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Saturday, April 26, 2014

አደራ ዲያስፖራዎች ይህንን ቢዚነስ ቢዝነስ ነው ብላችሁ ኢትዮጵያ ይዛችሁት እንዳትገቡ

አደራ ዲያስፖራዎች ይህንን ቢዚነስ ቢዝነስ ነው ብላችሁ ኢትዮጵያ ይዛችሁት እንዳትገቡ

ነገሩ ቱ ሌት (too late) ነው። ግን ጀስት (just) ለመናገር ያክል ነው ። አንድ የማውቀው ሱቅ አለ ገበያው የደራ ነው:: ደንበኞች በየቀኑ በቃ ወጣ ገባ ይላሉ ። ልክ የቤንዚን ማደያ (gas station) ይመስል ሁሉም  ብልቃጡን ይዞ ይሰለፋል:: የሳምንት ቀለቡን ሊሽምት። ይህ በአሁኑ ወቅት  የአሜሪካን የህክምና ባለሙያዎችንና ፖለቲከኞችን እያነጋገረ ያለ ጉዳይ ነው። ስሙ የኤሌክትሮኒክስ ሲጋራ (Electronics Cigarette)  ይባላል። ልክ ጋያ ወይም ሲሻ በትንሹ ብልቃጥ እንደ ማጨስ ነው። 

  ይህንን ሲጋራ ብዙዎቹ የሚያጨሱበት ዋናው ምክንያት ማጨስ ማቆም  ወይም መቀነስ እምቢ ብሏቸው ይህንን እንደ አማራጭ መንገድ ወስደውት ነው። ታዲያ በየቀኑ የማገኘው  ከሱቁ የሚሰራ ሲጋራ የተለመደውን እኛ የምናውቀውን   የሚያጨስ  ልጅ አለ።ልጁ እንደ ነገረኝ ይሀ ሲጋራ የሚሞላ ፈሳሽ (liquid) ሲኖረው እንድ ግለሰቡ ምረጫ ኒኮቲን (nicotine) የተባለው ንጥረ ነገር ይበዛል ወይም ያንሳል። አብዛኞች በትንሹ ይጀምሩና ወደታች ከመሄድ ይልቅ አላሰማቸው ሲል ወደላይ የሄዳሉ ወይም ብዙ ያጨሳሉ። ያም ማለት ከዚህ በፊት ከሚያጭሱት በላይ ስለሚያጨሱ እራስ ምታት ይይዛቸውና በላዩ ላይ መደበኛውን ሲጋራ ሲያጨሱ የባሰ አጫሽ ሆነው ቁጭ። 
ታዲያ ከዚያ የሚሰራውን ልጅ ግን ሁሌ መደበኛ ሲጋራ  ሲያጨስ የማየውን ልጅ ለምን እሱ ለሰው እየሸጠ እራሱ እንደማያጭስ ጠየቅሁት። ልጁም እንዲህ አለኝ። እኔ አለርጅክ (allergic) ነኝ አለ። 

የህ ሲጋራ የሚሞላ ሲሆን የተለያዬ ጣም (flavors)  አለው ለምሳሌ አናናስ፣ሜንታ፣ ብርቱካን በቃ የፈለጉት ጣእም። ታዲያ ልጁ ሲንገርኝ ለነሱ የሚላክላቸው ድፍድፍ (concentrate) ሲሆን እነሱ በርዘው ፣ ከልሰው፣ ጨምረው ጨማምረው ነው የሚሸጡት። ታዲያ ያ የኒኮቲን ጭማቂ/ድፍድፍ በጣም ጠንካራ ሰለሆነ ልጁ እንደ ነገረኝ አፉን ልክ እንደ ቀዶ ጥገና ባላሙያ ሸፍኖ ነው የሚሰራው። ግን ያ አፉን የሚሽፍንብት  ማስክ (surgical mask)  በቂ ስላልሆነ ፈሳሹ ቆዳውን ሲንካው በቃ እከክ ያስመስልበታል ታዲያ ልጁ በጣም ስለሚጠየፈውና ስለሚመው  አጫሸ በመሆኑ ብቻ  እሱ የሚያጨሰው መደበኛ ሲጋራ (regular cigarette) ነው። ታዲያ እንደ ልጁ አገላለጥ ኤሌክትሮኖክስ ሲጋራ ኬሚካል ነው። ገና ጥናቶች አልውጡም, ቢወጡም ለጋዎች ናቸው  አንድ ቀን ግን ብዙ ሰው በዚህ ኬሚካል ሰለባ እንደሚሆን አልጠራጠርም። ታዲያ ዲያስፖራ ይህንን መርዝ ለዚያውም ቻይና የተሰራ ነው የሚሆነው አገራችን ይዛችሁ ህዝቡም እንዳትጨርሱት። ከተቻላችሁ ዶሮ አርቡ ፣ ከብት አድልቡ፣  የሹራብ ፋብሪካ ትከሉ፣ሙዝ ብርቱካን እርሻ መስርቱ፣  but not Electronic Cigarette .አደራ ሲያጌጡ ይመለጡ እንዳይሆን::እንተዛዘን!
 


