LALIBELA CHURCHES by Alejandra Garcia by Marie-Alphonse Liwata

Marie-Alphonse Liwata School of Architecture Tampere University of Technology

LALIBELA CHURCHES

AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING

Alejandra Garcia Domínguez Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid

INDEX… 1.

ETHIOPIA AS A COUNTRY…………………………………………………...3

CHRISTIANITY IN ETHIOPIA. RELIGION…………………………………….6

LALIBELA. NEW JERUSALEM…………………………………………………7

ANALYSIS OF ROCK-HEWN CHURCHES…………………………………10

ROCK-HEWN CHURCHES NOWADAYS………………………………….34

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: LIGHTING AND EXCAVATING………...37

RELIGIOUS SPACES IN ARCHITECTURE. NEW PROPOSAL……………..46

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………50

1. ETHIOPIA AS A COUNTRY… Ethiopia is a country geography located in one of the most conflictive places of the planet. In the Horn of Africa, it is bordered by Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, and Kenya, countries in which war and instability are a constant threat. It is the second-most populated nation on the African continent. Ethiopia is one of the oldest locations of human life to known to scientists and is widely considered the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East. Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Area: 1.127.127 km² Capital: Addis Abeba (3.941.452 hab.) Another cities: Dire Dawa (432.725 hab.), Adama (279.317 hab.), Dese, Gondar (209.471 hab.), Mekele (190.473 hab), Dese (175.002 hab.), Bahar Dar (174.925 hab.). Official languages: Amharic. Currency: Birr. Religion: Islam and Ethiopian Orthodox are majorities but also traditional faith, hebrew, catholicism and protestantism coexist. GEOGRAPHY Since Eritrea’s independence, in April 1993 it is the most populous landlocked country in the world. Within Ethiopia is a vast highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and it is surrounded by lowlands, steppes, or semi-dessert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns. Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from deserts, forests, lakes and even the Blue Nile. The predominant climate type is tropical monsoon, with wide topographic-induced variation. The Ethiopian highlands cover most of the country and have a climate which is generally considerably cooler than other regions at similar proximity to the Equator. DEMOGRAPHICS Ethiopia is a multilingual society with around 80 ethnic groups, and according to the Ethiopian national census of 2007, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, at 34.4% of the nation’s population while the Amhara represent 27.0% of the country’s inhabitants. In 2009, Ethipia hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 135. 200. Population density: 75,17 hab./ km² Income per capita: 390 american dollars. (Mundial bank, 2010). Illiteracy rate: 70%. Birth rate: 42.49 (CIA World Factbook).

Life expectancy (2011): 59.3 (PNUD, IDH 2011)

GOVERNMENT Ethiopia is a Federal Democratic Republic based in 1994 constitution. Thus, its government is structures in the form of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government (chosen by the Parliament). The president of the republic is the head of the state. Government is in charge of the executive power while legislative one is vested in the Parliament. The Judiciary is more or less independent of the executive ad the legislature. There are 9 ethnically based administrative regions and two self-governing administrations; the capital city Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. By the 3rd century, the Kingdom of Axum was one of the great world powers alongside Rome, Persia, China and India and it was also the first major empire in the world to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion. ECONOMY The Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the state and the peopleâ&#x20AC;?, but citizens may lease land, and are unable to

mortgage or sell. Renting of land for a maximun of twenty years is allowed and this is expected to ensure that land goes to the most productive user. Agriculture accounts for almost 48% of the gross domestic product (GDP), industry 14% and services 38%. Many other activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, procession and export agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly by small-scale farmers and enterprises and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector (coffee, pulses, oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane and vegetables. Ethiopia is Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second biggest maize producer.

2. CHRISTIANITY IN ETHIOPIA. RELIGION… Ethiopia can be identified by its religious pluralism. Christians, as majority group, make up 56’6% of the country’s population (37’5% Ethiopian Orthodox, 18’4% Protestant and 0’7% Catholic). On the other hand, Muslims 34’7%, practitioners of traditional faith such us animism 8’4% and 0’3% left for other religions. Thus, Ethiopian orthodox Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia, that account more than 28.489.393 devoted and a total of 45 million if we count devoted from over the world. However, last August his patriarch, Abune Paulos, died and has no successor yet. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or Tabot, in Axum, not far from the border with Eritrea. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Chuch of Our Lady Mary of Zion and is used occasionally in ritual processions. Replicas of the Axum tabot are kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint. As all we all know, the Ark of the Covenant, aslo known as the Ark of Testimony, is a chest described in the Book of Exodus as containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. At the time of King Solomon, the Ark contained only the two Tablets of the Law. The Kebra Nagast, a text composed to legitimise the new dynasty ruling Ethiopia following its establishment in 1270, narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the Kebra Nagast is the best-known account of this belief, the belief predates the document. Abu alMakarim, writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark. “The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant”, he wrote and, after a description of the object, he describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year. On 25th June 2009, the patriarch Abune Paulos, said he would announce to the world the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, which he said had been kept safe and secure in a church in Axum, Ethiopia. The following day, he announced that he would not unveil the Ark after all, but that instead he could attest to its current status. Because of this fact, Axum became a sacred place for Christians, “new Jerusalem”. Some of the Ethiopian’s Christianity costums that we can mention: -

Holy hill in Axum or “Sión” where the Tablets of Law are contained. Also replicas of tabot are kept in every Ethiopian church. Sabbath. Circumcision. Distinction between pure meat, diets prescribed by law, abstinence, fasting… Put shoes off when going inside a church.

