Since ancient times, theist societies used to pay religious visit or pilgrimage as an expedition in search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other locations of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into someone’s own beliefs.
For instance, pilgrimage to Jerusalem has attracted millions of pilgrims over thousands of years, owing to its eternal history tied to the religious roots of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. As the same time, The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey.
Apart from its religious significance, these pilgrimages help Israel and Saudi Arabia secure economic benefits and promote their culture taking the religious events in their tourism policy.
Fortunately, various documents show that Ethiopia is also endowed with numerous religious sites such as ancient monasteries, churches, mosques and the likes. But expect few; most of these sites have not been properly promoted for tourism consumption.
Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities and is a center of pilgrimage. 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.
Christmas in Lalibela is an extraordinary experience as the town’s population more than doubles in size in the weeks preceding Lidet (the birth of Jesus Christ). In advance of the three-day celebration, tens of thousands pilgrims gather, camping in the hills around the town and its famous rock-hewn churches.
The other most notable pilgrimage site is the Axum, considered Ethiopia’s Holiest city, lies in the far north of the country near the border with Eritrea. One of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa, it is from the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon and started Ethiopia’s long relationship with Judaism and eventually Christianity as well as the Solomonic Dynasty which ruled until the 1980s.
Today, the city attracts thousands of tourists who come to marvel at the remnants and monuments left behind by her ancient civilizations the most awe-inspiring of which are the 3rd and 4th-century Steles found in several parks around the town.
These stone sculptures that were allegedly pagan tomb stones, are mind-boggling for their sheer size (the biggest, The Great Stele, believed to have fallen and broken during raising, is 33m tall and 520tonnes!), the incredible quality of artistry, and that are made from solid granite, potentially the hardest and most brittle natural stone on earth!.
Other major landmarks include the ruins of the original St Mary of Zion Cathedral believed built by Emperor Ezana in the 4thC, replaced with the old cathedral built by Emperor Fasilides in 1665 and later the new cathedral, built by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1955.
The adjacent Chapel of the Tablet is said to houses the biblical Ark of the Covenant brought by Menelik I. Together, the ruins, the two cathedrals and the Chapel are considered the holiest site in Ethiopia and a place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.
There are also many religious which are not well known. For instance, founded in the 14th Century by St. Betre Mariyam, the Ura Kidane Mihret Monastery and Church with its beautiful murals each depicting a specific biblical story cum teaching is one of the Convent of Mercy complex and arguably the most beautiful and famous of the Zege peninsula monasteries.
Gishen Debre Kerbe, also known as Gishen Maryam, is one of the ancient, most sacred monasteries in Ethiopia. It’s set at an elevation of 3,019m (9,905 ft) above sea level in Ambasel woreda some 80km (50mi) northwest of Dessie, Wollo. The cross-shaped Amba (“flat-topped mount”) Gishen is home to four churches: Gishen Maryma, Orthodox Christians pays a pilgrimage to the place in relation to the finding of the true cross.
Similarly, there are places of pilgrimage for the followers of Islam. Al-Nejashi in the northern part of the Ethiopia and Dire Sheikh Hussein in Bale are the most notable ones. Besides the Spectacular view of Sofumer cave is one of part and parcel of Islamic Sites.
Located in the town of Wukro, 790 kilometers (over 490 miles) north of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Al- Nejashi is said to be the first mosque in Africa. It is named after Nejashi, who hosted companions of the Prophet who escaped persecution in Mecca.
Al-Nejashi mosque holds an important place in Islamic history. This is where the first hesira (migration) took place by the companions of the Prophet following persecution and torture in Mecca.
On orders of the Prophet, they set out on the journey, crossed the Red Sea and reached the Horn of Africa to establish the first Muslim community of Africa. Al-Nejashi welcomed the immigrants and guaranteed them protection.
Theodros Derbew, Tourist Service License Approval and Rating Directorate Director at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism told The Ethiopian Herald that in Ethiopia, religious tourism has not been receiving the proper attention from stakeholders.
Recently, the government has come up with a plan to mobilize its human and material resources to transform the sector, and see pilgrimage as one of the pillars of the tourism industry. The plan is believed to improve the income from religious tourism.
The Ethiopian Herald August 1/2019
BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
