The #Rock #Churches of #Lalibela, #Ethiopia: A Wonderful #UNESCO #Heritage #Site, full of #legends Lalibela is a small town located in central Ethiopia at an altitude of 2700 m above sea level It was formerly called #Roha and was one of the capitals of the dynasty that had inherited the empire of #Aksum. The legend of its foundation is centered around the figure of Gebre Mesqel #Lalibela: it is said that a child of a family of royal lineage after birth was surrounded by a swarm of bees and was then baptized with the name of Lalibela, meaning in Agaw language the api recognized the sovereignty . The child, predestined to the throne, was poisoned, but he survived and after coming out of the coma, obeying to the celestial requests when he was between life and death, he devoted himself to the construction of the new #Gerusalemme, imitating the buildings he had seen in #Paradise. The construction of the temple complex was begun in the late twelfth century by King Gadle and after the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslim #Saladino he decided to found a second Jerusalem in his capital Roha, to give #Christians a alternative place of #pilgrimage to the old #Jerusalem. It is widely believed, but not documented, that in the design and construction participated the Knights Templar after their abandonment of Gerusalemme. Another legend connected Lalibela is that it was seat, at least for a period, of the Ark of the Covenant of which the #Templars had custody. In that the time there were 11 rock churches, all carved out of the tufa rock and built without masonry, stone or timber work and they were connected by tunnels. The churches are all denominated Bet (meaning #Home, but also #sanctuary, #temple). They are divided in two groups, separated by an artificial channel that represents the river of #Giordano. Learn more about it on the website of #UNESCO: whc.unesco.org/en/list/18 Follow us on Ecologico Tours
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:20:01 +0000