3. LALIBELA: NEW JERUSALEM… The village of Lalibela, which surrounds the churches, lies in Lasta Region, about mid-way between the capital Addis Ababa, and the next largest Ethiopian city, Asmara. It is far off the main highway connecting these two cities, and isolated high in the rocky hills at an altitude of 8.600 feet. Until a few years ago it could be reached only by a four-day, bone-jarring ride by muleback across 85 miles of rugged terrain. Today one can land a few miles from the center on an airstrip served by Ethiopian Airlines, and complete the journey by Landrover jeep. It is a small town located in North Wollo Zone of the Amhara regional state at 2.500 meter above the sea level, considered one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities, second only to Axum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. It was previously known as Roha, is named after King Lalibela. It had remained the capital of Ethiopia from the late 12th century and into the 13th century. Lalibela was a member of the Zagwe dynasty, which had seized the Ethiopian throne around 1000 AD. When his rivals began to increase in power, Lalibela sought the support of the powerful Ethiopian Orthodox Church by building the churches in this small town. King Lalibela’s goal was to create a New Jerusalem for those could not make a pilgrimate to the Holy Land (an to create a sacred city to rival powerful Axum, with its Ark of the Covenant). According to some reports, he had been to the Holy Land himself and was inspired of what he saw there. But the king made no attempt to copy the churches of the Holy Land; in fact, Lalibela’s sacred architecture could not be more unique. King Lalibela’s project for gaining the church’s favour had two unexpected results: 1. Creation of a holy place of unparalleled beauty. 2. King’s conversion to a religious life. After labouring for 20 years, he abdicated his throne to become a hermit, living in a cave and eating only roots and vegetables. To this day, Ethiopian Christians regard King Lalibela as one of their greatest saints. As such, many features have Biblical names, even the town’s river is known as the River Jordan. The town of Lalibela is surrounded by a rocky and dry area and is home to one of the world’s most astounding sacred sites: eleven rock-hewn churches, each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at ground level. Were it not for these extraordinary churches, Lalibela would almost certainly be well off the tourist radar. A dusty rural town nestled into rolling countryside, Lalibela only recently received electricity. It has few motorized

vehicles, no gas stations and no paved streets. Isolated from the modern world, the town goes about its business much as it has for several hundred years. Of Lalibelaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 8.000-10.000 people, over 1.000 are priest. Religious ritual is central to the life of the town, with regular processions, extensive fasts, crowds of people singing and dancing priest. This, combined with its extraordinary religious architecture and simplicity of life, gives the city of Lalibela a distinctively timeless, almost biblical atmosphere. The churches have been in continuous use since they were built in the 12th century. The first Europeans to see these extraordinary holy sites were Portuguese explorers in the 1520s, one of whom noted in his journal that the sights were so fantastic, he expected readers of his descriptions would accuse him of lying.

4. ANALYSIS OF ROCK-HEWN CHURCHES… The rural town, Lalibela, is known across the world for its monolithic churches, which play an important part in the history of rock-cut architecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of King Lalibela during the 12th and 13th centuries. The churches of Lalibela were not constructed, they were excavated, They were hewn out of the solid, red volcanic tuff on which they stand. As a result, they seem to be superhuman creation, in scale, in workmanship and in concept. Some lie almost completely hidden in deep trenches, while others stand in open quarried caves. A complex and bewildering labyrinth of tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grottoes and galleries connects them all. Out of the 11 rock hewn churches, 4 are completely free-standing, they attached only to the surrounding rock by their bases. Although their individual dimensions and configurations are extremely different, the churches are built from great blocks of stone, sculptured to resemble normal buildings and wholly isolated within deep courtyards. The represent, as one authority has put it, the ultimate in rock-church design. However, once the thriving and populous capital city of a medieval dynasty, the passing centuries have reduced Lalibela to a village. From the road below, it remains little more than invisible against a horizon dominated by the 4.200 meters peak of Mount Abuna Joseph. Popular legend has it that the angels came every night to pick up where the workmen had let off. One of the churches, Bet Maryam, contains a stone pillar on which King Lalibela wrote the secrets of the building’s construction. It is covered with old cloths and only the priests may look on it.

THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR MONUMENTS “The international Fund For Monuments, Inc. is a private organization whose program is based upon the concept that the world’s great artistic, historic and archaeological monuments are part of the cultural heritage of all mankind, ant that the preservation of these treasures is an international responsibility. The International Fund was formed on March 15, 1964 by a group of individuals who recognized the need, long expressed by UNESCO, for an organization to assist in the costs of preserving monuments in those countries which lack the financial means of doing so alone. Our programme has so far been supported by contributions from individuals in sympathy with the aims of the organization. We also use, where possible, locally-held funds generated by the sale of U.S. agricultural surpluses, in a seeding process which preserves the monument for posterity, and at the

same time stimulated the flow of tourist dollars into the economy of the host country. The project in Lalibela is a splendid example of this arrangement. It is a joint effort involving close collaboration with the Imperial Ethiopian Government on a fund-matching basis. The International Fund engaged and paid the technical staff and provided the hard currency for the purchase of machinery and equipment. The Ethiopian Government, utilizing Counterpart Funds, paid the local workers and supplied the local currency for the purchase of materials and supplies.”1 The extraordinary architecture and engineering of the Coptic Christian churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia and their remarkable history as the nucleus of the “New Jerusalem” place them amongst the world’s great cultural monuments and religious shrines. The slow but steady disintegration of these monolithic churches, each of which was sculpture in one piece down into the mountain about 800 years ago, represents a great loss to mankind. The International Fund’s concern about the churches dates back to 1965 and a letter written by His Imperial Highness Merid Asfa Wossen, Crown Prince of this ancient Christian kingdom, Ethiopia, to Professor John. O. Brew, Chariman of UNESCO’s Committee on Monuments (and Trutee of the Fund) asking for financial and technical assistance for their restoration and preservation.

