The churches of Lalibela were not constructed — they were excavated. Each church was created by first carving out a wide trench on all four sides of the rock, then painstakingly chiseling out the interior. The largest church is 40 feet high, and the labor required to complete such a task with only hammers and chisels is astounding. More pictures at link.
To: marshmallow
Wow, those pictures are absolutely amazing.
Stunning
3 posted on
03/03/2011 6:53:57 AM PST by
mel
(I DONATE to FR monthly...Do You?????)
To: marshmallow
Nowhere in the article does it explain why they were built underground. Was it cooler or what?
4 posted on
03/03/2011 6:54:32 AM PST by
bgill
(Kenyan Parliament - how could a man born in Kenya who is not even a native American become the POTUS)
To: marshmallow
This is fascinating...thanks!
5 posted on
03/03/2011 6:58:29 AM PST by
SumProVita
(Cogito, ergo...Sum Pro Vita. (Modified Decartes))
To: marshmallow; fabian
Wow, that is amazing. Thanks for this....never heard of them before.
8 posted on
03/03/2011 7:03:12 AM PST by
abigail2
To: marshmallow
The amount of skill involved in removing the surrounding stone is amazing~
10 posted on
03/03/2011 7:20:10 AM PST by
OpusatFR
To: marshmallow
One of the parishioners at our Greek Orthodox parish is from Lalibela. His wife’s family is from Axum, also mentioned in the article. They are very devout Orthodox people.
They had a baby girl three years ago. They named her Martha, “after Martha Washington because she is an American baby!” You just gotta love these folks!
11 posted on
03/03/2011 7:31:39 AM PST by
Kolokotronis
(Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated)
To: SunkenCiv
To: marshmallow
fascinating. thank you marshmallow
of course “Miss Geography Dolly Cali” had to go to Google Maps to see where in the heck Lalibela was. (I SORT OF KNOW WHERE Ethiopia is in Africa!)
13 posted on
03/03/2011 8:26:02 AM PST by
DollyCali
(Don't tell God how big your storm is... tell your storm how BIG your God is!)
To: marshmallow
Beautiful Catholic/Orthodox Art and Architecture!
Wow!
22 posted on
03/03/2011 4:59:29 PM PST by
Salvation
("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
To: marshmallow
Thank you for osting. The churches are absolutely amazing. A friend's son worked in Ethiopia (publishing a magazine) and they went to visit him a number of years ago. She brought me an Ethiopian cross which remains one of most favorite pieces of jewellry to wear to church. It is silver and I wear it on a fine, long, silver box chain, although traditionally they are worn on a blue cord, or a leather cord, that is given to children at birth. I'm told that no two are alike, but they often share the filigree border. Some have an arch across the top indicating that their sacred nature. Many of them recall Biblical stories. I have several crosses, but my Ethiopian cross is my favorite.
To: marshmallow; SunkenCiv
It’s easy to see why there are no cars in the village. Going to church on Wed. night could be a serious problem with those excavations as speed bumps.
35 posted on
03/04/2011 1:26:34 PM PST by
wildbill
(You're just jealous because the Voices talk only to me.)
To: SeaDragon
43 posted on
03/09/2011 2:50:03 PM PST by
RikaStrom
(Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership.")
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson