Lalibela, Ethiopia (ላሊበላ) - Tour of the Incredible Rock Churches!
Lalibela, Ethiopia (ላሊበላ) is home to the incredible rock churches of Lalibela, carved from single blocks of stone. Here's my blog:
When I traveled to Ethiopia, I first stayed in Addis Ababa. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get to Lalibela, a destination I had dreamed of visiting, because I didn't really have the time to take the bus, and I didn't think I could afford the flight. But one day, I decided to drop by the Ethiopian Airlines office in downtown Addis, and they gave me a quote for a roundtrip flight to Lalibela at just over $100. I took it, and I'm so glad I was able to visit this incredible little town.
Lalibela, Ethiopia (ላሊበላ) is one of the most important and holy cities in all of Ethiopia for followers of the Ethiopian orthodox church. Under control of King Lalibela, the goal was to turn the small town into a the second Jerusalem. Building rock churches and setting his holy city up in the same design and layout as that of Jerusalem, the King aimed to make his capital city a spiritual homeland.
The churches of Lalibela are on the list of UNESCO world heritage sites, with 11 of the churches qualifying. When you buy an entrance ticket, you can then tour all 11 of the churches. Many of them are connected and in there are three main clusters of churches. The first and ultimately most important of the churches in Lalibela (and show first in this video) is the Church of Saint George. This is the best preserved and it stands all alone, carved into the giant red stone. When I was there, it was a good morning because there was a small ceremony going on, and lots of local Ethiopian pilgrims had come to pay respect and worship at the church. To get down to the bottom of the church there's only a single entrance, through a trench leading to the bottom.
After walking around the Church of Saint George we proceeded on to the other churches of Lalibela including the House of Golgotha, House of Emanuel, and the House of the Saviour of the World, all of which were incredibly stunning. One of the most amazing aspects of the churches is that they are rock hewn, cut from single blocks of stone, and literally carved out by hand. So the builders had to begin from the roof, carving down until they had the shape of a church, and then start carving the church out to create a structure that could be used. After the construction of the rock churches of Lalibela, they were then decorated and painted with beautiful colors. Seeing the churches is such an impressive site!
If you have the chance to visit Ethiopia, definitely make a point to stop by the rock churches of Lalibela, especially if you enjoy either history or architecture. The attractions are still no overcrowded with foreign tourists, and mostly cater to local Ethiopian pilgrims.
Music in this video is Funky Tribe by Bob Bradley and Pete Lockett
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Ethiopian Food in 500 YEAR OLD Konso Village in Ethiopia - AMAZING AFRICAN CULTURE!
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Due to some unforeseen flight changes in our schedule, we didn’t have much time to explore the Konso Village, but we did have enough time to experience this amazing cultural heritage site, to taste some local food. Visiting the village was a humbling experience, an area of Ethiopia that has been through famine, and to sit down and sample some food from a local family in the village, food they had grown and prepared, was truly special. It is important to remember how fortunate we are to have food on the table.
Konso Village - We began the day in Addis Ababa, where we flew to Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia. After having a quick lunch, some delicious Ethiopian food fish, we drove the bumpy road to Konso. Konso culture and villages are a UNESCO world heritage site, for their preservation of culture and traditions, and it was incredibly special to visit. We toured the village, and I was amazed how advanced their systems were, and their construction.
It was evening and in one of the homes we met a lady who was cooking the family meal for dinner. She was cooking sorghum, moringa leaves, and cassava. It’s not the most flavorful food you’ll taste, but cooked with love, ingredients grown right there, it was a huge honor to share some of their food. It’s a remember of how privileged and fortunate we are to have such abundance.
Thanks to Dessie from Go Addis Tours ( for arranging everything on this trip.
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Early Stone Age in Gona (Ethiopia) PART I
This is the first part the conference delivered by Dr. Michael Rogers, from the Southern Connecticut State University, last 22 of May, at CENIEH, Burgos, about questions and Insights from the Ounda Gona and Busidima Badlands, in Ethiopia.
Human Origin - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Part 9 (Travel Documentary in Urdu Hindi)
The most fascinating part of my trip was to Addis Ababa. In their museum, they have displayed Lucy. Several hundred pieces of bone fossils representing 40 percent of the skeleton of a female of the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis. In Ethiopia, the assembly is also known as Dinkinesh, which means you are marvelous in the Amharic language. Lucy was discovered in 1974 in Africa, near the village Hadar in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia near Addis Ababa.