The 2014 አዳዲስ ምርቃት፣ እርግማንና አባባሎች

The 2014 አዳዲስ ምርቃት፣  እርግማንና አባባሎች:
ቋንቋ ይወለዳል፣ ያድጋል ይመነድጋል ከሆን ምርቃትም ሆን እርግማን ባሉብት መቅረት የለባቸውም ለምሳሌ:-
  • ሃብትህን/ሽን ጉግል(Google) ያድርገው ::
  • የጨነቀው ሚስ ኮል (miscall) ያደርጋል::
  • ቀለጠህ/ ቅር/ሪ እንደ ማሌዥያው አዬር መንገድ::
  • የፌስ ቡክ (Facebook) ጓደኛ ከጅብ አያስጥልም::
  • ሲሮጡ ያስገቡት ጂፒስ አድራሻ (GPS Address) ሲሮጡ ይደመሰሳል::
  • የአሜሪካን እንጀራ መብላት በብልሃት::
ጊዜ ካገኘሁ ሞር (more) አለ።

የትኛው ደቀ መዛሙር (ሃዋርያ) ነው ኢትዮጵያ የሞተው?

የትኛው  ደቀ መዛሙርት(ሃዋርያ) ነው ኢትዮጵያ የሞተው?በቃ አንዳንዴ ሳያስቡት የሚሆን ነገር አጋጥሞውት ያውቃል? ያ ነበር ትናት በኔ ላይ የደረሰው::  ከቻናል ቻናል ሳማርጥ በቃ መፀሃፍ ቅዱስ (BIBLE) ከሚለው ሪሞት ኮንትሮሉ ክሊክ ክሊክ ካላደርግሁ አለ። ስፍራ ስቸር ጠቅ ሳደርገው የፊልሙ 10 ክፍል አለው። የመጣው ይምጣ ብየ ክፍል አንድን (ኦርት ዘፍጠረትን) ጀመርሁት።  ከዚያ  በኋላ የሆነውን ሆድ ይፍጀው ነው። በአስር ቀን የሚያልቀውን ፊልም በአንድ ሌሊት ላፍ አንድጌው ቁጭ። ፊለሙ እንደ ዶክመንተሪ ሆኖ የተሰራ ነው። ያላየሁት ነገር የለም።  አብርሃምን፣ ይሳቅን፣ እስማኤልን፣ ዳዊትን፣ ቅዱስ ገብሬልን፣ እመቤታችንና ልጇን እየሱስ ክርስቶስን ፣ ቅዱስ ሚካኤልን፣ መጥምቁ ዮሓንስን ፣ ሙሴን፣ ጳውሎስን፣  ጎሊያድን፣ በካፋን፣ እየሱስን፣ ሳምሶንን፣ ገሊላን፣ ቤተልሄምን፣ ናዝሬትን፣ ሶዶምና ጎሞራን፣ እዬሩሳሌምን፣ ቀይ ባህርን፣ ግብጽን፣ ሃናን ዮሴፍን፣  ንጉስ ሃሮልድን፣ ጎለጎታን፣  በቃ ሁሉንም አስመስሎ ያሳያል። ፊልሙ ውስጥ  የጌታን ታምር፣ ማን እንደከዳው፣ ማን እንደ ተከተለው፣ ማን አሳልፎ እንደሰጥው፣ ማን እንደፈረደበት ሁሉንም ቁልጭ አድርጎ ያሳያል። ፊልሙ የተሰራው በ2013 ነው። ፊልሙ ከኦሪት ዘፍጥረት ጀምሮ ትንሳኤን ያሳይና እንዴት አድርገው 12ቱ ሃዋርያት (ደቀ ሞዛሙርቱ) እንዴት የእግዚያብሔርን ቃል በአለም ላይ እንዳስፋፉ ይናገርና ከነዚህ 12 ደቀ ሞዛሙርቱ ውስጥ አንዱ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ተገደለ ይላል። ይገርማል ይህንን ያለው ክፍል ፲ ላይ ልክ ሊያልቅ ሲል ነው። ይህንን ነገር ለእኔ አዲስ በመሆኑ የትኛው ደቀ መዛሙርት መሆኑን ከመናገሬ በፊት ጥያቄው ለእርስዎ እተወዋለሁ::ታዲያ የትኛው ደቀ መዛሙርት ነው? የጠላት ወሬ እንዳይሆን?