Dr. Edmundo Lassalle, Vice Chariman of this organization, visited Ethiopia in the fall of 1965 to confer with the Crown Prince and with U.S Ambassador Edward M. Korry. Out of these consulations came an agreements in principal to 1

Charles M.Grace. Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 11

U.S. “Counterpart Funds” in Ethiopian currency to finance half of the costs of the preservation work, and the formation of the “Committee for the Restoration and Preservation of the Churches of Lalibela” as the legal entity with which the International Fund might collaborate. In the spring of 1966 the Fund’s Executive Director, James A.Gray flew to Addis Abeba to consult with the Committee’ Chariman, Her Highness Princess Ruth Desta, granddaughter of His Imperal Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie. On the recommendation of Profesor Piero Gazzola, an Italian expert on the salvage of antiquities and another Trustee of the Fund, the Executive Director engaged Dr. Sandro Angelini, an architect specialized in monument restoration and conduct a survey and draw up a cost estimate of the Lalibela project. The survey was completed in July 1966, and when it was subsequently approved by the Ethiopian Committee and the International Fund, Dr. Angelini was authorized to proceed with the work. He recruited a tem of five technicians, all from Bergamo, and took the to Lalibela. Actual work began on December 19, 1966 and was halted on March 31, 1966 well in advance of the rainy season which renders the area inaccessible. Basically, the Ethiopian committed utilized U.S. Counterpart Funds to pay for the transportation and board of the European staff and wages of the Ethiopian workers, technicians and purchased to bulk of the heavy equipment and supplies, most of which were brought in from abroad. With the completion of Phase I, the International Fund must express its gratitude to Princess Ruth Desta for her deep dedication and unflagging interest in the project; to Ambassador Edward M. Korry for his encouragement and valued counsel. To Dr. Sandro Angelini and his hard-working team goes our highest commendation for their superb performance in the face of many difficulties. Grateful thanks are extended to the American contributors, who prefer to remain anonymous, but whose generosity made the project possible. We hope that we may count on their continued interest and that of others in the completion of final phase to save these treasures, which are in daily use, as they have been over the centuries.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES The exact origin of the eleven churches of Lalibela is shrouded in the mists of time. They may have been created over a long period of time by successive regimes, but an Ethiopian legend has it that they were produced during 23 years by Emperor Lalibela of the Zague dynasty, which ruled the country in the 12th Century. There is evidence that Copt craftsmen from Egypt or Jerusalem did the main “construction” work and that Indian artisans may have decorated the interiors. Some think that the churches may have been inspired as the result of a visit of the Queen Sheba to Jerusalem about 1000 B.C., but it is more widely believed that they were dug out to form a new Jerusalem after the Moslem conquests halted the Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Some substantiation for this theory is found in the place names such us: River Jordan and Mount Tabor (in Lalibela) and Bethlehem and other Biblical names scattered abour Ethipia, which remained Christian since the Fourth Century – the only country in Africa to do so. An old Ethiopian chronicle relates: “To save sinners from perdition, the Saviour of the World made this promise to King Lalibela: Whoever comes in pilgrimage to your sanctuary will acquire the same merits as those who have made the pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)...and so he continues confirming the value of Lalibela as a Holy City.” What little is known of the history of the churches comes from early travellers, scholars and archaeologists. The Portuguese Jesuit explorer Francisco Alvarez wrote about 1540: “Buildings the like of which and so many cannot be found in the world…I weary of writing more about them because it seems to me I would not be believed…”

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCHES As Alvarez discovered, the churches were not constructed according to traditional methods but were hewn from the living rock in massive rectangular blocks. Out of these blocks the craftsmen chiselled and carved edifices with ornate roofs and ceilings, walls 30 to 50 feet high, floors on varying levels, individual rooms, windows, columns and arches. They surrounded the churches with an extensive system of drainage ditches and defensive trenches in a finished work that was a gigantic accomplishment in engineering and architecture. As one basis comparison, and not counting the extensive additions uncovered by Dr. Angelini, it is startling to note that the volume of rock dug out was five times that involved in the creation of the two temples of Abu Simber in upper Egypt. Architecturally, the work seems to have been influenced more by the underground Coptic churches in Egypt that by the cave churches which abound throughout Ethiopia. The Lalibela churches exhibit traces of Byzantine influence and their workmanship and design must have originated in the artistic centres of the Eastern Mediterranean. The end result is a complete church in a single mass attached only at the base to the contiguous mountain.

The eleven churches of Lalibela are congregated in two main groups with one straggler. The churches are connected by trenches and tunnels which are pockmarked with small caves that must have once been used as cells for monks or rooms for pilgrims. Many of these niches were utilized as tombs for highly-venerated priests and one can observe mummies with numerous frescoes. The interiors are adorned with numerous frescoes, bas-reliefs and paintings which, although not of great artistic merit, are of considerable historic and iconographic interest. One of the churches, Biet Mariam, displays on an exterior wall, a striking bas-relief portraying two mounted lancers called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Riders of Lightâ&#x20AC;?. The ceilings and arches of many are covered with brilliantly coloured geometric designs which can best be appreciated under artificial illumination.

4.1. FIRST GROUP. The first group is comprised of Biet Medani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biet Mariam (House of Mary), Biet Mascal (House of the Cross), Biet Denagel (House of Virgins), and Biet Golgotha Micael (House of Golgotha Michael).

BIET GIORGIS Courtyard: Length= 23m, Width= 22m, Height= 13m. Church (external): Length= 19.9m, Width= 12.5m. The Courtyard This beautiful complex lies on a large rock bed into which the deep courtyard is excavated to “hold” the monolithic church. Biet Giorgis can be accessed by a carved path and a short tunnel coming from the west, from the Giorgis River’s bed. It leads first to a chamber called “house of the Poors” and finally to the deep pit where the church lies. The entrance is located in the lower part of the courtyard, where water is collected and channelled into a drainage conduit that passes below the threshold.

The Church The church is a Greek cross in plan and has twelve sides with windows and doors. It surges upward on a rock platform accessed by a flight of stairs. On the flat roof – fully visible from the edge of the gigantic trench containing the sanctuary – a triple cross is carved, the same cross that is the theme of its plan. At present it is both a decoration and a water drainage system ending in the protruding gutters. Thanks to the drainage system and perhaps to a greater resilience of the rock, this is the most well preserved church in Lalibela. On the facades, horizontal lines carved all around the church adorn it with simplicity and elegance, delimiting the area where the ogival windows of the third order – similar to those of Biet Golgotha – are located.

