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Orono Weekly Times. Wednesday, May 3. 2000 » 5 Quilted creations by Margaret Yells of Brockville, will be on display at the Chapman East Art Gallery, Main St. Orono. Many of Yells' quilts are creative responses to challenges made by various quilting guilds. Pictured is the Millennium 2000 Challenge Quilt, made up of 2000 different pieces of fabric, portraying portraying a fractured landscape. Out of Africa-Part 15 We read in last week's column column that due to political uncertainty, and real concerns concerns for their persoanl safety, safety, Aubrey and Koren Kassirer left Zimbawe earlier than expected, and are now back in Canada. Because Aubrey and Koren had written more than one artice a week, we still have a supply of columns from Africa, which we will publish till they run out. by: Aubrey and Koren Kassirer Lalifrela, Ethiopia Lalibela is a wonderful place to be. Located oyer 800 km from Addis Ababa, Lalibela is a quiet town nestled nestled at 2300 metres in a sea of mountains. During the rainy season, the only guaranteed access is by air. ' * Even in Lalibela foreigners are still followed, hounded,, and stared at. But here most children, with faces typically covered in flies and snot, call out "hallo, hallo". Countering the occasional "hallo pen" or "hallo money" with "hello injera" usually got a laugh. The older kids are usually pestering tourists in search of work as a guide, while adults who speak to foreigners are generally looking to practice a few phrases of English greetings. greetings. Despite the comparatively pleasant atmosphere, no one ventures north to Lalibela strictly for the congeniality of the people. This is a toyvn filled with a glorious series of churches, carved over 900' years ago into the rocky ground. Steeped in history and folklore, these magnificent magnificent artifacts of living Christian architecture are , entirely below ground level. After visiting Jerusalem, King Lalibela of Ethiopia had a vision that he was to create a second Jerusalem in his homeland. In 23 years, with the help of angels, 13 churches churches were built. All are still in use. . ' On our first afternoon in this "Nexy Jerusalem", we saw the first six churches, located on the eastern side of the (dry) Jordan River. The churches of the Eastern Cluster are reached in series moving from one to the next, never backtracking, backtracking, always removing shoes and hats to enter. The first church, Bet Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), is the largest and most obviously practical for services. It was also remarkable in being one of four monoliths, fully separat ed from the rock on five sides. Some of these church es are extremely small stone chapels, but each has its own key man. He is the high priest of that church and protector of the one or two processional crosses of the church and other relics. Aside from being used to bless people, they are brought out in grand ceremony ceremony at Epiphany on Christmas Day (January 7). These crosses are unique, ornate variations of Greek or Latin cross patterns, made from brass, silver, gold, or olive wood. The Lalibela cross, seven kilograms of pure gold, is referred to as "The Stolen Cross" and was only recently returned by the Belgians. Only brought out on Sundays, it is quite different from other designs and has a representation of the 12 apostles. apostles. We witnessed the high priest rubbing this enormous cross over people's clothed bodies in order to bless them. The next day, we survived a steep 100-minute climb up a mountain to a monastery. It was the first stone church built. Here the priest showed us books, painted bibles on goatskin, and paintings that have survived over 500 years. From here we could easily see the airport 25 km away. The most awesome church is another monolith. St George's is shaped like a cross and is 15 metres high from the floor of the church to ground level. This is the church pictured pictured on any postcard or poster of Lalibela. Impressively, it is the only church not yet cracking after 900 years of rain and sun. UNESCO has covered all of the other churches with protective protective metal roofs and drains, but St. George's has been left alone. Surprisingly, Lalibela was so much more to us than stone churches. Our professional guide, Eshetu, helped us find consistently good meals for less than a dollar.. His assistance assistance in the market and the town streets netted us several unexpected treasures as memories. memories. We drank shai (spiced tea) at his home with his family, family, and he organized a meeting meeting with the two new doctors in town and a tour of the hospital. hospital. The new government- sponsored hospital is a bungalow bungalow not unlike most other rural African hospitals we have seen. Although the outpatient outpatient department and the inpatient wards are in use, construction in other parts is still underway. Despite its newness, it is merely a shell. They still lack the equipment and the treatments necessary to service the community properly. Although the two newly graduated Ethiopian doctors were concerned with Aubrey's cough, their meagre drug cupboard contained nothing helpful. The young shoe-shine boy crawling the streets, a victim of polio, and the orphaned leprous girl who refuses free treatment-control programs are only two of their potential patients. Sunday morning, during weekly services, we visited the Western cluster of churches. churches. They were less impressive only after being spoiled by the magnitude of the previous rock churches. These are clearly not merely museums of Christianity, all of them in full use at 6:30 AM. They are living proof of a living cultural cultural tradition that has lasted almost a thousand years. Each has its own character. Closing our eyes the singing sounded like synagogue. synagogue. Looking at the ancient stone and the collected congregants congregants hovering near the outside walls, their daily white scarves now acting as prayer shawls over their heads, bowing occasionally in response to the chanting of the priest, it really looked like Jerusalem. As the priest sang put the anciept Ge'ez translation- translation- of the New Testament in cantorial style, and those gathered moved inside for Holy Communion, we could not help thinking this is what the earliest Christians must have done, so different from yet so reminiscent of Judaism. Shockingly, this IS a truly Christian Jerusalem, frozen in time, at least for now. MASARU KARATE CLUB CLASSES MONDAY, TUESDAY & THURSDAY EVENINCS FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT RICK JONES EMAIL: rick.teruko@sympatico.ca TELEPHONE: (90S) 786-2793 FAX: (905) 786-1031 Songs of North America featuring in Russell ^ lenor Metcalf ^ Piano plus ,The Wild.wind Flute Choir Director s Lynda. §hewchuk Friday, May 5th at 7:30 p.m. at Orono United Church Admission $5 • Refreshments to follow TICKETS AVAILABLE BY CALLING (905) 983-5502, 983-5208 or 983-5169 or available at the door PfcJÈHt AFTËR EXPENSES, PROCEEDS DONATED TO MOZAMBIQUE FLOOD RELIEF