Thursday, April 24, 2014

እፅዋት እንደ ሰው ህመም ይሰማቸዋል ወይ? ይሰማቸዋል ወይም አይሰማቸውም ከማለታችሁ በፊት ይህንን ቪዲዮ ይመልከቱ


የዛሬው ምርጥ ቃል "ተባበሩ" ነው። (watch the video and share it)


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

እናንተ ክሊክ (click) ባደረጋችሁ ቁጥር ጉግል Google ሳንቲም ክሊክ ያደርጋል ብላችሁ ክሊክ ማድረጉን ታቆማላችሁ ወይስ ክሊክ፣ ክሊክ አድርጋች ሁ እኔን ዶላር በዶላር ታደርጉኛላችሁ?

እናንተ ክሊክ (click)  ባደረጋችሁ ቁጥር ጉግል Google  Adword ሳንቲም ክሊክ ያደርጋል ብላችሁ ክሊክ ማድረጉን ታቆማላችሁ ወይስ ክሊክ፣  ክሊክ አድርጋች ሁ እኔን ዶላር በዶላር (dollar) ታደርጉኛላች ሁ?

አበሻ ምቅነኛ ነው አሉ (ይባላል)  እኔ ግን አላምንበትም::

ከእለታት አንድ ቀን 2 አበሾች ይታሰራሉ አሉ። አሉ ነው ። ከዚያ ፍርድ ይፈረድባቸውና ቅጣታቸውን እራሳቸው ይመርጣሉ አሉ። ግን አንዱ ያንዱን ቅጣት ማየት አይችልም ይባልና አንደኛው አበሻ ተራው ሲደርስ  የሚቀጣውን ሰውዬ  1 አይኔን አጥፋው  ይለዋል። ቀጭውም  በጣም ተደንቆ አንድ አይኑን ጥፍት ያድርግለታል። ከ ዚያ የሁለተኛው አበሻ ይገባና ምን እንደሚቀጣ ይጠየቃል። አፉን ሞልቶ የኔ ጓደኛ ያገኘውን እጥፍ ስጥኝ ይለዋል። የሚ ቀጣው ሰውዬም የአበሻውን ሁለት አይን አጥፍቶር አረፈ አሉ።

አሁን ይህንን ግራ የገባው ተረት ብዙ ሰው ካነበበው ጉግል ሳንቲሙን ዝርግፍግፍ ያደርገውና እኔ ሃብታም እሆናለሁ ግን እናንተ ለራሳችሁ ብቻ አንብባችሁ ከቀራች ሁ ምንም ሳንቲም አላገኝም። ታዲያ ምን ለማድርግ አስቡ? ክሊል(Click)   ውየስ ኖ ክሊክ (no click) ። የሚገርመው ገንዘቡ ከኪሳች ሁ አይወጣም::

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

ካንጋሮ እጅ ወንድ ምን አይነት ወንድ ነው? (Watch the video for your answer)

 
ካንጋሮ እጅ ወንድ ምን አይነት ወንድ ነው? (Watch the video for your  answer) 

መረዋው ድምፄን ሀኪሞች ለፈውስ ተጠቀሙበት::ተመስገን ማለት ይህን ነው።

Love of Songs
መረዋው ድምፄ ሀኪሞች ለፈውስ ተጠቀሙበት
ጓደኞቼ እንደነገሩኝ ድምጼ እንኳን ለዘፈን ለልቅሶም አይሆን ብለውኝ በቃ ሰው ፊት እንኳን ልዘፍን የሌላ ሙዚቃ ማንጎራጎር አቁሜ ነበር።  አንድ ቀን ግን ከኒዎርክ ከተማ ስልክ ተደወለልኝ። እንድዘፍን ወይም ዘፋኝ እንድፈልግ። በነፃ! ዘፋኝ ፍለጋ ለመሄድ አስቤ ግን በነፃ ማንም እንደማይዝፍን ሰላዎቅሁ አፌን አላበላሽም ብዬ ቁጭ አልሁ። ከዚያ ስልኬ መጮሁ አላቋርጥ አለ። ነገሩ እንዲህ ነው። አንድ ኢትዮጵያዊት ህጻን ታማ ኒዎክ ህክምና ላይ ነበረች (ካንሰር ነው ያመማት) ታዲያ ካለባት ህመም ትንሽ እንኳ ፈገግ እንድትል ታስቦ በእሷ ስም ነበር ዘፈኑን ለመዝፍን የተጥየቅሁት ከዚያ ምራጫ ሳጣ እራሴ ዘፈንሁታ። ብታምኑም ባታምኑም ዘፍኛለሁ። አርቲስት ግን ለመባል ገና አልወሰንሁም::ታዲያ ከዚህ የበለጠ ዘፋኝ ከሄት ይምጣ።

ታድዬ ምሳ ከዶክተር ጋር በላሁ

ታድዬ ምሳ ከዶክተር ጋር በላሁ
Well today I have lunch with a doctor. You may say "So what?" Well, here is the story. I was there when he graduated  from 4  years college, and later they told me he went to medical collage.  We never seen each other for years until today. He looks the same even younger than last time I saw him.  If you see him  you can not even think he graduated from high school,  but when he told me what he did my jaw was dropping.
He told me after he graduated from college he went to 6 years for his medical degree to be a surgeon and after 6 years he ditched his dream and started another 6 years to be a heart anesthesiologist, means he will be  dealing with HEART, the center of our life. Yeap, he said he want to do what he loves to do and now he has two medical degrees. I call it running two marathons in single day. This is impossible, imagine most of us are unable to finish what we started thinking it takes too long, but  others are doing it twice with style. So my advice for you  JUST DO IT.
I will!       

ታዲያ ይህን ግለስብ ኮሌጁን ብጥስጥሱን አወጣው ማለት አነሰው። 

የትኛው የኢትዮጵያ ሲኒማ ላይ ነው እንዲህ የተባለው?

የትኛው የኢትዮጵያ ሲኒማ ላይ ነው እንዲህ የተባለው?

 Little background!
The setting was  inside a construction workplace, two girls  were entering to the workplace  and  they were confronted by three construction workers. The two girls were entering to building because one of the girl was trying to apologize to her boyfriend who was  among  these guys. The other girl was a villain who masterminded a  plot to make her friend's boyfriend jealous by setting up a fake boyfriend and invited  the real boyfriend to see how his girlfriend damped him and she moved with her fake boyfriend,  but the trust was she was worried and burned by anger when her (the real boyfriend )  did not call her for two weeks.  It was really a nice entertaining movie, and the following conversation took place.

"ምን ትምስላልች? በናትህ? ይቺ የአካፋ ታ ላቅ ወንድም ዶማ ነች አይደል?"
"አይደለችም መሮ ነች"

"መሮ!"

"መሮ!"

  after several confrontations out side the building the girl asked this question 
"አንቺ በናታሽ ስደቡኝ እኮ? መሮ አሉኝ:: አሁን እኔ  ምኔ መሮ ይመስላል?"

what do you think? Does she looked like mero (AKA chisel)

 


Monday, April 21, 2014

የኢትዪጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ንፁህ ሃይማኖት ነው ተብሎ በፈረንጅ ተነገረ: The spirit of a pure Christianity

የኢትዪጵያ  ኦርቶዶክስ  ሃይማኖት  ትክክለኛና እውነተኛ ሃይማኖት ነው ተብሎ በፈረንጅ ተነገረ::
"ፈረንጅ" የሚለውን ቃል ያስገባሁት አንዳንዶች ፈረንጅ የፃፈውን ስለሚያምንኑብቻ ነው:: እኔማ  አውቀዋለሁ  ።  በ አንድ ወቅት እኔ ፈልጌ/ ወድጄ ሳይሆን ምርጫ ስለሌለኝ/ተገድጄ  ለኮሌጅ መመረቂያ ሲባል በአለም ላይ ያሉ  ሃይማኖቶችን ሁሉ ልክ እንደ ትምህርት ማጥናት ነበረብኝ። የክርስትያንን፣ የይሁዳን፣ የሂንዱን፣ የእስልምናን፣ የቡድሃን እና የተለያዩ እምነቶችን አጥንቼ ነበር። በእውነቱ ያ ትምህርት ከሰጠኝ ታላቅ  እውቀት  ውስጥ  አንዱና ዋነኛው የሌሎችን እምንት አክብሬ የራሴን ደግሞ ከሚገባው በላይ እንድኮራበት አድርጎኛል። በዚህ አጋጣሚ አንዳንድ አዳዲስ ሃይማኖቶ እንዴትና ማን እንደፈጠራቸው ስለማውቅ አንዳንዴ ተከታዮቹ ምንና ለምን እንድሚከትሉ ሳይ በቃ ንፋሱ ዝም ብሎ ጠራርጎ የወሰዳቸው ይመስለኛል።  እኔ በበኩሌ የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ታሪክ ከማንም ጋር ሳይበረዝ እራሱን ችሎ የተቀመጠ ታላቅ ሃይማኖት ሰለሆነ የዚህ ሃይማኖት ተከታይ በመሆኔ ኩራት ይሰማኛ። ለዚህም ነው ከዚህ በታች ይተፃፈውን ስን ንባብ እንድታነቡ የምጋብዘው። "ለራስ ሲቆርሱ አያሳንሱ" እንዳይሆን ይህ ጽሁፍ የተጻፈው በውጭ አገር ሰው ስለሆነ ድሎው ብዙም አይደለም።  ለእኔ የእርስዎ እምነት የራስዎ ስለሆነ እምነትዎን አከብራላሁ ግን አንዳንድ እውቅት ያነሳቸው ወጠጤዎች  ኦርቶዶክስን ሲያንቋሽሹ  ሳይ በጣም ያናድዱኛል,  ምክንያቱም እነሱ ያላቸው እውቀት  በጣም ጠብታ ታክል ናትና:: ፈረንጆች እንደሚሉት " Little Knowledge is Dangerous!"

The spirit of a pure Christianity: Exploring Ethiopia's stunning subterranean churches

I wake up and don't have a clue where I am. There is barely any light, hardly enough to pierce the curtains. But it's not the gloom or the early start that has left me confused. It's the ear-splitting chanting

