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| Day 72, 2011/07/12 |
For those who do not know, Lalibela is famous for its stone churches. Much like the churches of Petra, these churches have been cut out of the solid rock. What posses people todosuch a thing,literally in the middle of nowhere, could have only been as a result of Devine inspiration. I decide direst thing in the morning to visit the churches. The entire town is build on a steep hill so I am forced to negotiate some steep inclines to find the churches. I managed to somehow get into the first church without a ticket however, eventually a security guard discovered me and i was forced to leave to find the ticket office. By this stage, i had seen enough to create my own mind. What was however very interesting to see was the religious intensity of the local inhabitance. They were extremely observant and were very religious. They would kiss the floor, and the pillar when entering an leaving, they did the sign of the cross repetitively, many times. Very interesting to see that,in an area so close to Islamic influence that,these Orthodox Christians have managed to establish such a firm footing. Today also happens to be celebration time, their fasting for thirty days has come to an end and, they are now able to eat meat again. So shame, ido not envy being a chicken or a goat in this village today!
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