Tracking Down Manuscripts in Ethiopia

[Stephan Huller]

Saw this on my Facebook newsfeed yesterday. Thought it was cool (if only because it reminds me of my own life/experiences). Once again - thank God for German idealism:

Handing over the glasses and viewing manuscripts at Debra Tsion. For those of you who don’t know the story: My husband is working on a project to find and photograph as many old copies of the Book of Enoch that were written in Ge’ez (Ancient Ethiopian) as possible. He has just procured a research grant from the German government to pursue this project. Many of the old manuscripts are kept at monasteries throughout Ethiopia, so it takes several trips to establish contact, find out what is where, and procure permissions before the professional photography can take place. When he asked the monks what he can bring as a thank you for their trouble, they said they desperately needed reading glasses. Many of the monks are ageing and can no longer see clearly to read. Loren now collects used reading glasses to take with him. The monks in this location were overwhelmed by the glasses - just so happy to receive them!

[Stephan Huller]

Much of the interior of the churches in Lalibela are not open to the public. In all Ethiopian Orthodox Churches, the central section is closed off for priests only, and is referred to as the 'Holy of Holies'. This church is unusual in that the interior was painted. Most of the churches have only bare walls.

I think this is Biete Maryam (The House of Mary), though I am not certain. When you see all of them at once, it is hard to remember which photos belong to which churches. I am working off the order that the photos were taken in.