The coupling of travel and love for adventure being the most fascinating values of human nature have played a very crucial role in shaping our views and knowledge about the world we are living in. They are still contributing to the socioeconomic and political developments we are going through as we have diversified cultures and religions.
Despite the ever-changing civilizations and the fast-technological advancement, which makes people’s travels and adventures easier from time to time, the world still has so much to be explored.
Mankind may have traveled to space and walked on the moon. But information indicates that there are many places and realities that are not yet fully discovered here on earth. Scientists are still trying to explore and discover what mysteries await very deep in the oceans. Some mysterious placed deep inside the oceans or out on the surface of earth remain untouched or with few hypothetical explanations.
Meanwhile, for most ordinary travelers who admire nature or who are affectionate to ancient civilizations and indigenous cultures, there are still more wonders pending visits.
Ethiopia is well known for being the origin of mankind and also for its breath-taking landscapes and intangible cultural and religious heritages. Some even called Ethiopia “a museum of peoples and cultures” with numerous treasures, which include precious examples of endemic, monolithic architecture, visual art and crafts.
It has several UNESCO registered world heritages including one of the most fascinating rock hewn churches of Lalibela. Since many have written about Lalibela Rock Hewn Churches, I would like to introduce an ancient cultural heritage and medieval architectural civilization in Ethiopia, about which much has not been written.
It is a church built in a large northeast-facing cave on the west side of Mount Abune Yoseph, about thousand years ago in the late 11th and early 12th century. Also it is located 12 miles northeast of Lalibela. It was built by a saintly king who was devoted for Orthodox Christianity. Legend has it that the king was led by Archangel Raphael to build a stone sanctuary.
Its construction and the history of the king who built it have been argumentative for different reasons.
Some scholars say that the construction of the Church is undertaken as per the resemblance of the architectural style of Axumite civilization. They refer to commonalities in horizontal pattern of inset beams and projecting stonework, wooden quoins, door- and-window-frames.
According to Munro Hay, an Irish Author who studied and wrote a lot about Ethiopia, the church’s interior decorations make Yimrehana Krestos the most elaborate of all known ancient Ethiopian churches. Mural paintings high on the nave walls are considered the oldest surviving mural paintings in Ethiopia. The cave also contains a second structure north of the church, which tradition describes as a palace or residence of Negus Yemrehana Krestos. But now it serves as a residence and storage space for the local priests, he wrote.
Many tourists and researchers have been visiting the church in the past years. Zara Thiessen, a Swidish Architecte involved in a study project concerning Yemrehaha Krestos describes the church as a three-aisled basilica with a cupola and a tall saddle roof, constructed according to the Aksumite building tradition. It is one of the oldest standing examples of Christian architecture in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mengistu Gobeze Lecturer at Archaeology and Heritage Administration Department of Addis Ababa University argues that the church was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries and this pulls back the periodic calendar of the Zagwe Dynasty and proved that the Dynasty existed from 10th to 13th century.
Mengistu on the other hand argues that stories that has been written relating how the king’s delegations went to Caliph Saladin of Egypt and exchanged gifts does not fit the right time calendar. He says Yemrehana Krestos came to rule in the 1090s and it was scientifically confirmed that Saladin was ruling during the time of King Lalibala.
According to, the Church ages about 1000 years and it is a bridge between the Axumite and Zagwe architectural civilization. “The difference is that the Axumite architectures are built from complete rock and Yemrehana Krestos used a special type of wood and rock. ”
The wood used to build the internal part of the church is called Arze Libanos in Geiz (Old Ethiopian language) and cedar in English. Internal part of the church is decorated with several paintings that comprise of geometrical symbols and figures of different animals that have different biblical concepts. “Most of the paintings may not seem to have religious content but they have deep meaning in the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Their purpose was to transmit religious ideologies with symbolic decors in the church. For instance, there are equilateral triangles that represent or symbolize the divine and equal holy trinities. Some could see circles painted on the walls and may ask what they are meant for. They indicate Alpha and Omega. There are several figures that are purposely painted on the walls to inculcate religion,” said Dr. Mengistu.
The most fascinating part is that the materials used to create the painting colors. Mengistu said they are made out of different precious minerals that valued more than gold and are still rarely found in the present world.
Another unique feature of the church is that its ground is based on water, a lake in the cave. For that reason the building sometimes shows reverberation-like movements, which created cracks on the some parts of the church.
Moreover, this unique architecture aging nearly 100 years stayed for this long because of the quality of its construction materials. “For instance the Arze Libanos wood is not something that could easily burn and attacked by ants. It is very resilient that it remained for a very long time even without changing its color and perfume like odor. It can also maintain itself being somewhat intact by balancing the surrounding weather,” he noted.
Even though the Church has existed for about 100 years with good self-conservation, for its special quality construction materials and the architectural wisdom, certain damages are being witnessed these days.
Mengistu says the wear and tear of time is the main factor. The other reason could be the water that is creating movement on the church. Owing to this reasons, there is a call for according due attention to it not less that the Lalibela Rock Hewn Churches. It begs for a special conservation methods, he suggested.
One way or another the Heritage has still most of its beauties and mysteries. The difficult landscape may be an issue of concern but imagining how the people of that time managed to build such a magnificent Church makes tourist to wonder and travel for it.
The Ethiopian Herald July 14, 2019
BY HENOK TIBEBU