The are “decorated with delicately chiselled acanthus leaves, and at the top of the ogival arches there is a curving leaf ornament in bas-relief, crowned with a little cross”2 The horizontal bands also have the effect of hiding a structural peculiarity: the increasing thickness of the walls from above to downwards. These details give the church the appearance of an imposing tower or mausoleum, as Barriviera remarked. On the ground floor, the doors and windows – not present on the east side – have the typical Aksumite protruding beam deads. The church is liturgically orientated and has three Aksumite doors on the westerns façade. The central door is emphasised by an additional imposing frame. The interior has no pillars, but four cross-shaped pilasters connected to the corners of the rock walls. They support the four arches that separate the central part from the side arms. The west arm houses the atrium, whereas the east one is located on a higher platform and is reserved for the Holy of Holies. The latter is covered by a semicircular dome carve in the flat ceilings in the south, east and north arms. The central ceiling has a slight curve similar to a sail vault, and no decoration. A simple frieze runs all around the walls, in correspondence to the external horizontal stripes. A similar carved frieze runs parallel to the arches. The church is unique for its pure elegance. Its harmonious proportions within the surrounding environment, and the confidence and perfection its structure. According to Popovich: “The interior of this church is much simpler than the others, but it shows such a precision of carving that one has the feeling that not only were skilled artists at work here, but perhaps also there is already a touch of academism. This building might well be associated with the 13th Century. (…) The free cross plan was also well chosen used this plan for the churches-martyria. Thus we are made to understand that Ethiopians considered this church not only a dedicational structure but also a true martyrium of the land’s patron, St. George.”

“The Monolithic Churches of Ethiopia”. Irmgard Bidder. 20

Gervers maintains that Giorgies was hewn at the same time of Golgotha Selassie, in the 15th Century: “The church of Betä Giyorgis which, as David Buxton so aptly put it over forty years ago, is nothing more nor less than a glorified potable altar. The characteristics, both decorative and architectural, which Betä Giorgies holds in common with the churches, chapels and cells of the Däbrä Sina-golgothaSellasie complex, make it quite clear that it is contemporary with them. On the contrary, legend claims that Lalibela had already completed the churches when St George appeared to him and reproached him with having been forgotten. To gain forgiveness, Lalibela built this last church, and it is said that St George himself visited the construction in progress, leaving the footprints of his horse on the rock. The legendary footprints can be seen in the corridor leading into the church from the south. Pirenne reads into this church the prophecy of the New Jerusalem contained in the Apocalyse of St john, ch. 21 “The I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God. It had a wall great and high, having twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east, three gates; and on the north, three gares: and on the south three gates…”.

Standing on the top of the rock bank where the church is a vast landscape displays the straight line of a mountain chain occupying the entire horizon to the south. Visitors shall end their visit to the churches of Lalibela; they have stopped listening to their guides’ explanations and finish consulting guide books and simple enjoy the silence and deep meaning of the place.

BET MEDHANE ALEM Biet Medhane Alem or Savior of the World said to be the largest rockhewn church in the world, measures 33.5m by 23.5m and is over 11.5m high (approximately 110 by 77 feet and over 37 feet high). Thirty-four large rectangular columns surround the church, and the three joined at each corner supposedly represent the Hole Trinity. Inside, 38 columns support the gabled roof, according to Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea.

It is built like a Greek temple and its stone floor is so polished by the countless numbers of visitors that it reflects shafts of light from apertures in the walls high above. In a corner are three empty graves symbolically dug for biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A short passage leads to Bet Maryam, Bet Danagel and Bet Meskal. Bet Gogotha and Bet Debre Sina, the two most charismatic churches share an entrance.

First catch a glimpse of the roof, decorated with relief crosses connected by blind arcades, and the upper part of the solemn colonnade surrounding the

church: The roof still shows traces of the plaster remains of the restoration efforts of the early 1930's. The tuff, from which the church is carved, glows a typical deep pink colour in striking contrast to the brownish-yellow earth and greenleaved trees of the landscape. Standing in the courtyard you face the largest of the rock-hewn churches. Exterior The low-pitched saddle-backed roof lies directly on the order of columns, so that there is no entablature as there would be in a Greek temple. A frieze of round arches in relief decorates the vertical edges of the roof. The gallery running round the four sides of the church between the colonnade and the outer wall of the church itself is only 70 cm wide. While most of the slender pillars, which are square in cross-section, are still the original ones some of them had collapsed and have had to be replaced by new built-up structures. Note the fine sarcelly cross relief on the slabs of stone which connect the four corner pillars with adjacent pillars about two thirds of the way up. Traditional sarcelly crosses like the ones seen here have been copied in modern buildings in Addis Ababa, e.g., the entrance pillar stumps of the Municipality. Interior Around the high walls of the nave runs a frieze of blind windows framed by protruding beams at each corner. Along the sides, the windows are either blind windows with decorations or actual openings between the "galleries" and the nave. The "galleries" can be reached from a cell to the left of the narthex. The doorways inside again exhibit Axumite framework style. One particular pillar in the centre is covered with a cloth. This is the "amd" - the symbol of the unity of faith. The priests explain that Christ touched the pillar when appearing to King Lalibela in one of his visions. Since that time the past and the future of the world are written on it. Since man is took weak to bear the truth revealed by God the pillar is covered. In the nave the shafts, capitals and corbels of the columns and pilasters as well as the arches are carved in basreliefs some of them painted. There is a great variety of crosses. Paintings proper can be found on the spandrels, the stringcourses above the arches, the area of friezes of the blind windows and the barrel vault.

BET MASKAL The chapel of Bet Maskal (The House Of The Cross) has been excavated in a bulge in the northern wall of the Bet Maryam courtyard. It is a broad gallery of 11 m. length and 3.4 m. width. A row of four pillars divides the space into two aisles spanned by arcades. The doorways show imitation of monkey-head framework. Beams of light deflect downwards into the chapel from two windows, one of them having a swastika design through which is pierced a Greek cross, while the sanctuary window opening has a Maltese cross motif. A frieze of arches between two projecting horizontal courses finishes the facade on top. BET DANAGHEL Bet Danaghel (The House Of The Virgins Or Martyrs). Jutting out at the south of the Bet Maryam courtyard is the little chapel of Bet Danaghel (8.6 m. length and 3.6 m. height). This tiny chapel is connected with one of the most fascinating legends of Lalibela. Priests will tell you that the chapel was constructed in honour of maidens martyred under Julian. The memorial day of the maidens is the 10th of Hedar (November) in the Ethiopian calendar. Located just outside the southern wall of the courtyard proper is the twentieth century memorial to Ras Kassa Darge. Ras Kassa was the governor of central and north-western Ethiopia, prior to the Italian occupation. He died in 1956.

