Ethiopia
Ethiopia is an awesomely beautiful country with a unique heritage of early Christian spirituality whose visible form has left its traces in hundreds of rock carved churches in remote regions of the country. They range from five aisled basilicas cut out of rock to small chapels or hermit's caves. In 1995 I visited the country for the first time soon after the dictator Haile Mariam Mengistu had been overthrown. I walked for two weeks with a guide and a donkey through remote areas of Gheralta in Tigre exploring several of these churches, staying each night in small villages reached by footpaths. There were no roads and no electricity anywhere where we passed through. Later I visited Lalibela during Christmas, Harar, a walled Islamic city in the far east, and the south where the Dorze people live. Everywhere I was greeted with generosity and hospitality, and was touched by the simplicity and devotion of lives whose hardships were borne lightly, with humour and with grace.
Orthodox priests at Abune Yemata rock church, Gheralta, Tigre.
Pilgrim at Lalibela rock church complex during Christmas
Two priests outside the rock Church of Daniel, Gheralta, Tigre
Shepherd boy, Gheralta, Tigre
Amhara pilgrim at Imrehanna Kristos rock church.
Orthodox monk at a monastery, Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Pilgrims at the door of Beta Gabriel-Rafael church, Lalibela
Religious stall, Beta Medhane Alem, Lalibela, Ethiopia
Dorze elders, Chenche, Southern Ethiopia
Mazar, a village girl at Abraha Atsbeha, Tigre.
Oromo woman, Harar market.
Basket shop, Market place, Harar
Street scene, Harar.
Pilgrims on Christmas morning, Lalibela.