After lunch, we hit up the religious sites in Axum, and it claims to have a very big one. The Ark of the Covenant is (maybe) housed here in a chapel here. Ethiopians call it the Tabot.
So, remember that whole King Solomon and Queen of Sheba story with the water and her getting pregnant? The story continues with their son, Menelik returning to Jerusalem at the age of 22 to meet his father. When he left, Solomon ordered each of his high commissioners to send their eldest son with Menelik. He also ordered each of the twelve tribes of Israel to send 1,000 of their people with him.
As these things are bound to go, it was revealed to Menelik in a dream that he should take the Ark home with him. When Solomon learned of the theft, he was very angry, but of course, then he had a dream that his son should have the Ark and all was well. Good thing they weren't taking malaria pills.
Supposedly, the Ark has remained in Ethiopia ever since, kept in a chapel in the St. Mary of Zion Church complex. There is one caretaker, and he is the only one who can see it. Apparently, when he is close to death, he will have a dream or a vision that dictates who the next caretaker will be. When we were there, we could see that they were constructing a new chapel, directly across from the old, leaky one, and that there are plans to move the Ark. I assume that unless they do it under the cover of darkness, that will be a big day in Ethiopia.
The current St. Mary of Zion church was built by Haile Selassie from 1952-56 and was constructed so that men and women could worship together.
The original St. Mary of Zion was Ethiopia's first church. It was destroyed by either a Muslim leader or a Jewish Queen on a rampage. Go figure.
The oldest church in the compound is in the Gonder style, built by Fasilidas (he of the Palace and the Pool). Only men can go inside (I know!), the women have to wait outside. One guide book says that this is the result of the Queen on a rampage. Maybe they don't trust modern women to not try to destroy it again.
The museum here is classic "developing country" style. Leaky roof, wood and basic glass cases, torn carpet, plain glass windows - all protecting priceless Ethiopian history pieces. Coronation robes, crowns, random gold ceremonial pieces, silver saddles, amazing books and crosses. Kind of a homely setting for such important things.
The three styles of crosses come from different regions or cities of Ethiopia.
The Axum Cross: has four parts to it, symbolizing the four evangelists or gospels.
The Gonder Cross: has three parts to symbolize the trinity.
The Lalibela Cross: has twelve to symbolize the twelve apostles.
They are all very ornate and they sit on the top of the round churches.
The new St. Mary of Zion church is a 20th century take on the Ethiopian Church and to be honest, it is plain in comparison to all the others I've seen here. They do have some amazing paintings, but they are just set against the wall. The stained glass helps a bit, but the church is in need of repair. Broken windows and peeling ceiling paint.
After visiting this compound, we were let loose to shop. The big things for sale here are religious painting, sisterns, crosses, and head rests (these are wooden pillows that the tribes in the South use). I wandered a bit and took a few pictures, then went and waited in the car. Besel came back and sat with me and got his photo album out of the glove compartment.
It was full of pictures of him in the south with various tribal people. He's grinning like crazy in all of them (especially the ones with the topless ladies), with his arms around everyone. In a few he's wearing a t-shirt with "Spelling Bee Winner" across the front. There were also pictures of him and his friends at church, and him with other tour groups. He said one group was
French, and I asked him if he spoke French. He knew about as much I do.
After everyone was done shopping, Gary and Cathy invited me to have a beer with them at a place they'd found the day before. There are pretty much three beers here: Amber, Dashen, and St. George. We had a little table on the sidewalk under an umbrella, it was great to see the herd of goats running down the street, and all the children walking by. As I sat there, I felt a little hand ever so gently caress my shoulder, then my hair, then my other shoulder. A little school girl was passing by, and had just reached out to feel my hair. She turned around a grinned at me and I waved.
At some point, I realized that the umbrella was an advertisement for condoms. Or rather, the wearing of them. Other people at the table thought it was a hot dog advertisement (!) but then they saw it. Our drivers had dropped everyone off for the day, and they had a table near us, so Gary asked one of them to translate for him. He laughed and looked at all the women at the table (by now Sally and Maureen had joined us). But then he said that it meant, use a condom every time. He said, "Many people are sick. AIDS is very bad here."
If you pay attention, this little character is on signs, napkin holders, everywhere. You can play spot the condom.
We walked back to the hotel, and it was beautiful. The sun was going down, and the colors where magnificent. There was a great sign about Seattle. I think that Seattle is Axum's sister city.
While talking with some others, I realized that without the two people who went home early, there is room on the tour South. I asked Claude to check into whether I could stay and change my flight so I could continue on...
Also, the people I work with are completely awesome and told me to go for it if I got the chance. They offered to cover for me without hesitation. Such wonderful, wonderful friends. So we'll see what happens. I don't really have enough supplies or clean clothes to continue, but when else will I have this opportunity? Time to try to seize the moment. It's past due.