BET DEBRE SINA AND BET GOLGOTA WITH THE SELASSIE CHAPEL AND THE TOMB OF ADAM This is the most mysterious complex in Lalibela, housing its holiest shrine, the Selassie Chapel, and according to the whispers of the priests - perhaps even the tomb of King Lalibela himself. While the ancient entrance to this group was probably from the west, passing the hollowed block of the Tomb of Adam, the courtyard is now entered from the south, being connected by the trench leading to the Bet Maryam churches. A side door leads to the first church, Bet Debre Sina or Bet Mika'el. BET DEBRE SINA Bet Debre Sina(House Of Mt. Sinai) displays a proper east-west orientation and has a raised chancel. The holy of holies is in the east. Thus, we may assume that it has always been an independent and separate church. It is a semimonolithic creation measuring 9.5 X 8.5 m. and resting on a steep plinth 3 m in height. On three sides it is exposed by excavation to a trench, the northern side leading to Bet Golgota. Exterior The exterior walls are smooth, with two rows of windows. In the bottom row of the south facade there are window openings in the shape of key-holes. Interior The interior is simple and solemn in atmosphere. It is divided by pillars into a nave and two aisles with five bays each. Round arches connect the pillars and pilasters in the walls. Cruciform in section, the pillars support round arches; their pseudo-capitals are decorated with Greek crosses in relief, which are also found on the blind arches and on the ceiling.

BET GOLGOTA Leaving Bet Debre Sina you enter its northern twin church, Bet Golgota (The House Of Golgotha). Bet Golgota represents the type of excavated church with one worked facade (the west face). Exterior The facade is smooth and scantily decorated. Piercings are functional, providing the church with light and air. A few protruding beams frame the uppermost windows, while the lower ones, semicircular and cruciform in shape display a few mouldings only. Yet there are two harmoniously designed window openings in the southern wall which give light to two shrines, the one on the left to the "lyasusCell" (Cell of Jesus) of Bet GoIgota; the right-hand one to the Selassie Chapel. Interior Entering the church proper you will find that it is divided into two "naves" by three cruciform pillars that display no decoration apart from the usual corbels. Flattened arches connect the pillars with the corresponding pilasters at the wall. The "Iyasus-Cell" at the east end of the right-hand nave and the "tomb of Christ", an arched recess in the northeast corner of the church, add an air of sanctity. The church with the name of Golgota is dedicated to the passion and Death of the Saviour. The church, simple in its architecture, houses, however, some of the most remarkable pieces of early Christian Ethiopian art: figurative relieves, rare elsewhere in Ethiopia. The "tomb of Christ" displays behind a wrought-iron grille a recumbent figure in high-relief with an angel in low-relief above its head. The figures of seven saints, mostly larger than life, decorate arched niches in the walls. THE SELASSIE CHAPEL From Bet Golgota a doorway at the east end of the right-hand nave next of the one leading to the "Iyasus-Cell" opens on to the Selassie Chapel - the place of greatest sanctity in Lalibela. A curtain covering two thirds of the wall will offer you only a glimpse inside the shrine. The ribs decorating the ceiling in the shape of a cross might also be discernible. This holy place is rarely open even to the priests themselves, and very few visitors have been permitted to enter it. The shrine is completely imprisoned in

the rock. A single pillar supports the roof with its barrel-vault in the rear section and flat-arch above the platform with the three monolithic altars. This pillar, which has no base, rises up more than five metres to the apex of the vault. THE TOMB OF ADAM Impressive in its simplicity, a huge square block of stone stands in a deep trench in front of the western face of Bet Golgota. This is the Tomb of Adam. The block has been hollowed out, the ground floor serving as the western entrance to the first group of churches. The upper floor houses a hermit's cell. Again it is a cross that is the only decoration of this "tomb ". The large opening in the eastern wall provides light for the cell and has the shape of a harmonious croix pattee with flat-pitched finials.

4.2. SECOND GROUP. The other group consists of Biet Amanuel (House of Emanuel), Biet Cheddus Mercoreos (House of St. Mercurious), Biet Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biet Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael) and Biet Lehem (House of Holy Bread). The eleventh is Biet Giorgies (House of St. George) sitting in lonely splendour across the River Jordan. Approaching the town of Roha-Lalibela from the south, you will see, south of the river Jordan, a bastion of red tuff severed from the rock plateau in the north, east and south by a broad artificial outer trench, eleven metres deep. Another deep central trench cuts this area into two parts, leaving at its end a cone-shaped hill. An old entrance led from this central trench to the sanctuaries mainly by way of narrow subterranean passages. The 'Original function of this complex of churches has not yet been clarified. Two of them were certainly planned as such, Bet Emanuel and Bet Abba Libanos. They have a proper church plan and are oriented to the east.

