Ethiopia is home to underground churches. These are located in Lalibela. By underground churches we mostly think of churches in attics and basements, in areas where the Christian faith is suppressed. The Ethiopian city of Lalibela is home to truly underground churches. They were carved into the rocks in the early thirteenth century. The roofs of the unusual houses of worship are at ground level. The rock churches, sometimes called the eighth wonder of the world, were commissioned by King Lalibela (1189-1229). He planned to turn the dusty city into a kind of New Jerusalem. According to some stories, he came up with the idea of making a new holy city after visiting the real Jerusalem. Another story reports that the king received a vision in which an angel ordered him to carve the churches out of the rock. Building a new holy place also had a practical reason. Islamic conquests had made Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land very dangerous. A new shrine enabled the faithful to go on pilgrimage anyway. These churches are still used today as evidenced by this golovian praying woman.
During my travels across the various continents I have made many portraits. Street photography and portraits are the things I do then. The countries I visited with my wife are Ethiopia, Mali, South Africa, United States, Canada, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, .. Read more…