Lalibela: Ethiopian holy city mired in protests and controversy

Lalibela, Ethiopia - The Ethiopian town of Lalibela is one of the country's most famous and serene settings, beloved by tourists and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians alike for its concentration of rock-hewn churches.

A man and young boy reciting prayers outside the walls of Bet Maryam, one of the larger churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that this was the first church excavated at Lalibela, and today it serves as a particularly poplar shrine with local pilgrims. 'These churches are a place to connect with heaven,' says Kidanemariam Woldegeorgis, an Ethiopian archeologist working with the Lalibela Mission. 'It's their Jerusalem. At Christmas people come from all over Ethiopia to worship here.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

But the usual reverence and spiritual tranquillity pervading this beguiling location, remotely perched at an altitude of 2,630 meters in the Ethiopian Highlands, has lately been disturbed by locals protesting what they see as disregard and neglect of one of the country's most holy institutions.
"They were meant to be renovated after five years, but still nothing has happened," 37-year-old Daniel Fethi, who works as a tourist guide, says of giant protective screens erected 10 years ago by international donors to protect churches from the erosive effects of rain and sunshine.
"People are worried about them damaging the churches. But the most significant problem is the beauty of the churches being hidden. It's a holy place: instead of going to Jerusalem, people come here," Fethi said.
In the early morning light, white-robed worshippers come to offer prayers, petitions and mournful chants at the imposing churches - several are in excess of 10 metres tall - precisely carved and minutely decorated beneath the ground, amid underground galleries and open trenches, passageways and rooms, all of it excavated out of the rock.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978, the cluster of 13 churches are one of Ethiopia's most popular tourist destinations, bringing much-needed revenues and employment opportunities to Lalibela.
Concerns have, however, been raised regarding conservation and management of revenues generated from the monuments, often dubbed as an unofficial eighth wonder of the world.
The role of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which gains revenue from the churches, has come in for criticism.
"It's a bit shocking what they have done," Marie-Laure Derat, who leads an international team researching the origins of the site, says about recent repairs at Bet Mikael and Bet Golgotha churches.
"It’s not restoration, they haven't even used the right colours. The work doesn't look like it will last for long," said Derat, who visited Lalibela last month.

The cluster of 13 medieval rock-hewn churches and chapels in the centre of Lalibela function as a living shrine to King Lalibela, the saint that legend has it excavated the churches with the assistance of angels in the 12th century. Centuries of Ethiopia's weather patterns, including both powerful rainfall and sunshine, have not been kind to the churches. 'Some churches are not as badly eroded because of variations in the stone and having been built at different times,' Kidanemariam says. 'But ultimately all would be better off with a protective screen over them, even with other restoration work done.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

Early in the morning, worshippers gather on the ground above Bet Medhane Alem church to listen to a priest. Ethiopia has one of the world's oldest Christian traditions, stretching back to the 4th century, and is one of the world's most religious countries. Roughly 44 percent of Ethiopia's population belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and about 34 percent are Muslims, with the rest mostly made up of Protestants, Catholics and African animists. Around Lalibela itself, about 99 percent of the population are Orthodox Christian. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

There are about 1,000 priests and deacons at Lalibela who are supported by revenue generated by the churches. A ticket for a foreigner costs $50. Similarly, many of the town's 20,000 population depends on the tourists that come to see the churches and stay and eat in the town's many hotels and restaurants. 'I work with a lot of Israeli tourists who come here,' says 27-year-old Getachew Alehean, a tourist guide who also leads hiking tours in the surrounding mountains. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

'We are admiring it, though the erosion is bad,' says Beliaish Siyum, standing with a friend on the ground overlooking Bet Medhane Alem, reputedly the world's largest rock-hewn monolith, standing up to 11 meters high, and supported by 36 pillars on the inside and another 36 around the outside, covering an area of almost 800 square metres. 'If they can find a way to restore it without the protective roof that would be better.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

