-Lalibella

J, S, and I chose to fly to our three destinations instead of taking the bus by land. Hey! It's a big country half twice the size of Texas without the paved roads! So to avoid spending 4 of our 8 days just staying on a bus (we spent plenty of time on buses and Tanzania so we were just, "Ehh" to the buses) we flew. First up was Lalibella, home to some very large rock cut churches. These churches were carved into the side of a mountain. It was very impressive. There are actually 11 different churches. Some were carved completely freestanding with four walls and a roof. Some were simple carved rooms into rock walls. We also visited the local market, you know, to compare it with what we were accustomed to in Tanzania. It was not surprisingly very similar. There were a lot more spices though, something Tanzania needs more of. And speaking of spices, the food was wonderful. Ethiopia was fasting from meat during our time there, but we discovered we really liked the various vegetables with the thin, pancake-like bread called njira and a sauce made of mashed yellow lentils (shiro). We found a wonderful little local joint where it was only 6 birr per meal, but we only needed 2 meals for the three of us. Add a 3 birr soda and a 1 birr tea or coffee, and lunch came out to just 8 birr each. But get this - the conversion rate was 10 birr to the dollar! Our hotel was equally cheap at just 40 birr per person (common shower and toilet).

We arrived in Lalibella on a Saturday and had all of Sunday for sight seeing. We started the morning off bright and early before sunrise so that we could catch the Sunday church services. We walked the couple kilometers from our hotel to the rock cut churches listening to the call to prayer (what a nice change from the Muslim call to prayer!). Before the sermon, people seek out priests for blessing which involves kissing and touching ornate gold and silver crosses. During the blessing time there is drumming and singing. Shoes are removed before going into the churches, however it is acceptable to carry them inside and stash them under a bench. Many people kiss the doorstep and/or the doorways. People wear white sheets and wrap them in such a way that the fabric crosses in front of them. During the singing and preaching people are standing or sitting wherever they wish because the service is broadcast over loudspeakers. Priests often use very colorful cloth umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun and rain. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable as he was a deacon before he married.