The noise is in no language I've ever heard. Yet the sound is familiar, even if the language is not. I have heard it in Istanbul, the Gulf, parts of Jerusalem. It sounds almost exactly like an imam calling the faithful to prayer.
Yet I am in Ethiopia, the cradle of an ancient form of Christianity, and the hotel at which I am staying is in Lalibela, one of the country's most Christian sites; there are no mosques nearby. So what is going on?
Stepping out on to my balcony, I see the hillside opposite covered with thousands of people dressed in white cotton robes. They are making their way up a series of dirt tracks, their feet throwing up a haze of red dust. The chanting seems to be coming from the hilltop. But there is no sign of a church or indeed any building up there. All that can be made out is the rough outline of part of a giant cross, seemingly carved into the ground.
My guide, Girtane, is waiting for me in the hotel lobby. Seeing my confusion, he breaks into a broad smile. "It's St George's Day," he says in explanation. St George, I learn, is the patron saint of Ethiopia. The damsel whom the knight saved from the dragon is, in local tradition, an Ethiopian princess called Beruktawit. And the chanting is not Arabic but Ge'ez , the holy language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Ge'ez has been spoken in Ethiopia since the time Rome was first founded. It has been the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's religious texts since Christianity originally spread to the country in the early fourth century, brought to this land by a Syrian Greek shipwrecked on the Eritrean coast.
The reason it sounds so familiar is that its origin can be traced to the same linguistic roots which inform Arabic and Hebrew. Ge'ez, it seems, is just another of the many ways that Ethiopia, and its church, has long been entwined with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern – and not just African – tradition.
I had already been in the country long enough to appreciate its rich cultural heritage and how it is a very, very different place to its Live Aid-era image. The capital, Addis Ababa, is a hive of construction (much of it the result of the influx of vast sums of Chinese money). Great stretches of the countryside look lush and green. But, for me, the biggest revelation in my time there was about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and its relationship with the people it serves.
Ethiopia was cut off for centuries from the wider Christian world by the Islamic conquests to its north. During that time, its church flourished in isolation, untouched by and ignorant of the theological disputes dividing Europe. That means its traditions provide insight into an older, perhaps purer and certainly more mystical form of Christianity – one that dates back 1,600 years and therefore, in its unaltered forms, bears witness to a liturgy practised only a relatively brief period after the time of Jesus Christ.
To better understand this, I had come to Lalibela, Ethiopia's self-proclaimed "New Jerusalem". Here, I thought, I could engage with the religion and its beliefs. What I had not expected was that I would also get to see one of the world's most impressive – and most affecting – architectural marvels.
It was the fall of the Holy Land to Saladin 900 years ago that prompted these remarkable structures to be built. Ethiopia's new king, King Lalibela, determined that his subjects, as well as the small Christian states scattered along the Nile, should have their own "Jerusalem" at his capital, Roha, to visit in order to show their devotion.
King Lalibela is so surrounded by legend that it is almost impossible to separate the man from the myth. Even his name, meaning "the man bees obey", is part of that mystique. At his birth, a swarm of bees supposedly settled upon him, covering him but not stinging him. Later, when aged around seven, it is written that he was lifted towards heaven and spent three days receiving instruction on God's divine knowledge.
The stories may be fairy tales but the monument he created – and which now bears his name – leaves no doubt as to the power he wielded. Claiming the plan had come to him in a dream from an angel, Lalibela instructed that a series of churches be constructed from the rock itself. This meant they were not built up from the ground with stone or brick but actually chiselled out of the surrounding hillsides.

By the early 13th century, 11 churches had been built. The labour involved must have been immense, not least as many are dug out of red volcanic rock. Some of the churches are constructed across the sides of valleys. Others are built deep into ravines, the result cave-like. Many are linked by subterranean tunnels. A river was re-routed and re-named the Jordan. The largest hill overlooking the site became the site's own Mount Tabor.

No one is sure just how long the project took. Locals often say 23 years – but that is based on the legend that angels themselves came to help work on it, taking over at night as the human workers went home to rest. Without any records from that period, it is not even known how those humans who did toil on the site were housed or fed.

Nowhere in Lalibela is as impressive, however, as the building they finished last. That is the Bet Giyorgis, or the Church of St George, and it is there – it being St George's saint's day – that the crowds are gathered and from where the chanting comes. The surrounding roads heave with pilgrims, some beating skin- covered drums and others waving sticks covered in bells, as around them children dart, selling crucifixes fashioned from dried reeds.

A side-view of the Church of St George A side-view of the Church of St George (Kirill Serebrennikov)
The only way to properly appreciate the Bet Giyorgis is to look down upon it. Dug directly into the hilltop and standing 50ft tall, it is shaped like a giant Greek cross and is set tight within the walls of the surrounding pit. Once the ground was chiselled away by hand to create the monolith, the exterior carvings were completed and the interior hollowed out.

There are no souvenir stalls or safety rails here, health and safety concerns being notably absent. Rather, the pilgrims descend rough-hewn steps. Reaching the church's entrance, many kneel to kiss the ground. Outside is a small baptismal pool, overgrown with grasses used in Palm Sunday services; inside, the only light flows through narrow windows high up in the wall. On the day I visit, a priest stands in a corner holding burning candles that he waves in front of him. Another wafts a censer, the smoke billowing towards us, as other priests line the walls.

The faithful enter and prostrate themselves forward to pray. "They've come here for a blessing," it is explained to me. "We're taught that every believer must come at least once in their lives to Lalibela. Some will have brought family members who are sick or disabled, as it's believed the holy water has healing properties. Many will stay all day and all night."

A curtain separates the inner area reserved for the priests from the main room holding the faithful. A third section stands at the centre of the church. This is its most holy spot and none but the most senior clergy are allowed to enter. It is there – as in all Ethiopian churches – that a representation of the Ethiopian Orthodoxy's most revered object stands: the Ark of the Covenant.