The Lucy specimen is an early australopithecine and is dated to about 3.2 million years ago. The skeleton presents a small skull akin to that of non-hominin apes, plus evidence of a walking-gait that was bipedal and upright, akin to that of humans (and other hominins); this combination supports the view of human evolution that bipedalism preceded increase in brain size. A 2016 study proposes that Australopithecus afarensis was also to a large extent tree-dwelling, though the extent of this is debated.
Lucy acquired her name from the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles, which was played loudly and repeatedly in the expedition camp all evening after the excavation team's first day of work on the recovery site. After public announcement of the discovery, Lucy captured much public interest, becoming a household name at the time.
Lucy became famous worldwide. Beginning in 2007, the fossil assembly and associated artifacts were exhibited publicly in an extended six-year tour of the United States; the exhibition was called Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia. There was discussion of the risks of damage to the unique fossils, and other museums preferred to display casts of the fossil assembly.The original fossils were returned to Ethiopia in 2013, and subsequent exhibitions have used casts.
Early Stone Age in Gona (Ethiopia) PART II
This is the second part of the conference delivered by Dr. Michael Rogers, from the Southern Connecticut State University, last 22 of May, at CENIEH, Burgos, about questions and Insights from the Ounda Gona and Busidima Badlands, in Ethiopia.
Yoga guru brings message of peace to Ethiopia
Addis Ababa - December 2007
1. Various of Ethiopian politicians in yoga class lead by Neeru Singh, Wife of Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia
2. Various of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar having an audience with a group of people
3. SOUNDBITE :(English) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Guru
Basis of conflict is stress and lack of understanding and this is exactly what we do, that we bring understanding and diffuse the tension. Once the tension is diffused and people are able to understand each other better, other person's point of view, then we are able to resolve the conflicts.
4. Audience applauds
5. Exterior of Indian Embassy Addis Ababa
6. Various of Ethiopian politicians in yoga class lead by Neeru Singh, wife of Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia
7. Various of class participants eating lunch outside
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Neeru Singh, Wife of Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia and teacher of Art of Living courses in Ethiopia
Well, we've managed to touch about 1,500 people which I think is not too bad. We have plans of setting up an Art of Living centre here in Ethiopia - which will be completely Ethiopian, with a board which is completely Ethiopian so even when I leave from Addis, this organisation will continue to grow and thrive and I think now with the people who are here already, who are involved with the Art of Living, we are going to become a much stronger organisation.
9. Set up Rihan Aman, MP for Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (political party in government
10. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Rihan Aman, MP, EPRDF
Before this course, I used to look at members of other political parties in a negative way. Now, since doing these exercises my attitude has changed towards them. As we practise this course together - our relationship changes. We learn about accepting situations and accepting people the way they are.
11. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Derege Hailu, Member of the opposition (Coalition for Unity and Democracy) CUD party
Before I came on this course, I honestly didn't understand the relevance and importance of it. Now I've done it, I understand what the meaning of it is and how the exercises can help. It's very good and interesting for me. I believe that when you want to learn something you have to practice it and you can see the difference when you actually do it.
12. Various of Ethiopian politicians in yoga class lead by Neeru Singh, wife of Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia
13. Exterior Ethiopian Parliament (House of People's Representatives)
14. Various Shankar in Parliament and MPs
15. Various Tekle Tessema, Ethiopian MP
16. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Tekle Tessema, Ethiopian MP
It was my decision to invite Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to Ethiopia - I did his Art of Living course. And everyone who's taken it has changed. We now know how important it is to respect others and how should trust people. Also, we've learned how to build a consensus with opposition politicians. We want to continue this.
17. Various of Ethiopian politicians in yoga class lead by Neeru Singh, wife of Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia
LEAD IN :
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the world-wide 'Art of Living' foundation, is visiting Ethiopia at the request of dozens of the country's parliamentarians.
Shankar's followers are using his techniques to try to end animosity between opposing political parties who've been at odds since a controversial election in 2005.
STORYLINE:
People worldwide are turning to the intensive 'Art of Living' course in order to on lower stress levels and find renewed vigour and clarity through age-old Hindu breathing techniques.
