We spent various days in Lalibela, the infamous mystical city of Ethiopia. Its magical lure is credited to the eleven rock-hewn churches that were carved out of the bedrock almost a thousand years ago. To be in Lalibela during a religious festival and to be able film and photograph the intense faith of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox, is simply an amazing experience. Thus, we have decided to save the photos for the Lights of Africa article to be published in EPOCA magazine and the footage for the news stories on Canal Futura.

We took two days to complete the 600km from Lalibela to Aksum. After we had left and found ourselves on a stretch of tough mountainous roads, full of tight turns and narrow cliffs, we asked ourselves if it would not have been easier to simply fly to Aksum. Considering the cost of fuel for two days of driving, it would not have been a large price difference, but the beauty of traveling by car is that you witness and absorb the remarkable places between the major tourism sites.

A pair of bulls works the fertile land in the highlands. We were impressed with the size of their horns!

As we arrive in Aksum we go straight to the main attraction, the northern stelae field. There we find dozens of monoliths erected by past kings of Aksumite. The most impressive – and most photogenic – is known as the Rome stele as it was spent several decades in Rome. Supposedly, Mussolini personally ordered the significant work of art to be shipped to the motherland. The 80 foot tall obelisk adorned Rome’s Piazza di Porta Capena until 2002 when Ethiopians asked for it back. After a few years of working the logistics of getting the massive granite stone back to Africa, it was finally re-erected again in Aksum in 2008.  (photo left)

While it is still somewhat debatable, the principal function of these stalae was to mark the underground tombs of past kings and nobles. The taller the stele, the more important the person was. The royal family received refined stelae, decorated with false doors and windows. Despite being from the 4^th century A.C. the large obelisks resemble modern art.

Few of the stelae remain standing. Of the 120 granite monoliths in the northern field, we can see merely a dozen in their original position. The stele of king Ezana, also roughly 80 feet tall, is the only one of its size that still stands in its original spot today, however it requires support of (ugly) steal cables and rods to keep it from tumbling.

The great stelae, as the name indicates was the largest, nearly 110 feet. The obelisk is considered to the largest single piece of rock that human beings have attempted to erect anywhere in the world. Today, the Great Stele is shattered into several pieces, having toppled ages ago. Its position allows us to have a closer look at the detailed carvings.

According to researchers, the Great Stele fell when Askumite engineers tried to raise the giant monolith in the early 4^th century AD.

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