Our Trip Part 1: Ethiopian Orthodox Churches

Yesterday I received an inquiry about our time in Ethiopia. This was the motivation I needed to try to put together some posts about our week.

We really wanted to take advantage of our time in Ethiopia. So while Buturo played happily with his caretaker, we set out to see the sights. Our agency scheduled a few optional outings, but mostly we relied on our driver and our Lonely Planet guide book.

Holy Trinity Cathedral– This was one of the spots our agency had on its agenda for families. Emperor Haile Salassie and Empress Menen Asfaw are buried here. In addition, the grounds contain a cemetery for Ethiopian patriots and a memorial for Ethiopian officials killed during the communist take-over of the country. (FYI – you remove your shoes before entering a church & picture taking was not allowed at that cemetery.)

St. George Cathedral & Museum – This was one of my favorite spots on our trip. A deacon of the church was our guide. He did an amazing job explaining many of the important traditions, artwork and rituals of the church.

(We toured the museum by candlelight because the power was out that day)

St. Mary’s Church – This church was carved out of the earth several hundred years ago. It was about 90 minutes outside of Addis. The church was pretty amazing, but the drive there was probably the highlight of the entire trip for me (besides meeting our son, of course). Our driver suggested St. Mary’s when we expressed interest in seeing a rock church. We left around 7am and drove through the Ethiopian countryside to get there. This drive was incredible. Children ran along the road waving at us. Men were in their fields with wooden plows. Women and children were collecting water in dirty streams alongside the road. Mules carried goods to market. We saw beautifully constructed huts. And on some stretches all we saw was open land. We took this drive on our last day in Ethiopia and I can’t imagine a more perfect way to end what was an amazing week.
(I don’t remember the name of area the church was located, but your driver may know or he could call Solomon if you’re with Gladney. )

St. Mary's Church

From the road