Shankar - who uses the double honorific of Sri Sri so as not to be confused with the Indian sitar maestro - has become a leading light in New Age spirtualism.
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Ethiopian yudi abyssinia restaurant traditional music
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Pentagonal fortress and Town. Medieval Ethiopia recovered.
The surprise find of a medieval fortress just up from Addis Ababa University, A major one, with twelve towers, loopholes, deep and wide trenches, inner structures. In the context of a whole complex town, easily datable to the XV and the very first years of the XVI centuries, as the consequent decline of Ethiopia and occupation by mainly nomadic Oromos exclude any other more recent origin.
Rock hewn churches, steps, palace bases, and a spring cut in the rock. Ornate stones of all sorts, including an unseen feline head protruding an horrible tongue. Paved roads and wall sided alleys, a residence of Royal standing and dozens and dozens of stones structures. A capital city of Abyssinia, re-discovered, after Minilik claimed discovery in 1881. Re-lost and long forgotten, covered in moss and bush. The missing link between the South expansion of Christianity at the slow fall of Axum and the Gondar Castles. The centre of a developed area Europeans respected as the fief of a mythic alley King, Prester John. Is this, then Barara, the quasi mythical Capital of Abassia or Abyssinia known to European medieval trevellers?
Surma Tribe -- Near Kibish, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Seleshe Demessae at POETRY AFRICA 2014
Seleshe Damessae (also known as Sileshi Demissie and Gash Abera Molla) is a multi-talented singer and musician from Ethiopia. He uses a complex vocal styling, sung in Amharic, his native language. He accompanies himself on the krar, a sixstring lyre which dates back to the ancient civilizations of the Nile.
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Seleshe began studying the krar at an early age with his father, and later attended the Yared School of Music. He spent nearly four years studying traditional Ethiopian culture in northern rural areas, and today is highly respected for his knowledge of the vocal and instrumental music of his native land.
He is also a skilled instrument maker who builds and plays a variety of folk instruments such as krars, fiddles, harps and drums. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. He founded the Gashe Abera Molla Association upon returning to Addis Ababa after 20 years as a successful singer in the United States, and decided to address the social and environmental problems that plagued his home city. He set up a new organisation and named it after a character in his songs, Gashe Abera, the old man who takes care of his local community.
Ethiopia celebrates Epiphany with colourful festival
Timkat or the Epiphany is celebrated across Ethiopia, but nowhere in the country is it bigger than in historic Gondar.
Street parades, chanting, dancing and even a splash in icy water are among the highlights of this spectacular Orthodox Christian festival.
It's loud, it's colourful and it's a cultural spectacle like no other.
Once a year in Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians celebrate Timkat, otherwise known as the Epiphany, to symbolise the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.
It's Ethiopia's most holy, and by far its most colourful, religious celebration. Nowhere else is Timkat celebrated more than in the northern city of Gondar.
Timkat celebrations begin as a colourful procession of Tabots; replicas of the Ark of the Covenant. Every year, eleven days after Ethiopian Christmas, the Tabots are carried through the town to The Bath of King Fasilidades.
The Ark of the Covenant is said to date back to the early days of Judaism. The gold covered sacred box is said to represent the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.
Ethiopians believe the real Ark is in Axum, another historically significant Ethiopian town, and in it lays the stones baring the Ten Commandments.
The Tabots are draped in fine cloth and carried on the heads of priests, accompanied by an entourage carrying parasols, crosses and frankincense.
It's a slow, noisy, colourful affair full of chanting, clapping, dancing and drumming.
Assistants lay lengths of carpet in front of the procession only to quickly return the carpet back to the front again once the parade passes.
Eight churches in Gondar take part in Timkat, each with their own Tabot. The various congregations meet in different parts of Gondar town until they all merge into one heaving mass of chanting and dancing.
It's difficult to express my happiness. This is my first time in Gondar and it has been a dream come true. I've seen only ever Gondar in photographs pictures before so I'm really happy to see it in real life, says enthusiastic festivalgoer, Tsegaye Guta.
Worshippers wear traditional white, gauze-like cloth called Netela.
This year Timkat is more special than in other years, because you can see the special way the young people dress and the atmosphere is colourful and amazing, says Fikirte, wearing a modern take on a traditional Ethiopian dress.
The two-kilometre procession from the centre of Gondar to the baths takes an entire afternoon. By that time thousands have joined in.
