14 min listen
Listening to Lalibela
FromSlow Radio
ratings:
Length:
27 minutes
Released:
Nov 3, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In 1968 Redzi Bernard's mother arrived in Lalibela - Ethiopia's holy city - on a mule after an arduous trek through the mountains. Earlier this year Redzi recreated her mother's journey and when she arrived in Lalibela she discovered a timeless world.
Just before dawn on a Sunday, she enters an church complex - all below ground level - where hundreds of pilgrims gather in white robes, incense burns, and drums and incantations fill the air.
Ethiopian Orthodox priests lead ceremonies and devotees pray with eyes closed and palms stretched upwards. As day breaks, birdsong and light filter into the scene and slowly pilgrims start to drift away.
To hear Redzi's Ethiopian journey in full go to BBC Sounds and search for 'Journey of a Lifetime'
Just before dawn on a Sunday, she enters an church complex - all below ground level - where hundreds of pilgrims gather in white robes, incense burns, and drums and incantations fill the air.
Ethiopian Orthodox priests lead ceremonies and devotees pray with eyes closed and palms stretched upwards. As day breaks, birdsong and light filter into the scene and slowly pilgrims start to drift away.
To hear Redzi's Ethiopian journey in full go to BBC Sounds and search for 'Journey of a Lifetime'
Released:
Nov 3, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Into the Eerie: Rob St John explores the idea of eeriness in the English landscape. by Slow Radio