BET EMANUEL Art historians consider Bet Emanuel to be the finest and most impressive church in Lalibela. Looked at from above, its mighty, flat- pitched roof can be seen glistening from the rock cradle that houses the church. It is the only true monolithic structure of this group, carefully sculptured from a block 18 X 12 X 12 m. The church offers an almost classic example of Axumite style despite the fact that the floor and side plans follow the true basilica pattern with a proper east-west orientation. Exterior Entering the courtyard you will see this fascinating church on its stepped platform shining in the bright red colour of the Lalibela tuff. The imitation of Axumite wood and stone construction is striking, its walls built in horizontal and vertical bands, alternately recessed and projecting. At the three entrances, in front of which the stepped platform widens into landings, the church has a framework of protruding beams; genuine monkey-heads are missing. There are three rows of windows, the bottom and top ones having frames with corner posts. The bottom windows are pierced in that shape of straight Greek crosses; those in the top row have no fillings. Interior Inside you will find the true basilica plan: aisles and a mighty vaulted nave. Yet Axumite style is here again: the in- dentations in the outside walls, in which all the doors and windows are placed, reflect the internal division, as do the mouldings, the number of aisles and bays, the position of the galleries and the height of the vault. In the hall there are four complete and four three-sided pillars. A rock staircase leads from a side room by the main

entrance to a second storey, here little rock chambers surround the hall. The striking interior feature is the double frieze of blind windows in the vaulted nave, the lower frieze being purely ornamental, the upper one consisting of windows alternating with decorated areas. In the rock floor of the southern aisle a hole opens into a long, subterranean tunnel leading to neighbouring Bet Mercurios. Chambers and cavities for sacred bees in the outer wall of the courtyard are reminder of the bees that prophesied kingship to Lalibela. Some of the chambers, however, are the graves of monks and pilgrims who wanted to be buried in the "holy city. In this outer wall two further underground passages have been discovered leading to Bet Mercurios.

BET MERCURIOS The church is neither orientated nor conventionally planned. The part serving today as a church occupies the eastern end of a subterranean hall which opens to a courtyard. The interior appears to be void of decoration although there is a fine mural on the lower pan of a pillar, depicting six kings or

saints in royal apparel, holding in their hands beautifully shaped hand- crosses, reminiscent of late Gondarene processional crosses. Rich paintings once adorned the church but for preservation they have been removed and are now to be seen in the National Museum in Addis Ababa. BET ABBA LIBANOS Lalibela's wife, Maskal Kebra, with the help of angels, is said to have created this church in one night. It is dedicated to one of the most famous monastic saints of the Ethiopian Church, Abba Libanos. Exterior The facade is reminiscent of Axumite architecture, although here - unlike Bet Emanuel - the horizontal bands are missing. It is a good example of a cave church. The roof is not separated from the rock, but the other three sides are detached by a tunnel.

Interior The aisles and the nave of the church run exactly from east to west. The priests will tell you that there is a "little light'; in the middle of the altar-wall shining day and night "by its own power: Conjectures by visitors run from "a piece of phosphorescent stone" to "a hole in the wall" trying to give a more "natural" explanation and at the same time robbing the phenomenon" of the charm of its mystery.

BET LEHEM (The Chapel of Bethlehem) You may reach Bet Lehem by a passageway 50 m. long that starts at the right-hand aisle of Bet Emanuel, and passes Bet Mercurios and the courtyard of Abba Libanos. The shrine has been shaped into a cone by the central trench: the tunnel still winds up in spiral form within the hill and ends in a low, round room. A tree-trunk in the room serves as a central pillar. The original function of this shrine is not known. Visitors may not be allowed to enter the interior of Bet Lehem. BET GABRIEL-RUFAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;EL (The house of Gabriel And Raphael Or The House of the Archangels) Bet Gabriel-Rufaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;el (The House Of Gabriel And Raphael Or The House Of The Archangels). This church is more difficult to describe in character and situation than the others. Its disorientation and unusual plan suggest that it was originally not intended to serve as a church. Instead, the floor plan is labyrinthine: three angular halls with pillars and pilasters are squeezed between two courtyards. The most impressive part of the church is the monumental facade. The church is usually entered from the top of the rock near Bet Emanuel in the east, by a small bridge of logs leading over the central trench. You may also approach from the east by a series of small tunnels, a gallery like passage and another log bridge 10 m, above the courtyard. The triangular floor of the northern courtyard is enclosed by walls whence, high up, the facade of the church and the gallery opposite can be seen. Down in the courtyard there is a well and an underground cistern. Steps lead down to a subterranean hall of pillars, where the water sinks or rises, according to the dry and rainy seasons. Exterior The monumental front of the church can only be properly examined from the opposite gallery in the north. This truly royal faĂ§ade is another example of a survival of the Axumite style; pilasters and niches give the impression of breaking the line of the wall into projections and the niches themselves. Interior The interior of the church, which is far smaller than the exterior suggests, is carefully hollowed out forming a hall divided by pillars. Three straight Latin crosses are incised into the wall, the only decoration discernible. The floor in the church has a number of partly covered holes of various sizes which are said to go down to great depth. Drains run across the floor and little grooves surround the holes.

5. ROCK-HEWN CHURCHES NOWADAYS… DISINTEGRATION OF THE MONUMENTS Although some of the churches are in fair condition, all show signs of breaking up at the hands of time, weather, and even man. Some of the damage is similar to that which might be found in conventionally constructed buildings of the same age. More is due to the static nature of the monolithic masses and to uneven settling over the centuries. Many large crevices, cracks and fissures have opened up – some of geological origin, and others the result of shifting of sections of rock. The principal villain has been the intensive rainfall during summer months throughout the centuries. Another element of destruction has been the slow, constant penetration of roots into the crevices, as at Angkoe Wat in Cambodia, and to lichens and microvegetation attacking the walls and roofs. RESTORATIONS OF THE PAST Many “restorations” have been undertaken, most within the past few decades, and have generally injures, rather than improved the monuments. Some works, such as the construction of stairways and partitions, were done for the convenience of the priests and have disturbed the artistic integrity of the churches. In two cases, Biet Amanuel and Biet Medani Alem, the exterior walls were coated with tar and then covered with an incongruous red paint – a treatment which halts the natural breathing of the rock. The roofs of these two churches were sheathed with corrugated metal, completely destroying their original monolithic appearance. Here and there cornices and pillars were rebuilt with little grace but with much cement. PROGRESS REPORT Dr. Angelini reports that, without an additional dollar in cost, the Ethiopian workers and his team of Italian specialists were able to complete three times the extend of restorations and excavations forseen in his estimate – this despite the problem of training the workers, the poor communications, slow arrival of equipment, and the fact that the work had to be conducted in the midst of daily services in the churches. The guiding principle of his preservation effort is to safeguard the churches from further deterioration, remove false additions, and to re-establish where aesthetically permitted, the monolithic form and character that they once had. This latter is effected by a build-up of damage or destroyed areas with a mixture of crushed local stone and neutral cement molded to the original form and colour but with a different exterior texture. INTEGRITY The drainage ditches were filled up with earth for several centuries, before being cleared in the 20th century, and have been disrupted by seismic activity. This has resulted in a severe degradation of the monuments from water damage, and most of them are now considered to be in a critical condition.

