Dear Aidan, Day 13

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Dear Aidan,

What another fantastic day we had!  Dad and I woke up early in Wukro in the Tigray region.  We had slept well in the hotel (despite the bed and lack of sheets) but in the morning, we found we were without water.  As this region is very dry, we assumed that this was very normal.  We were told that the water was, "Out" and that it would be arriving soon.  We assumed this meant that the water was brought in via water trucks- but we're not quite sure!   Regardless, no showers for us this morning!  I knew these posts would make you cringe at my lack of showering :)  We got up and got ready for our day exploring.  We decided to just eat the snacks and bread we had for breakfast rather than try to find something to eat in town.  We were fast to get ready, and at 7AM, our driver was already to go!  We piled into our van and were off!

After about 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at the first church, Abraha Atsbeha.  It was in a very small village and many elders were returning from church.  The morning was brisk but the sky was clear.  Dad and I walked up to the church, which had a stone front and the back of the church was carved into the mountain that lay behind the church.  Just as we were entering the church’s grounds, we saw the priest leave.  We knew that we wouldn’t be able to enter the church as he had the keys, and we didn't feel it was appropriate to chase down a priest!  Oh, the Trouble with Tigray :)  Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time walking around the church and taking in the beautiful valley!  There were many devote Christians around the church praying.  It was so peaceful!  On the way back to the van, we were approached by smiling children.  They loved the chocolate candies we passed out.  Three children disappeared into their houses, only to suddenly reappear holding what looked like rocks in their hands.  Upon closer inspection, we realized they were holding small fossils from the area that they had found.  They were selling them.  Dad and I were expecting the price to be around 100 Birr/fossil.  When we asked, we were told 1 Birr!  We bought 2 fossils from each child for 10 Birr each.  They were thrilled at their sale and Dad was thrilled with his purchases!  We'll put these in your room to show you when you're older- fossils from Ethiopia!  With the history of that land, who knows how old they really are- and what they're fossils of!

We drove for about 30 more minutes to the next church, Abuna Yemata Guh.  We were in a valley and it was very dry- thus, very dusty.  As we approached the next stop, we couldn't actually see the church from the ground.  We knew this would be yet ANOTHER adventure!  This church was built in the 3^rd Century by the first Ethiopian Christians, who became Ethiopian Orthodox saints.  The story behind the church is that, “When Abuna Yemata first turned up here, the local villagers were suspicious of him and tried to chase him away with clubs and spears.  In retaliation, Abuna Yemata turned their weapons into lions and leopards, which promptly ate the attackers.  After that, to show he wasn’t really a bad neighbor, Abuna Yemata brought his attackers back to life and baptized them.  Ten of the resurrected decided to stay with Yemata on the mountain and devote their life to God.  Yemata told them that in order to be successful at this they must never again see the face or hear the voice of a woman.  Instead, they must grow vegetables.  But how did Yemata and his followers actually build the church way up on the mountain?  Well, they didn’t.  Instead, Jesus descended and told them that four giant rocks were currently battling it out to the north for the honor of being Yemata’s church.  The winner then magically appeared in this spot as the completely formed church.”  And that, dear Aidan, is how Abuna Yemata's Church came to be!  Do you believe this story?  How do you think a church could have gotten way up here in the mountains?

Our guidebook stated that there was a 45-minute leisure stroll up to a cliff, and then 2-minutes of sheer-nerves climbing.  I was bracing myself for this adventure- especially for the climbing!  Once we were out of the van, we hired a guide and a scout to help us find the church and climb the cliff.  After our experience yesterday, we realized we couldn't really say "No" to the guide, and realized having a scout for our climb was probably a good idea!  The “stroll” was much more of a hike up a rocky cliff.  It was beautiful in the mountains and the air was cool.  After about 45-minutes of huffing and puffing on a trail, climbing over boulders, and past age-old trees, we neared the top.  Rather than a trail, our route became a sloped cliff.  "OH MAAAAAN!" I thought- "HERE WE GO!"

Our scout was wonderful in holding my hand and I tried being so brave, although I was scared to death of falling.  I kept trying not to look down, but it was hard not too!  We were getting so high and the cliff just kept getting steeper and steeper- and the ledges to stand on kept getting smaller and smaller!  I looked back at your Dad a few times with a look on my face that explained it all.  I couldn't believe we were literally climbing a mountain, in Ethiopia, to see a 3rd Century church!  After about 5-minutes of climbing, we arrived at a ledge.  I thought, “WE MADE IT!”  Only soon to find out that, "Oh NO!" - We had just arrived to the actual cliff to climb.  That meant everything we had just done was the leisurely stroll- not quite what I would have described it as!  