Pilgrims squeeze their way through the surrounds Pilgrims squeeze their way through the surrounds (Kirill Serebrennikov)
The Ark, the Bible tells us, held the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. For the rest of Christianity, it has been lost – most likely stolen or destroyed in the sixth century k by the Babylonians when they sacked Solomon's temple. Not, however, for the Ethiopians. They believe they know exactly where it is; indeed, that it has been in their homeland for thousands of years. Since the 1960s, in fact, it has been housed in a special chapel near an Ethiopian town called Aksum, where it is guarded by a succession of virgin monks who are never allowed to leave the chapel's grounds.

The Queen of Sheba is at the heart of the tale of how it supposedly got there. Travelling to Jerusalem, she is said to have met and fallen in love with King Solomon and, unknown to Solomon, had a child with him called Menelik.

This child would become the first emperor of Ethiopia and ultimately return to Jerusalem to reveal himself to his father. Legend has it that Solomon was delighted and bestowed upon his son all manner of gifts, including a retinue of nobles to protect him on his journey home.

What actually happened next is confused. According to some traditions, it was this noble retinue who stole the Ark without Menelik's knowledge; according to others, that he colluded with them; and in some accounts that the whole endeavour was set up and supported by the Archangel Gabriel. The result, however, is agreed upon: the Ark of the Covenant was taken to Ethiopia, where it has stayed ever since as a symbol of God's blessing.

I travel to Aksum, hoping to see the Ark for myself. I quickly discover that there is no chance of that. No one other than its elderly guardian is allowed to set eyes upon the relic – not the country's president nor even the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's patriarch. The chapel proves to be little more than a concrete box with no architectural interest or style. Standing behind spiky iron railings, it looks like nothing more than a suburban bungalow. To my surprise and disappointment, there is no sense of the sacred here.

The contrast with Lalibela could not be greater. There, you find pilgrims praying, kissing the walls or sitting cross-legged on the floor reading religious texts. Every morning a service is held in all the churches. Lalibela is a place where worshippers' faith brings life to ancient walls in the most profound manner.

Locals, who believe that the Ark of the Covenant rests in Aksum Locals, who believe that the Ark of the Covenant rests in Aksum (Kirill Serebrennikov)
As a Russian, I come from a country that is part of the Orthodox tradition. Culturally, the Russian Orthodox Church is my church – although little I have seen ever enamoured it to me. One only has to consider its hounding of punk-rock protesters Pussy Riot, or its cosy relationship with the state, or the sense of avarice that seems to emit from it, to realise why. In recent years, reports have emerged that a car repair and tyre service was being run underneath Christ the Saviour, Moscow's largest Orthodox cathedral, and that a brothel was being run on land rented by Sretensky Monastery. Archpriest Mikhail Grigoriev of Kazan was discovered to own a BMW jeep, a Mercedes jeep and a Mercedes saloon as well as three flats and a country house. He was secretly filmed boasting about his £12,000 mobile phone and love of Italian designer clothes. This year, there have been allegations of sexual assault by Russian Orthodox clergy, with students supposedly plied with alcohol before being abused.

The church's head, Patriarch Kirill, a man who regularly criticises Western commercialism and publicly called feminism "very dangerous", was even caught out by his own hypocrisy: two years ago, his press team issued a photograph of a meeting in Ukraine in which Kirill's $30,000 Swiss Breguet watch was airbrushed out. Unfortunately for them, they had overlooked its reflection on a polished table top.

Ethiopia's Orthodox Church appears very different. On the ground, the impression I get is overwhelmingly one of a clergy committed to personal humility. Again and again I meet priests living lives just as humble as their congregations. They are keeping true to the tenet of their faith that they must forgo almost all possessions and dedicate themselves totally to the spiritual life. This, I feel, gives them considerable moral authority.

After Lalibela, Tigray, to the north, is perhaps Ethiopia's most sacred spot. Amid its stark, lunar-like mountains, with their steep outcrops and columns rising hundreds of feet into the air, are built Tigray's own rock-hewn churches. Some of these predate Lalibela's by hundreds of years and, though less impressive architecturally, have their own power brought by the isolation and otherworldliness of the spot.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Happy ትንሳኤ, ፋሲካ፣ Fasika , Paskha, Pesakh, عيد الفصح, L-Għid,Pascua,Pasqua,Páscoa