Salam from Addis Ababa!
Posted on March 13, 2011 By Julie
It's a wrap! We just finished our shoot in Ethiopia last night.
What an experience! Amazing, challenging and wonderful. And we’ve all lost a few pounds, but that’s a good thing.
After two weeks in Ethiopia there are hundreds of stories to tell. From the tribal people of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia’s far south to the rock hewn churches of Lalibela and the island monasteries on Lake Tana in the north. Of all the encounters, our experience in Lalibela was truly magical. The 11 rock hewn churches aren’t just monuments; they’re alive with Christian pilgrims, some local, some that have traveled hundreds of miles. We were blessed to be invited into one of the hermit pilgrim’s “caves” to share prayers with him. We don’t share a language, but the communication was clear – we are all on a spiritual journey seeking peace and enlightenment.
While in Lalibela we visited the St. Lalibela Sheket School, which is a school that is supported by a group of children in Los Angeles. After our itinerary was already set to be in Lalibela, we learned that the Agape Children’s Choir had raised more than $20,000 for the school and with these funds a water tower, copy machine, desks, books and more have gone directly to the school. Children helping children raising $20,000 by selling their CDs. This is truly a wonderful story.
Of course, we had to visit this school! When we arrived, the school had organized their choir to sing for us. They were dressed in traditional clothing and we spent the next hour singing and dancing with them—it’s absolutely the highlight of our show featuring Northern Ethiopia.
There are so many more stories to tell and many more photos to post. For now, check out the two photo albums posted to Facebook.com/Travelscope.
Did you enjoy this article? Share it!
Reader Discussion
Comment on this post
We welcome your comments on this post. Please complete the form to the left to add to the conversation.
Please Note: Travelscope editors reserve the right to edit or remove any comment that is deemed inappropriate or off-topic.
Thank you for participating in the public dialog.
Thank you for being culturally aware, you really are presenting the world through the best approach possible. Having lived in Hindu, Moslem, and pagan communities myself, I truly value your cultural relativism.
Please visit Zambia and the local women mining and working in gemology at their cooperative. Looking forward to the next show!