I knew instantly that I couldn’t do it- it was about 60-feet tall and a sheer vertical cliff without ropes.  There were small footholds in the rock, and that's about it.  The guide and scout kept telling me I could do it, and they could help me (or essentially push/pull me up), but I just kept thinking of you and how badly I needed to get back to you...ALIVE! Dad, the scout and guide quickly scaled the cliff barefoot (they were required to remove their shoes).  Watching Dad today made yesterday's cliff at Debre Damo with the ropes look easy, and I was praying like crazy for his and the scout's/guide's safety.  I waited on the ledge with 2 scouts.  During that time, a scout had asked me about some of the clips on Dad's backpack.  His English was poor, but I soon realized that he would like one.  As they only cost about $0.50 in the US, and I'm sure they are at least 10 times more expensive in Ethiopia, I gave him them, and he was thrilled.  This was a reminder that sometimes, the littlest acts of kindness can truly make someone's day, and never to underestimate the power of a small gesture!

About 30 minutes since arriving at the ledge, your Dad came safely back down!  He showed me the pictures and I couldn't believe what I saw!  First of all, the view was STUNNING!  It looked like Dad was on top of the world, with all of the valley of Tigray below him.  What a truly beautiful country this is!  He said the church was literally carved into the mountain at the very of the cliff...there was an extremely small ledge to walk on before walking through an old wooden door and into the church (cave).  Inside, the church was covered in old, traditional Orthodox paintings.  There was a monk inside chanting.  But Dad also said I would have freaked out if I had gone as he had to walk along a narrow ledge around the mountain with a straight drop below!  He was right- I was very glad I stayed safely on my ledge!  It is truly amazing at the great lengths historic Christians went through in order to create these churches.  Again, the guides didn’t use any ropes or wear shoes as a way to trust in their faith.

The way down the mountain went well, and we were able to watch a local family collect water from a well.  As dry as this area was, we were grateful that many development agencies paid money for the people to have access to water.  In this case, the well was provided by USAID and there was plenty of water!  It made Dad and I happy (again) that the United States is doing what it can to help those in dire need in other countries.  

As we walked back to our van, I noticed that he children in this area, as always, were beautiful.   Except in this town, they had funny haircuts!  Almost all of the little girls had mow hawks and the boys had either tuffs of random hair or braided pony tails.  I’m sure you would love it if your Dad and I ever let you style your hair like that!  We tried finding out why their hair was styled in the way it was, but we never truly got an answer.  Regardless- it was quite something to see!

It was around noon and we had just finished seeing our last church.  We were tired from our "leisurely stroll", dirty, dusty and in need of a rest.  We got back in the van once again and began the 3-hour drive back to Axum.  Our driver asked us if we wanted to to take the paved road that we arrived on, or a local dirt road.  Dad elected to take the dirt road so that we didn’t have to backtrack to get to the paved road.  The drive was gorgeous, but the ride was a bit bumpy!  Ok, it was very bumpy!  And dusty!  Well, EXTREMELY dusty!  We had to close the windows whenever a car was approaching because of the dust storm.  During the drive, we crossed many bridges with dried up rivers.  It’s the dry season, but during the wet season, those rivers run wild!  We would have loved to see Tigray in its full glory with the water and greenery!  

When we were about 30km away from Axum, our van began to overheat.  We stopped in front of a village house and the driver called for water for the radiator.  A boy about 10-years of age brought out a yellow container of water (about 3 gallons).  We waited for about 30 minutes for the radiator to cool down before replacing the fluid with water.  During that time, Dad hiked up some of the mountains amongst herds of goats and flocks of sheep, and I played with the young boy and his 2 brothers.  They loved the chocolates and cookies I gave them, and they learned a few English words.  I don’t think they had ever been inside a car before because they were fascinated with it!  When the car was fixed, we thanked them and gave them a tip for their water.  In an area where water was so scarse, it was amazing to see how giving the local people were without question.  Although they didn't have much to give, they gave what they could.  Again, yet another lesson we were reminded of on our journey!  

After having our car fixed, we were off again toward Axum!

Once back in Axum, Dad and I unloaded our dusty suitcases.  I think we had an inch layer of dust on us from the drive as well!  We checked back into our hotel and dropped off our luggage.  Then, we went downstairs for a delicious dinner of spaghetti and steak!  The food here sure is tasty!  After dinner, we went across the street to an Internet café to check our e-mail.  After catching up with everyone back at home, we retired to our room.  Dad studied Thai and I researched our next stop- Lalibela!  We’ll be there for the next 3 days to see the city’s churches and celebrate Genna (Ethiopia’s Christmas).

I hope you’re sleeping well in your little bed as I write this.  I hope you’re warm and comfortable, and maybe even dreaming of your Dad and I!

All my love,

Mom