So, remember that whole King Solomon and Queen of Sheba story with the water and her getting pregnant? The story continues with their son, Menelik returning to Jerusalem at the age of 22 to meet his father. When he left, Solomon ordered each of his high commissioners to send their eldest son with Menelik. He also ordered each of the twelve tribes of Israel to send 1,000 of their people with him.
As these things are bound to go, it was revealed to Menelik in a dream that he should take the Ark home with him. When Solomon learned of the theft, he was very angry, but of course, then he had a dream that his son should have the Ark and all was well. Good thing they weren't taking malaria pills.
Supposedly, the Ark has remained in Ethiopia ever since, kept in a chapel in the St. Mary of Zion Church complex. There is one caretaker, and he is the only one who can see it. Apparently, when he is close to death, he will have a dream or a vision that dictates who the next caretaker will be. When we were there, we could see that they were constructing a new chapel, directly across from the old, leaky one, and that there are plans to move the Ark. I assume that unless they do it under the cover of darkness, that will be a big day in Ethiopia.
The current St. Mary of Zion church was built by Haile Selassie from 1952-56 and was constructed so that men and women could worship together.
The original St. Mary of Zion was Ethiopia's first church. It was destroyed by either a Muslim leader or a Jewish Queen on a rampage. Go figure.
The oldest church in the compound is in the Gonder style, built by Fasilidas (he of the Palace and the Pool). Only men can go inside (I know!), the women have to wait outside. One guide book says that this is the result of the Queen on a rampage. Maybe they don't trust modern women to not try to destroy it again.
The museum here is classic "developing country" style. Leaky roof, wood and basic glass cases, torn carpet, plain glass windows - all protecting priceless Ethiopian history pieces. Coronation robes, crowns, random gold ceremonial pieces, silver saddles, amazing books and crosses. Kind of a homely setting for such important things.
The three styles of crosses come from different regions or cities of Ethiopia.
The Axum Cross: has four parts to it, symbolizing the four evangelists or gospels.
The Gonder Cross: has three parts to symbolize the trinity.
The Lalibela Cross: has twelve to symbolize the twelve apostles.
They are all very ornate and they sit on the top of the round churches.
The new St. Mary of Zion church is a 20th century take on the Ethiopian Church and to be honest, it is plain in comparison to all the others I've seen here. They do have some amazing paintings, but they are just set against the wall. The stained glass helps a bit, but the church is in need of repair. Broken windows and peeling ceiling paint.
After visiting this compound, we were let loose to shop. The big things for sale here are religious painting, sisterns, crosses, and head rests (these are wooden pillows that the tribes in the South use). I wandered a bit and took a few pictures, then went and waited in the car. Besel came back and sat with me and got his photo album out of the glove compartment.
It was full of pictures of him in the south with various tribal people. He's grinning like crazy in all of them (especially the ones with the topless ladies), with his arms around everyone. In a few he's wearing a t-shirt with "Spelling Bee Winner" across the front. There were also pictures of him and his friends at church, and him with other tour groups. He said one group was
French, and I asked him if he spoke French. He knew about as much I do.
After everyone was done shopping, Gary and Cathy invited me to have a beer with them at a place they'd found the day before. There are pretty much three beers here: Amber, Dashen, and St. George. We had a little table on the sidewalk under an umbrella, it was great to see the herd of goats running down the street, and all the children walking by. As I sat there, I felt a little hand ever so gently caress my shoulder, then my hair, then my other shoulder. A little school girl was passing by, and had just reached out to feel my hair. She turned around a grinned at me and I waved.
At some point, I realized that the umbrella was an advertisement for condoms. Or rather, the wearing of them. Other people at the table thought it was a hot dog advertisement (!) but then they saw it. Our drivers had dropped everyone off for the day, and they had a table near us, so Gary asked one of them to translate for him. He laughed and looked at all the women at the table (by now Sally and Maureen had joined us). But then he said that it meant, use a condom every time. He said, "Many people are sick. AIDS is very bad here."
If you pay attention, this little character is on signs, napkin holders, everywhere. You can play spot the condom.
We walked back to the hotel, and it was beautiful. The sun was going down, and the colors where magnificent. There was a great sign about Seattle. I think that Seattle is Axum's sister city.
While talking with some others, I realized that without the two people who went home early, there is room on the tour South. I asked Claude to check into whether I could stay and change my flight so I could continue on...
Also, the people I work with are completely awesome and told me to go for it if I got the chance. They offered to cover for me without hesitation. Such wonderful, wonderful friends. So we'll see what happens. I don't really have enough supplies or clean clothes to continue, but when else will I have this opportunity? Time to try to seize the moment. It's past due.
I hope things work out for an extension.
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