Lalibela Ethiopia

  (Bet Giyorgis, Lalibela, Ethiopia, c. 1220)

The Lalibela church.

Religions are elements of many people's lives, that have great power over them. Allowing them to achieve goals and change lives; for those who believe and those who don't. With some religions being 2000 years old and even older. There's no doubt many churches have been build all over the world. One particular church, of the many built around the world, astound people in every way. This church is from Lalibela, Ethiopia; and is called the Bet Giyorgis which translates to "House of Saint George" (www.exploringafrica.com). Not many people may recognize it, but this is one of the most iconic churches in Lalibela; for its breathtakingly awesome and yet strange structure and scenic surroundings. That attracts many for its unusual location. The Bet Giyorgis was a giant granite rock excavated from the ground. This rock is what became the Bet Giyorgis; carved out of one single piece of rock that is 15 feet high. The building has four floors and is one church of the 11 monolith churches.

To enter this monolithic building you need to walk down a 50-meter trench to reach the entrance. 
Once at the base of this structure, you'll find the surrounding rock containing several caves. With the remains of ancient pilgrims, from all around Africa, that vowed to stay for eternity. There are also other interesting objects inside the church. Having a sacred area closed off by curtains, that hold the Tabot, the ark of the convent believed to have brought to Ethiopia by King Lalibela; along with other sacred treasures. The Bet Giyorgis is one great building filled with many interesting things and filled with history in more ways than one.



"Lalibela." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Lalibela-Ethiopia/. 

Hall, Reed. "How OLD Are the Religions?" Religion 101. Beliefnet, Inc, and/or its licensors, October 23, 2012. https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/religion101/2012/10/how-old-are-the-religions.html/.

"Bet Giyorgid, St. George Church at Lalibela. "Exploring Africa, July 31, 2019. https://www.exploring-africa.com/en/ethiopia/lalibela-rock-churches-and-monasteries/bet-giyorgis-st-george-church-lalibela/. 


Comments

  1. Jake, of "Jake Writes a Blog"October 28, 2020 at 8:54 PM

    David, great post, man. I briefly skimmed over this site and, let me tell ya, you did a great job expanding on it. It's so crazy that the Bet Giyorgis was carved out of one single 15 ft tall rock. Can you imagine doing that? Not to mention the trench in order to get to the entrance. I would love to explore the caves surrounding it. They've done so many interesting virtual tours of places like this. I definitely would like to read more about this after reading this post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda GarrettOctober 30, 2020 at 2:14 AM

    Hi David,
    In one of my blog posts, I briefly talked about Ethiopian churches, so your post caught my eye. It is interesting that in order to enter the church, the people had to walk down a 50 meter trench... I wonder why this is? In my research, I found that the churches I talked about were used by only the military, was this the case for you as well?
    Amanda Garrett

    ReplyDelete

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