then brought to Gishen DebreKerbe, Ethiopia.
For this reason, the Gishen DebreKerbe Monastery is one of the most sacred churches in the country that holds a voluminous book which records the story of the True Cross of Christ and how it was acquired.
Therefore, every year, devotees of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church from every corner, religious leaders, officials, domestic and foreign tourists from home and abroad, flock to Gishen Mariam DebreKerbe Monastery to celebrate the Gishen Mariam Festival.
Recently, as the Amhara State Culture and Tourism Bureau reported, the annual festival of St. Mary was celebrated colorfully and warmly in the presence of millions of people coming from all over the country, and even across the world.
In fact, in the past two years, the festival was not marked with large gatherings as before owing to the security challenges occurring in the State. However, last Saturday, on Meskerem 21 (October 1, 2022), the annual celebration of St. Mary was celebrated warmly and ecstatically in the presence of over a million domestic and foreign pilgrims inflowing to the sacred place. Those who were aspiring for long to see the place; but unable to do so in the past two years due to the problem, have had the chance to attend the festival and witness the mind-blowing religious and cultural sacraments.
Attending the festival of Meskel and St. Mary Holiday, Amhara State Culture and Tourism Bureau Head Tahir Mohammed said that the Meskel (The Finding of the True Cross) and the Geshen Mariam festivals are among the other annual rites that are celebrated in the State. Celebrating the Meskel-Demera rite which is one of the intangible heritages of Ethiopia inscribed by the UNESCO in the cross shaped Geshen DebreKerbe will create special vibe to the day.
Gishen DebreKerbe, in addition to its religious importance, is a place graced with the most captivating and intriguing landscape in the world. Its rough terrain and rocky steep landscape coupled with its historic, cultural, and natural blessings make the State preferable tourist destination. On top of its religious values, the site can grab the attention of global visitors because it is the best destination that embraces nature with religious and cultural attractions.
Unfortunately, absences of well-developed infrastructure, limitation in promoting the heritages and other challenges have hindered the community from benefitting the resources. However, currently the State is working aggressively to benefit the community through studying, identifying, developing and promoting the heritages. As part of this effort, it is planned to expand and improve the quality of infrastructure that are critical for tourism development to extend visitors’ stay at the place.
What is more, in addition to preparing the mountain master plan, more work will be carried out in order to make Gishen DebreKerbea convenient, all year round tourist destination, instead of being a seasonal pilgrimage site in which visitors visit it once or twice a year only to celebrate a holiday.
South Wollo Zone Chief Administrator Abdu Hussien on his part said that Wollo, apart from being land of peace, love and tolerance, it is a place blessed with numerous tourist attractions. As to him, various activities are ongoing jointly to develop the heritages and benefit the local community.
“We should work in coordination to make the State a tourist destination by developing and promoting tourist attractions in the area,” he remarked.
Mentioning that the festivity of St. Mary holiday was observed peacefully and warmly in a manner preserving its religious values and practices for the reason that the surrounding area is peaceful, he urged the community to work in unison and safeguard the peace at all times. He also underscored the need to work in coordination regarding promoting and developing the State’s tourist potential to make it top tourist destinations.
Among the pilgrims taking part in the festival, Berhanu Yilma, who came from Debre Berhan Town, is the one. As he stated to local media, he is happy to witness the peaceful conclusion of the festival in a manner maintaining its religious tenacity.
Underlining the importance of creating a conducive and comfortable environment for the people visiting the area, he expressed his readiness to play his part in the effort.
Needless to say nowadays visiting sacred religious sites such as mosques, churches and the like for religious purposes has become a common trend that yields significant returns for hosting counties.
According to UNWTO, (2014) religious tourism is one of the most promising areas of tourism in the 21st century and can become the largest source of income and make a significant contribution to economic development.
Unquestionably, Gishen DebreKerbe Monastery and its vicinity have inimitable religious potentials that can draw millions of domestic and overseas visitors.
Due to this, developing tourist facilities and promoting the available heritages of the State can have substantial contributions to earn foreign exchange aside from improving the livelihoods of the surrounding community through creating job opportunities and enabling them to gain their own income.
To this effect, the active participation of the State’s Culture and Tourism Bureau, the Monastery, local community, the government as well as tourism stakeholders is of greater importance.
The Ethiopian Herald 9 October 2022