The baths are said to have been built by King Fasilidades in the 17th century when Gondar was the capital of Ethiopia.
The baths are only filled once a year for Timkat with water from the nearby river Qeha.
The eight priests with Tabots atop of their heads enter a small room above the water where they will spend the night in the UNESCO heritage site. Dedicated worshippers keep an all night vigil.
The action starts again early the next day when people gather before dawn to await the retelling of Jesus' baptism. After some waiting and more chanting, the priests bless the water by dipping crosses in the holy water.
Hundreds of mostly young, male worshippers crowd around the baths and climb the overhanging banyan trees, eager to jump into the holy water on the priest's signal. At least one couldn't hold on. He doesn't have the water to himself for long as the crowds dive in.
Very nice, cold, shivers one swimmer.
Swimmers splash onlookers, providing them with a baptism by proxy. The crowd heaves and crushes under the weight of locals trying to get close to the action.
While the splashing continues in the baths, outside, the Tabots begin the long journey back to their respective churches, travelling one slow length of carpet at a time.
This year Timkat runs from 18th to 20th January 2015.
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Jongleurs of Time - Now in High Quality! (Part 4/5)
As a wallpaper background, religion permeates life of Ethiopians since childhood. Young Mimi has the opportunity to begin a journey accompanied by his brother, Yijeno, a monk living in a monastery near Lalibela. This amazing city treasures eleven churches carved into the rock and the memory of the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the tour, which aims to attend the Maskal party held in Addis Ababa, our players will know Lake Tana, the monumental city of Gondar or Tisisat Falls, while giving testimony to the cultural diversity of a country that has been a crossroads of religions and races.
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Martyrs’ Monument Yekatit 12 Addis Ababa
Martyrs’ Monument (Yekatit 12)
The obelisk (monument) was inaugurated on February 1942 in memory of the citizens of Addis Ababa killed in the Italian Fascist Massacre of February 1937 and it tells the world (and reminds Ethiopians) about the wild acts and genocide of the fascist Italians through Graziani. An attempt on the life of the Fascist Viceroy Graziani, by tow Ethiopians, in February 1937 provoked the Italian to unleash a three-day reign of terror in the course of which thousands of innocent Ethiopian citizens, including aged people, children, and pregnant women were killed in cold blood by bayonets, guns, spades and many of houses burnt down.
The entire horror and terrorist action befallen on the citizens of Addis Ababa is depicted in bas-relief on the 28-Meter of the monument made by two Yugoslavia architects. In addition, the massacre was narrated by bronze letters carved on open-book-like stones on four directions around the obelisk. But unfortunately these letters are today removed away by unknown body and taken forever. Every year, people of Addis Ababa celebrate this day. The monument represents a white obelisk where the scenes of massacre and the funerals of the victims are depicted. This monument is also called the Monument of Martyrs or Sidist Kilo (Six Kilometer), that is, the name of the quarter where the monument is located.
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Ethiopia to expand maternal health care programme
The Ethiopian government says it plans to expand its maternal health care programme. The numbers of children dying under the age of five has dropped in recent years. But ensuring the safety of millions of mothers and children living in isolated villages across the country remains a huge challenge when the government relies on foreign donors for around 50 percent of its health care budget.
Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports from Northern Gondar, Ethiopia.
The Marathon World Record - BAREFOOT! || ABEBE BIKILA - ETHIOPIA
In 1960 and 1964, Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia won both Olympic Marathons, breaking the existing world record at each race. In 1960, Bikila famously ran WITHOUT SHOES as the shoes he had with him were too uncomfortable. Although he was barefoot, Bikila ran a time of 2:15.16, breaking the world record in the marathon by 8 tenths of a second!
Bikila's second world record run, which took place in the 1964 Olympic Marathon, broke the previous world record by almost 2 minutes as it took the record from 2:13.55 to 2:11.12!
Bikila will forever be remembered as the original East African Olympic Icon, and although he tragically passed away at the age of 41, his memory will forever live on.
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Timket harmonica dance 2017 Addis Ababa
Timket ( timkat ) Epiphany 2017 one of the colorful religious celebrations especially by Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( EOTC ) in Addis Ababa Jan Meda. This was Ketera which comes a day before the actual Timket ( baptism ). On this day, orthodox tewahido songs , prayers , and other activities including dances with harmonica music were performed by various groups.
Timket ( timkat ) Epiphany 2017 one of the colorful religious celebrations especially by EThiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( EOTC ) in Addis Ababa Jan Meda. This was Ketera which comes a day before the actual Timket ( baptism ). On this day, orthodox tewahedo songs , prayers , and other activities including dances were performed by various groups.
More explanation of Timket from wikipedia is given below
Timkat (Amharic: ጥምቀት which means baptism) (also spelled Timket, or Timqat) is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 (or 20 on Leap Year), corresponding to the 10th day of Terr following the Ethiopian calendar. Timket celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptism (similar to such reenactments performed by numerous Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land when they visit the Jordan).
During the ceremonies of Timkat, the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, which is present on every Ethiopian altar (somewhat like the Western altar stone), is reverently wrapped in rich cloth and borne in procession on the head of the priest. The Tabot, which is otherwise rarely seen by the laity, represents the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah when he came to the Jordan for baptism. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated near a stream or pool early in the morning (around 2 a.m.). Then the nearby body of water is blessed towards dawn and sprinkled on the participants, some of whom enter the water and immerse themselves, symbolically renewing their baptismal vows. But the festival does not end there; Donald N. Levine describes a typical celebration of the early 1960s:
By noon on Timqat Day a large crowd has assembled at the ritual site, those who went home for a little sleep having returned, and the holy ark is escorted back to its church in colorful procession and festivities. The clergy, bearing robes and umbrellas of many hues, perform rollicking dances and songs; the elders march solemnly with their weapons, attended by middle-ages men singing a long-drawn, low-pitched haaa hooo; and the children run about with sticks and games. Dressed up in their finest, the women chatter excitedly on their one real day of freedom in the year. The young braves leap up and down in spirited dances, tirelessly repeating rhythmic songs. When the holy ark has been safely restored to its dwelling-place, everyone goes home for feasting.
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Advanced Impossible Ruins Found In Ethiopia?
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Narration By Don Moffitt
Ethiopia - Konso Tribe Villages
The Konso tribe lives in Southern Ethiopia. Accompagnied by many children we walk around in two villages surrounded by defensive stone walls and look inside the uniquely designed dwellings. We also see the famous wagas (grave markers) and New York, an eroding plateau that reminds of Bryce Canyon.
The traditional Konso villages are located around Konso. Each village consists of nine compounds, one for each clan. They are separated by wooden fences and the round huts are close together. The huts have entrances where you only get on all fours. The interior is very primitive: an elevation to sit, bare animal skins to sleep, a place for food supplies and a fire place in the middle without a chimney. There is no marriage within the clan and boys do not sleep at home, but in a community house. The village has a few places with generation piles: every eighteen years a new generation of leaders is selected and then new generation piles are set up while the old ones are made smaller (the old piles, not the old leaders). Clan leaders and the Konso king live in great loneliness to be able to speak impartially. Wagas (wooden statues) are erected for deceased warriors, depicting the warrior and his victims (humans and animals). Around the villages are well-made terraces. Groups of men and women work the land with primitive wooden tools. We visit the villages of Machekie and Gesergio. Gesergio is nicknamed New York because it is next to sandstone formations reminiscent of skyscrapers. Local beer is drunk for € 0.08 per gourd.
We visited Ethiopia on our overland trip from the Netherlands to South Africa and South America; see our playlist
The following royalty free background music was used: Laendler in C minor Hess 68 by Kevin MacLeod (
Ethiopian traditional music in yudi abysdinia restaurant
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WASHA MIKAEL, ADDIS ABABA'S FORGOTTEN ROCK TREASURES 2 of 6
ADDIS ABABA'S FORGOTTEN ROCK TREASURES
WASHA MIKAEL
Is located, at Yeka hill, southeast of the Addis Ababa city, through the eucalyptus forests surrounding the capital. Washa Mikael is a rock-hewn church that local historians have dated to the 4th century. The basalt-carved structure has since collapsed leaving mysterious stone remnants of Ethiopia's early Christianity.
The exact age of this rock-hewn church on the outskirts of Addis is somewhat unknown: guide books say that it most likely dates back to the 12th Century, but some priests and locals maintain that it dates back to 3rd Century AD, making it more than 1600 years old.