Sept. 28 -29



Earlier that day, while we were eating lunch at the hotel, we struck up a conversation with a young woman who was in Ethiopia doing volunteer work and she told us about a unique restaurant close by that had incredible views . So, after cleaning up and resting for a while, after our tour of the churches, we headed out to see if we could find Ben Abeba.

We were under the impression that it was just a few blocks from the hotel but, after walking for about a half hour, we must have looked like we were lost as a young man from the village, who spoke fairly good English, stopped and asked if he could help us. We told him we were looking for Ben Abeba restaurant and he offered to take us there which, as it turned out, was a good thing as we never would have found it on our own.

As we walked up the final hill, we caught site of what looked like a bizarre spaceship with stairs winding up to a dining area at the top. The owner of this strange structure is a woman from Scotland, Susan Aitchison, who had gone into partnership with a Lalibelian local to create this very special new restaurant. The fresh food is sourced from the local farmers and supplies a much needed income to the local economy . There are three dining areas on the three levels and she offers both Ethiopian and western dishes as she has been teaching the staff western style cooking and kitchen hygiene. The views were, indeed, spectacular and we decided to just get something light and come back the next night to see the sunset, as the dark of night was quickly approaching. Abey joined us and told us about himself and his family. He had completed several years of study at the University in Addis Ababa and had returned to his village to teach in the local school. He was hoping to save enough to finish his studies and had big plans on how he could help the young people of Ethiopia. He accompanied us back to the hotel and we agreed to meet the next evening at his home, very close to the restaurant, then go back to Ben Abeba to watch the sunset and for dinner.

The next morning, our guide returned to show us the remaining churches which continued to be amazing. The first one we passed by was Bete Gabiel-Rufael (House of the angels Gabriel and Raphael) . Our guide told us that there would be a Feast of St. Gabriel later in the day, with music and chanting and dancing, and that we could watch, after we finished visiting the other churches. As we wound our way through the labyrinth of passageways that connected the churches, it was impossible to imagine that these 11 marvels could even have been completed in a lifetime, let along 20 years.

One of the churches we visited, Bete Aba Libanos, was different from all the rest in that it was partially underground. The church is cut into the hillside with a carved façade on the outside. Probably due to the heavy pressure of the rock on the roof, it has suffered some serious conservation problems. The structure of the church was strengthened in 1968, with the support of the World Monument Fund, by the addition of steel rods in order to tie together the different parts of the church. In addition, molds were applied to the facades to restore the monolithic aspect of the monument . Bete Aba Libanos is dedicated to the Aba Libanos, a 6the century Ethiopian saint, famous for his teaching of monasticism. According to legend, King Lalibela's wife, Meskel Kebra, is buried in Bete Aba Libanos.

After we finished touring the churches we climbed up to Bete Gabriel-Rufael and, as we entered, we felt like we were being transported back in time to witness this ancient Christian ceremony. There were more than a dozen stoic holy men and younger boys, chanting and drumming themselves into a trance while many of the elderly, scarf covered, women prayed in the adjoining chamber. We were mesmerized by these proceedings and were very grateful that we were allowed to take photos and even a few videos.

Afterwards, we wandered back to the hotel, enjoying watching the villagers and the activities going on all around us, as we walked through the dusty streets. Later on, as planned, we met up with Abey and he, proudly, showed us the home where he and his sisters lived… .their parents had passed away several years ago. The house was no more than a mud hut consisting of three very small rooms and, of course, a television. Abey’s room was tiny with no windows and it was a real eye opener to see the conditions that these people lived in and, yet, were seemingly, happy. He proudly showed us all of his books, in particular, his chemistry book that he thought Bill, who is a retired chemistry professor, might enjoy seeing.

By this time, I think Abey had it in his mind that he had adopted us as his new found parents and started calling us his beloved mom and dad. He confided in us that he had been in love with a neighboring village girl and was saving himself for her and was hoping to convince her father that he was worthy of her. He wanted to know if we would be willing to meet her and, of course, touched by his sentiment, we agreed. She was quite lovely and it was so sweet to see how smitten Abey was with her. We took several photos which we e-mailed to him so he could gaze at her any time he wanted.

The sunset, view and dinner were all wonderful as we spent the rest of the evening at Ben Abeba then headed back to the hotel to pack for our departure to Addis Ababa the next morning. Our whole experience in this magical corner of the world had been so fascinating and enlightening and, in addition, we had acquired an adopted son who we have continued to communicate with via e-mail. Who knows, maybe one day we can bring he and his lovely novia to Mexico…..boy would that be a culture shock!!