Concerns about the giant protective screens centre on worries about them being buffeted by winds or rusting, and the accordant risk of partially or entirely collapsing on a church, or the risk which their great weights pose to tunnels running under churches. During protests people carried placards that read 'Where are you UNESCO?' referring to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that helped coordinate the screens' installation. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

A common sight around the churches is worshippers, regardless of age, dropping to the ground in supplication and touching what they deem holy ground with their head three times in honour of the Holy Trinity. When tourists descend on Lalibela it is easy to forget that the churches are still active Christian shrines whose meaning to Ethiopian Orthodox is of profound importance. 'The government wasn't giving enough attention to the restoration so we mobilised the people,' says Wosafa Asefa, a retired army officer. 'Thousands of people turned out, including people from outside the town.' In October, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made a surprise visit to Lalibela, during which he reassured locals about the churches being better looked after. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

For the past decade, the Lalibela Mission, an international team of specialists, has come to visit the site to better understand its mysterious past. Here the team investigates a large trench running through the church complex that represents the Jordan River, the ancient cross denoting its religious significance. 'We still know next to nothing about how the churches were built and the people that built them,' Kidanemariam says. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

'You have to research the rock and experiment to make sure you get the right colour and consistency, which hasn't happened,' Antonie Garric, a French stonecutter with the Lalibela Mission, says of recent restorations at the Bet Mikael and Bet Golgotha churches. 'The screens are not a problem though, the fears of locals are unfounded. They aren't rusting and aren't going to collapse, and there are no tunnels beneath where they are sited. The problem is that locals have not been kept informed.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

This isolated church dedicated to Saint George and carved in the shape of a symmetrical cruciform tower, standing about 15m in height, is arguably Lalibela's most iconic sight and best photo opportunity, especially as it doesn't have a screen over it yet. 'The color of the new stone and mortar will change over time as they are exposed to the elements and organic growth, and within a few years it will be difficult to tell the difference between old and new,' Stephen Battle, programme director for the World Monuments Fund, says about restoration work at the Bet Mikael and Bet Golgotha churches. 'The purpose of our project is to demonstrate alternative ways of preserving the churches using locally available materials and training local craftspeople, so the shelters can be removed, and we have succeeded in this.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

Recent restoration work is one of a number of concerns the Lalibela Mission team has about how conservation money from the likes of the European Union, which funded the screens, is spent in Lalibela. 'After the screens were built, they found a couple of million euros were left over, so they put it toward building a museum in the town,' Derat says. 'It's a beautiful building, but it's basically empty now. Hardly anything has been done with it.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

Worshippers inside Bet Medhane Alem. Despite deep reverence shown for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and its priests, people have concerns about church authorities not using any of the money generated by the Lalibela churches to pay for their restoration, or to help the local community. 'It's very strange, people find it odd,' says Byan Abbat, a hotel manager. 'But most people won't say anything, as they are afraid to speak out. It's the same situation all over Ethiopia, all the church does is spiritual.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

A worshipper kisses a cross held out by a Lalibela priest. 'We are willing to contribute to restoration, because we recognise our livelihoods depend on the churches,' says Deacon Mekonen Gebremeskal, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's programme and development department at Lalibela. James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

The appeal of the churches transcends all age groups. Old women are helped down steep slippery steps to the churches to pray. Children hurrying to school in the morning stop on the street and bow three times in the direction of a nearby church. 'We already assist the community but are willing to contribute more,' the deacon says. 'We have put money into a micro-bank to offer loans to local businesses, we built an institution for the elderly and disabled, and the ultrasound in the hospital was bought by the Church.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

The churches sustain a thriving cottage industry that caters to both tourists and locals. 'The main thing that needs to happen at Lalibela to protect the churches is to ensure there are trained craftspeople with the correct skills to carry out conservation, not just in the short term but on an ongoing basis, this is why we invested so much time and effort in training a core group of priest-masons at Lalibela,' Battle says. 'With correct supervision, all the churches can be conserved and afterwards the shelters can be removed.' James Jeffrey/Al Jazeera

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