Structural problems have been identified in Biet Amanuel where an imminent risk of collapse is possible, and other locations need to be monitored. Serious degradation of the paintings inside the churches has occurred over the last thirty years. Sculptures and bas-reliefs (such as at the entrance of Biet Mariam) have also been severely damaged, and their original features are hardly recognisable. All of this threatens the integrity of the property. Temporary light-weight shelters have now been installed over some churches and these, while offering protection, impact on visual integrity. Other threats include encroachment on the environment of the churches by new public and private construction, housing associated with the traditional village adjacent to the property, and from the infrastructure of tourism.

AUTHENTICITY The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela are still preserved in their natural settings. The association of the rock-hewn churches and the traditional vernacular circular houses, in the surrounding area, still demonstrate evidences of the ancient village layout. The original function of the site as a pilgrimage place still persists and provides evidence of the continuity of social practices. The intangible heritages associated with church practices are still preserved.

PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS For centuries, the Church and State have been jointly responsible for the holy site of Lalibela. Home to a large community of priests and monks, it is a living site which draws many pilgrims to celebrate the great feasts of the Ethiopian Christian calendar. This active and energetic perspective is central to the management of the site. No special legal framework is provided to protect the Rock-Hewn Churches except the general law, Proclamation No. 209/2000, which has also established the institution in charge, the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH). With the Ethiopian Church as a partner, the ARCCH has a representative in Lalibela but a principle difficulty has been the harmonization of the different projects and effective coordination between the partners. The property is administered under the regional and the Lasta district culture and tourism office. To prevent the property from the impact of development, a draft proclamation has been prepared but this is not yet ratified. A management plan has not yet been established. A four-year Conservation Plan was established in 2006 but this has yet to be fully implemented.

The boundary for the property has not yet been clearly delineated and a buffer zone has not yet been provided. There is a need for stronger planning controls for the setting of the churches that address housing, land-use tourism and for a management plan to be developed that integrates the Conservation action plan, and addresses the overall sustainable development of the area, with the involvement of the local population.

6. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: LIGHTING AND EXCAVATINGâ&#x20AC;Ś Rock-cut architecture refers to the creation of structures like buildings by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Though rock-cut architecture differs from traditional architecture in many obvious ways, many rock-cut structures are often made to replicate traditional architectural forms in the facades and even in the interiors. It refers to structures such us dwellings, tombs and temples which facades and internal layout reflect the architectural styles of their ancient builders. Some spectacular examples or rock-cut architecture are monolithic formations crafted from one piece of material. The interior were usually carved out by starting at the roof of the planned space and then working downward, for the obvious reason that stones would not be falling on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head.

Case 1: Excavation entirely made in chambers under the surface of relatively level rock and into the side of a cliff or steep slope. Mostly for tombs. A rock-cut tomb or koka is a burial chamber that is cut into the living rock usually along the side of a hill. It was a common form of burial for the wealthy in ancient times in several parts of the world. Important examples are found in Set Maat in Egypt, Myra in Turkey or Petra in modern Jordan.

Case 2: Excavation of tall free-standing monolithic structures entirely below the surface level of surrounding rock, in a large excavated hole around the structure. Ellora in India and Lalibela in Ethiopia are the most spectacular examples.

CONTEMPORARY CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES. FALLINGWATER "There in a beautiful forest was a solid, high rock ledge rising beside a waterfall, and the natural thing seemed to be to cantilever the house from that rock bank over the falling water... Then came (of course) Mr. Kaufmann's love for the beautiful site. He loved the site where the house was built and liked to listen to the waterfall. So that was a prime motive in the design. I think that you can hear the waterfall when you look at the designâ&#x20AC;? (â&#x20AC;Ś) Frank Lloyd Wright in an interview with Hugh Downs, 1954.

As a first approach to contemporary examples, given the contour of the land, Wright located a house anchored in the rock next to the falls, just over the stream. He oriented the house to the southeast as preferred, by this way the house would hover serenely over the water.

TEMPPELIAUKIO CHURCH Excavated directly into solid rock, the Temppeliaukio church is situated in the heart of Helsinki, at the end of Fredrikinkatu. Because of its special architecture, the church, completed in 1969, is one of the main attractions in Helsinki. The church hall is covered with a dome, lined with copper and supported on the rock walls by reinforced concrete beams. The interior walls are of rugged rock and rubble wall. Before noon, the sunlight spreads from the row of windows surrounding the roof periphery to the altar wall, where an iceage crevice serves as the altarpiece. The interior is bathed in natural light which enters through the glazed dome. The church is frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics that is created by the tough, cirtually unworked rock surfaces.

GRACE HOTEL, SANTORINI, GREECE. This 20-room hotel is carved into the cliff-face 300m above Santorini’s volcanic caldera. The understated design allows this extraordinary landscape to take the centre stage. The hotel provides a contemporary interpretation of vernacular architecture: economy of space, radical simplicity, and organic forms. Like Santorini’s yposkafacave-like dwellings with rounded walls and domed roofs excavated from the rock-face- no furniture is free-standing. Custom-built storage and vanity units are moulded into alcoves. All-white interiors with brushed concrete floors reiterate the trademark whitewashed houses of the Cyclades. The infinity pool’s jagged outline echoes the zigzag paths that criss-cross Santorini’s sheer terrain. Santorini’s hotel rooms are invariably front-loaded to face the view, leaving residents exposed to passers-by. To ensure privacy, fragments of volcanic rock are positioned in the windows of four rooms, interspersed with apertures that provide flimpses to the sea. The feature echoes a local architectural technique, more commonly used for retaining walls, in which minimal amounts of mortar are used, leaving gaps between them, this lightfiltering screen allows privacy and ventilation and casts dappled shadows as the sun goes down.

