Lalibela

Photos taken by Nicole as my phone was stolen ^^

When I volunteered to relocate to Ethiopia, I had a very romantic idea of what I'd find. Challenges, yes, but also coffee (abundantly), flowers (gorgeous), raw fabrics, earth, civilisation...A country grounded in time. I'd be swapping the freedom of my beloved ocean waves for the stern barricades of rolling mountains. I pictured pilgrims clad in white scaling the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, diverse tribes protecting their natural habitat in the lush Omo Valley, groves and groves of coffee bushes. The cradle of humanity, as it was known at the time.

The reality, was of course different. Locked into the chaos of Addis Ababa, my experience of Ethiopia became one of endless work, daily frustrations and anticipation of "when will I travel next". (The coffee is still great and buying a huge bunch of roses is my weekly treat). When my previous colleagues told me they'd completed their tour of service without once visiting Lalibela or any other place in Ethiopia, I wondered what was wrong with them....

Anyway, I've now decided that I'm not leaving Ethiopia unless I've visited as much of it as possible. So when a friend proposed that we go to Lalibela for her birthday trip, I jumped in.

I was worried that Lalibela would be a tourist cliché. I'm sure you've seen images of the churches hewn in the rocks, on every Ethiopia brochure.

In some ways, it was. (After a while, the horde of kids following me shouting "namaste", "Shah Rukh Khan" and "India-India" got old, as did the requests for money).

But in other ways, it was hard not to feel swept away by the grandeur of the place - a testament to the people's faith and devotion.

Ethiopia claims to be the first nation in Africa to adopt Christianity, when the old Kingdom of Axum, which erstwhile stretched all the way from the North of Ethiopia to Eritrea, declared it the state religion in 330AD.

Even as the influence of Islam grew in Africa, intensified by increased trading and excursions and conquests, Ethiopia - "Abyssinia" - prided itself on being a fortress for Christianity.

Ethiopia claims to be the home of important Christian relics, including the fabled Arc of the Covenant. The "Garima Gospels" are believed to be the oldest surviving illustrated Christian manuscripts.

But perhaps the jewel in the crown of its Christian devotion are the carved stone churches of Lalibela, hewn out of the very mountain by devout Ethiopians armed with no bigger technology than their faith.

In the face of the growing influence of Islam in North-East Africa in the 12th century, and as the Somali and Afar tribes in the surrounding lowlands embraced Islam, the Ethiopian rulers of the Zagwe dynasty in the highlands and rocky mountains of Ethiopian decided to consolidate their Christian identity by building a complex of churches - an Abyssinian version of Jerusalem - named Lalibela after the reigning king at the time.

11 churches were literally carved out of the solid rock of the mountains, in the 12th century. Some are small, barely bigger than a smooth cave hollowed out from the rock. Others are perched on top of a cliff, hewn from the side of the mountain. Narrow passageways in the rock and arches and tunnels and bumpy paths connect them. They are all, well and truly, an architectural marvel.

The most iconic is, without doubt, the Beti Giorgis - the "House of St George" - a church in the shape of a cross, carved literally into the rocky ground. Narrow stairs lead you down.

Some churches were pockmarked with bullet holes.

I also attempted, foolishly, the "pathway to hell". A tunnel which is only 32 metres, but the 3-4 minutes which you spend in there feel like forever. 30 seconds in, my mind started playing tricks in the pitch black of the tunnel. I've never prayed so religiously (and I guess this was the intention).

Each church is a wonder on its own and has a particular character; some small, others perched on a precarious hollowed-out cliff. But the walls of their cool, cave-like interiors conceal a fascinating history. How many prayers had they heard? What were the people like, centuries ago? What did they ask for, pray for?

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We woke up the next morning at 6am, eager to catch the sunrise over Lalibela. As this Sunday was meant to be a celebration of Mary, we headed to the Northern cluster, where throngs of worshippers wrapped in their beautiful white gabi shawls milled around the golden pink walls of Beti Maryam.

We heard drumming and singing.

Since we weren't here to pray, I felt like an intruder, so suggested we head back to the hills of Beti Giyorgis.

Here and there, men and women wrapped in white cotton gabi bowed down in prayer. From the depths of the rock, voices rose in a throaty choir. A priest came out of the church, swinging his thurible and casting the wonderful smell of incense over the hill, inviting worshippers in.

After a while, the sun came up over the hill, casting a peaceful golden light over the scene.

It was surreal. The centuries have seen the footfall of thousands of devout Ethiopians, and now we were treading their steps.

Nothing much would have changed between now and almost a millennia ago, when worshippers would navigate the mountains and passages in the rock, to come to experience some closeness with the divine.

Nothing much, except... tourists. Tourists who were being exceptionally rude and entitled, ordering little girls and locals around to fit their photo composition, and defying the local people.

I wonder if, a thousand years from now, Lalibela would remain the same. Knowing what I do of Ethiopia - a country that lives in its own bubble of time - I strongly suspect it will.