12/03/2023
LALIBELA; THE 'NEW JERUSALEM' OF ETHIOPIA!
The town of Lalibela is located in northern Ethiopia and contains the highest concentration of rock-hewn churches in the country. A major centre of pilgrimage for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, its twelve churches are among the finest of Ethiopia’s nearly 200 rock-hewn churches. The Lalibela churches take their form and orientation from the geological features of the complex. Scholars generally agree that it was constructed in four or five phases between the 7th and 13th Centuries. Ethiopian tradition, however, ascribes the whole complex to the reign of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (reign 1181–1221). According to the king’s hagiography, Lalibela carved the churches over a period of twenty-four years with the assistance of angels.
The complex is carved into a rocky hill located 2,630 m above sea level at the base of Mount Abuna Yosef. It consists of two groups of churches and a single church divided by the river Yordannos (Jordan). The five churches of the northern group are: Biete Golgotha Mikael, Biete Mariam, Biete Denagel, Biete Maskal, and Biete Medhani Alem. The southern group contains another five churches: Biete Lehem, Biete Gabriel Rafael, Biete Amanuel, and Biete Qeddus Mercoreus. Another church, Biete Ghiorgis (St George Church), stands to the west of the southern group.
A system of pathways links the churches and other ecclesiastical structures, including tombs, catacombs, and storerooms. A system of trenches and tunnels adds a physical dimension to the journey of moving between churches: narrow pathways lead visitors through rock cut paths, allowing pilgrims to symbolically descend into the earth and rise again to heaven.
The geology of the region determined the form of the churches. The bedrock is igneous in nature, with the rocky hill of the church complex primarily composed of volcanic basalt. The churches have been carved from the top down using chisels, axes, and blades. Workers traced the area of the structure on the rock face, then freed the main structure of the church. Finally, the inner form was sculpted as the exterior was refined and ornamented. Unlike built structures, where the last element is at the top, this method of construction leaves the most recently hewn elements at the bottom. To avoid flooding from the water table, the church builders created drainage canals and trenches. The roof of the four monolithic churches slope at the same angle of the rocks from which they were carved, also promoting drainage. Additional water systems filled cisterns and baptismal pools, including the three pools in the courtyard of Biete Mariam.
The churches of Lalibela are square or rectangular in form, with basilical or cruciform plans inside. Except where geological formations forced alterations, the churches follow the local custom of placing a door at the western, northern, and southern sides. Steps lead visitors upward into the churches, lifting them from the carved trenches and pathways. The doors and windows are carved in complex ways, including stele-form, ogival, cruciform, and Aksumite. Both the stele-form and Aksumite-style windows and doors have direct links with the architecture of the earlier Aksumite Kingdom which ruled Ethiopia from the 1st to 8th Century AD.
Rising from a stepped podium, the church of Biete Amanuel embodies this revived sculpted version of Aksumite architecture. The four facades are carved to resemble the earlier Aksumite building technique of layering long horizontal beams with mortar and stones, which created an alternation of recessed and projecting surfaces. The windows and doors appear to be made of wooden beams typical of Aksumite construction, while the central windows mimic the form of the monumental Aksumite stelae.
The floors of the churches are rough hewn, and rise or fall in height to indicate different sacred zones. Pillars support flat ceilings, barrel vaults, and domes. Semi-circular arches dominate interior spaces, reflecting both Aksumite architectural precedents and motifs found in illustrated manuscripts. Many of the churches include blind or open Aksumite windows in the upper choir area.
While the majority of churches have only geometric ornamentation, Biete Golgotha Mikael has bas-reliefs of human figures on its interior walls, and Biete Mariam has an exterior frieze of horsemen, variously interpreted as saints or King Lalibela himself. Biete Mariam retains vividly colored geometric and biblical scenes painted on the carved walls, ceilings, and columns. Nearly all of the churches have moldings and string courses to break their massive forms into smaller segments.
While the Lalibela complex is now considered a creation of “New Jerusalem,”.
The link between Lalibela and Jerusalem may relate to Ethiopia’s historical claim of Solomonic royal descent. Originally a political center called Roha, the city became a religious center renamed for King Lalibela soon after his death. Centuries after its construction, Lalibela is home to a large community of Orthodox priests and nuns. Since the 12th Century, the city has been a continuously occupied site of religious practice and pilgrimage. The focus of various conservation and restoration efforts since the 1960s, the Lalibela churches were added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Isaac tour operator Ethiopian