BRAGA MUNICIPAL STADIUM, PORTUGAL Braga Municipal Stadium is a football stadium built especially as one of the hosts of Euro 2004. Of the seven new stadiums built for the occasion in Portugal, the Braga one has been identified as the most spectacular, and was named by UEFA as one of the most interesting works in the landscape of sports structures, and often considered one of the most original and beautiful stadiums in the world. The huge rock that was removed during construction contributed greatly to the final cost of 83.1 million euros. The work forms a whole with the surrounding landscape, emerging where once there was a quarry (the quarry granite Dume) precisely on the slopes of Monte Castro. Embedded on the rock, inaccessible by the open side, the visitor experiences a journey which takes him by surprise, to the excavated rock wall, and a labyrinthine cave, rises upward crossed by pillars, stairs, elevators and nuclei free bath. A limited cave indiscriminately by the rock wall and concrete slab deck on the south.

CESAR MANRIQUE’S SUBTERRANEAN HOME CARVED FROM LAVA ROCK, LANZAROTE, SPAIN. The late Canary Islands-based artist, designer and architect literally carved himself a niche on the island of Lanzarote in the hardened lava rock that populates the island. Manrique built his stunning home beneath the hardened lava, a subterranean eco-retreat complete with underground trees, a naturally fed pool, and five gorgeous volcanic chambers. Back in 1730, Lanzarote experienced the world’s longest volcanic eruption, which lasted six years. A quarter of the island was submerged in lava, and has since formed the unique volcanic landscape that drew Manrique to the island as a child in the 1920s. Because of his love for the island, Manrique helped to prevent it from being overrun by touristic high-rise hotels, advocating a law that no building could be higher than a palm tree, as well as other ecological practices that were adopted into the native way of life. His amazing underground home is a tribute to both the beautiful island and his love for creating art. An underground palm tree top can be seen sprouting through a natural volcanic hole that leads to a red and white 1970s style lounge below. Other rooms are built into the natural volcanic “bubbles,” which have formed rounded antechambers perfect for comfy cushioned benches and sitting areas. Each is naturally lit from the where the lava bubble burst above, creating a natural skylight. Outside a sunken garden occupies another bubble, near the pool that is fed with a natural spring.

ZA PROJECT, MARS PLANET While ZA Architects acknowledges that current technologies are not sufficient to carry out their plans, they believe that robotics will advance enough by 2023 to fabricate the underground dwellings. In the first stage, a rocket would be sent to Mars carrying robots that would start by carving large caverns in the basalt bedrock. The machines would choose areas where the basalt had cooled to form hexagonal columns, and the weakest spots would be removed to form hollow spaces. After making a cathedral-like interior, the robots would weave webs of basalt fibers to form floors and differentiate levels.

7. RELIGIOUS SPACES IN ARCHITECTURE. NEW PROPOSAL… What makes architecture sacred? That spirituality that a “place” makes you feel often serves to inspire and provoke memory through the senses. By capturing and triggering important memories, architecture can bring people together to unite individual memories into a collective memory. Architecture can allow important moments to live on, sacredly, in this way. In some regard, all good architecture has a spiritual quality about it. Such

architecture triggers our senses to experience in renewed ways. However, sacred architecture can provide for a more spiritual journey as occupants interact and travel through a “space”. When humans look up they often experience a sense of awe. By tuning to occupant senses, sacred architecture can have a profound effect. Sacred architecture can transcend symbols by speaking a universal language that stirs spiritual experience through the senses. Sacred architecture, also known as religious architecture, is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship and sacred or intentional space, such us churches, mosques, stupas, synagogues, and temples. Many cultures devoted considerable resources to their sacred architecture and places of worship. Religious and sacred spaces are amongst the most impressive and permanent monolithic buildings created by humanity. Conversely, sacred architecture as a locale for met-intimacy may also be non-monolithic, ephemeral and intensely private, personal and nonpublic. Sacred, religious and holy structures often evolved over centuries and were the largest buildings in the world, prior to the modern skyscraper. While the various styles employed in sacred architecture sometimes reflected trends in other structures, these styles also remained unique from the contemporary architecture used in other structures. With the rise of Abrahamic monotheism (particulary Christianity and Islam), religious buildings increasingly became centres of worship, prayer and mediation. The Western scholarly discipline of the history of architecture itself closely follows the history of religious architecture from ancient times until the Baroque period, at least. Sacred geometry, iconography and the use of sophisticated semiotics such as signs, symbols and religious motifs are endemic to sacred architecture.

“…Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one’s own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this alone is what it means to live as an artist: in understanding as in creating.”3

CHURCH: “ECCLESIA”, “MEETING” Importance, peak, self-improvement, continuation… …Place of collective worship celebration …Place of believer congregation. …Place where Word of God is proclaimed during Eucharist. …Place where sacraments take place. …Place of prayers and holy sacrament adoration. Examples: Ravena, S. Apollinare Nuovo, Séc V

Constantinopla, Santa Sofia

Letters To

Young Poet. Rainer Maria Rilke. 47

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, 1077

San Lorenzo basilica, Milan

MAIN IDEAS: 1. LIGHT: Direct, central, vertical, horizontal, diffused, isolated… 2. STRUCTURE: light, massive, pillars ordering spaces, wide walls make interior spaces… 3. MEN: relation men-god, scale, dimensions, itineraries, transition spaces, perception…

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY… -

Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (2008). www.wikipedia.com www.sacred-destinations.com www.whc.unesco.org/en/list/18 Official Fallingwater website. Letters To a Young Poet. Rainer Maria Rilke. Report on field visit to FFF Projects in Lalibela Town. Lalibela-phase I. Adventure in restoration. International Fund For Monuments, Inc. “Historia y religion etíopes en el tercer milenio” Caminos. Revista cubana de pensamiento sociotelógico.