Lalibela
Previously known as Roha, this town is named after the king Lalibela
who was born in Roha in the 2nd half of the 12th century, the youngest
son of the royal line of the Zagwe dynasty, which then ruled over much
of northern Ethiopia.
Lalibela was destined for greatness from his earliest days. Not long after his birth his mother found a swarm of bees around his crib and recalling an old belief that the animal world foretold important futures, she cried out: "the bees know that this child will become king". But trials and tribulations followed. The ruling king feared for his throne and tried to have Lalibela murdered and persecution continued for several years culminating in a deadly potion that left the young prince in mortal sleep. During the 3 days of stupor Lalibela was transported by angels to the first, second and third heavens where God told him not to worry but to return to Roha and build churches the likes of which the world had never seen before. And God also told Lalibela how to design the churches, where to build them and how to decorate them. Once he was crowned, he gathered masons, carpenters and tools, set down a scale of wages and purchased the land needed for the building. The churches, as they said, were built with great speed because angels continued the work at night.
All
the churches in Lalibela look as if they were a superhuman creation, in
scale, in workmanship and in concept. Close examination is required to
appreciate the full extent of the achievement because, like medieval mysteries,
much effort has been made to cloak their nature. Some lie almost completely
hidden in deep trenches, while others stand in deep delves and others
still - in open quarried caves.
A complex and bewildering array of tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grottoes and galleries connect them all - a cool, lichen-enshrouded, subterranean world, shaded and damp, silent but for the faint echoes of distant footfalls as priest and deacons go about their timeless business.
4 are completely freestanding, attached only to the surrounding rock by their bases: Bette Medhanealem - the House of the Saviour of the World, Betta Geneta Mariam - the House of Mary, Betta Amanuel - he House of Emmanuel, and Betta Ghiorgis - the House of Saint George. Also their individual dimensions and configuration are extremely different; the churches are all built from great blocks of stone, sculptured to resemble normal buildings and wholly isolated within deep courtyards. Betta Medhanalem is particularly striking. More than 33 meter long by 23 and half meter wide by 11 meter high, it is largest one, surrounded by a colonnade that supports the projecting caves of the low-pitched saddle-backed roof. The interior is equally impressive: it has five aisles with a panel vault and eight bays, which are separated by a forest of 28 massive columns polished for centuries by the pressure apertures in the walls high above. Nearby Beta Mariam is smaller and less classical than Medhanalem but inexplicably also more welcoming. A deep square pool in its courtyard is thought to have miraculous properties. At certain seasons - notably Christmas - woman who cannot conceive dip themselves in its Algae-covered waters. This church, dedicated to the mother of Christ, is 15m long by 11m wide by 10m high. Further away, Beta Amanuel is approached through a tunnel within in a deep and narrow courtyard. The exterior of the church, much praised by art-historians, is extremely elaborate. The walls are carved in courses, alternately recessed and projecting-mimicking the timber and plastered stone layers of traditional Ethiopian architecture. Internally there are 5 bays and a double row of piers separate the nave from the aisles. The naves’ upper walls have a handsome frieze and above this, windows which open into the sanctuary and the lofts over the isles. Beta Ghiorgis, the last of the of the truly monolithic churches of Lalibela, rests a considerable distance from all the others in majestic isolation. Standing more than 12 meters high in the center of a deep, almost well-like pit, externally and internally it resembles a Greek cross.
Lalibela has 7 other rock-hewn edifices which demonstrate various degrees of separation from the surrounding volcanic tuff. Betta Abba Libanos for example, is semi-detached. All its four walls are isolated but the roof merges into the cliff above.
The remaining churches are Betta Golgotta, Betta Quidus Michael, Betta Danagel - house of virgins, Betta Selassie - the house of Trinity, Beta Qeudus Merkerios - house of Saint Merkerios, and Betta Quidus Gabriel-Rufael - house of Gabriel and Saint Rafael. In addition, several other arresting rock-hewn features are not churches. Among them the so-called Tomb of Adam, a huge rectangular block of stone, hollowed out internally, which stands in a deep trench in front of the western face of Beta Golgota.
All in all, the Lalibela monoliths represent the finest flowering of an old art - another example of which may be found throughout highland Ethiopia and the architects were skilled and knowledgeable at a level that does not exist today.
