A people and the stone…

I might find myself going back to Lalibella, Ethiopia. Why? Because people like this…

…are begging to have their story told.

Lalibella is a quiet town in north-central Ethiopia. Kinda hilly and quite remote. The airport is 25km away because it was the only place big enough to have a runway long enough to land a plane. The rest of the land is marked with cliffs and rocks and quickly sloping hills.

But moreso than the little villages and hills, people cover the landscape.

Tending their fields, tending their sheep, just walking to town sometimes 5 hours one way…

But, for some of the images in this post, I think I might need to just shut up and let the photos speak for themselves. But before that, let me set up this place in your mind – just a little context: The attraction of Lalibella is its UNESCO-recognized rock-hewn churches. Okay, what’s a rock-hewn church?

Blam…

Yes, my friends, that sucker is carved out of the solid rock. Everything from the ceiling and the walls and the columns… even the floor we are all standing on outside the church… all carved straight down out of a solid rock hillside.

Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. There’s not just one. There’s a dozen of these things.

All different shapes and sizes. And what’s even more remarkable, they’re still in regular use as Ethiopian Orthodox Churches.

Anyways, I talk too much. Just take a look at the Lalibella I saw… I hope I do them justice.

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Hero shot of the day goes to Colby, I guess. 😛

But anyways, if anyone has any questions about any of the images, I’d be glad to elaborate. I just thought some of these images don’t need me running my mouth trying to tie in transitions and storytelling.

Leave that to the writers.

Stay tuned,
-Noah D.