A little history lesson

Axum

The Chapel of the Tablets

What an amazing place! Here are some facts I learned about Axum

1. This was the first major empire to convert to Christianity around 330 AD!

2. It is the alleged rest place of the Ark of the Covenant

St. Mary of Zion claims to contain the original Ark of the Covenant. According to tradition, the Ark came to Ethiopia with Menelik I after visiting his father King Solomon. Only the guardian monk may view the Ark, in accordance with the Bible accounts of the dangers of doing so for non-Kohanim. This lack of accessibility, and questions about the account as a whole, has led foreign scholars to express doubt about the veracity of the claim. The guardian monk is appointed for life by his predecessor before the predecessor dies. If the incumbent guardian dies without naming a successor, then the monks of the monastery hold an election to select the new guardian. The guardian then is confined to the chapel of the Ark of the Covenant for the rest of his life, praying before it and offering incense. Agreeing with ancient sources about a magnificent light emitted from the Ark, the History Channel in a 2008 special claimed that many of the guardian monks have died in short time, mostly with cataracts having formed in their eyes.

In the 1950s the Emperor Haile Selassie built a new modern Cathedral next to the old Cathedral of Our Lady Mary of Zion that was open to both men and women. The old church remains accessible only to men.
Reportedly, the Ark was moved to the Chapel of the Tablet adjacent to the old church because a divine 'heat' from the Tablets had cracked the stones of its previous sanctum. Emperor Haile Selassie's wife, Empress Menen paid for the construction of the new chapel. It remains a significant center of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

Little do they know that the Ark of the Covenant because of Raiders of Lost Ark and Harrison Ford it is housed in one of the many warehouses by the US government in Washington DC

3. The ruins of the Queen of Sheba palace is here originally built in 1000 BC

4. 1700 years ago Obelisks were constructed.
Without doubt, Aksum's most impressive remains are the royal tombs and their fabulous markers, the 'stelae' or obelisks. Even the plain examples are impressive, cut from hard local granite. But truly staggering is a series of six carved examples. These seem to depict the dead rulers' palaces---their tombs lay beneath, and it was our good fortune to be the discoverers of this underground world. The stelae---or so we may conjecture---were the stairways to heaven for the kings of Aksum. At the base are granite plates with carved wine-cups for offerings to the spirit of the deceased. The largest stela is certainly among the biggest single stones ever quarried by human labour. It testifies to the magnificent self-esteem of the unknown ruler who had it extracted and dragged several kilometres to its final site, and to the skill and artistry of those who prepared and decorated it. Over thirty-three metres tall, the stele represents a thirteen storey tower, with elaborate window-tracery, frames, lintels, beam-ends, even a door with a bolt.

Coptic Church

Bike shop --notice plastic chair attached to bike!

EASTER IN AFRICA

HAPPY EASTER FROM AFRICA

EASTER IN AFRICA IS QUITE DIFFERENT HERE!

FRIDAY WAS A DAY OFF OF WORK - EVEN THOUGH IT IS GOOD FRIDAY IT WAS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY AND MONDAY IS ALSO A NATIONAL HOLIDAY IT IS CALLED EASTER MONDAY. WE HAVE A LOT OF JEWISH PEOPLE HERE SO THEY ARE CELEBRATING PASSOVER. ALL STORES ARE CLOSED ON FRI. AND MON. BUT ARE OPEN ON SAT. AND SUN.

THEY ALSO HAVE AN EASTER PARADE AND CELEBRATION OVER THE 4 DAY WEEKEND

THIS IS ALSO NOT WHAT YOU THINK--IT IS A CRICKET TOURNAMENT WITH THE PLAYERS PARADED AROUND THE FIELDS.

THEY DO HAVE EASTER EGG HUNTS--BUT THOSE ARE DONE ON EASTER MONDAY.

NOT MUCH IS SAID ABOUT THE REAL MEANING OF EASTER AND THE DEATH AND RESURECTION OF JESUS CHRIST .

WE HOPE YOU HAVE A GLORIOUS EASTER AND REMEMBER THE TRUE MEANING OF THIS SEASON

Ethiopia--Lalibela

I know I haven't posted in 5 months--the only excuses are:

1. Blog challenged

2.Really busy taking care of missionaries

3. Lazy

4. Making jewelry from African trader beads

We recently took a trip to Ethiopia with President and Sister Christensen. What an amazing country. The above pictures are of the Coptic churches that are carved right out of the mountains or out of caves. In this small area there where 8 churches. Each had a different purpose-- One for men only, one for baptism by immersion in a font, one for women , another for singing and chanting, and one for its healing waters that drip from the rocks into pools. It took these people approximately 40 years to chiseled the churches out of the rocks. It is amazing the intricate work that was done with a chisels. We had to climb up the hills and then walk down narrow tunnels to get to each of the churches. This was done so they could protect the churches from invaders. There is some speculation that these were built by the Templar Knights looking for the Ark and Covenant. Some of these churches are 3 stories tall. The insides were intricately carved with multiple arches, painted beautifully murals with handwoven tapestries hanging inside. The churches still hold services here daily. We got up early one morning hiked up to one of the churches to attend one of their services. The religion they practice is a form of early Christianity that is called Coptic. They still use the ancient language of Gee. Each church has a "Holy of Holies" area with a replica of the Ark and Covenant . Of course we were not allowed in there!

Lalibela is a world heritage site. It is very remote and after flying in a small plane to a landing

strip, we then took a van up a winding road for a hour to Lilabela. Lilabela only gets 20,000 visitors a year compared to 3,000 visitors a day to Petra in Jordan--made famous by Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are two "hotels" and only one restaurant in town. I use the word restaurant loosely--thank heavens for granola bars! The "hotel" we stayed at claim to fame was Bill and Chelsea Clinton stayed there! We got to stay in the same room. Which is not saying much as there was only 8 rooms at our hotel.