Axum – Northern Ethiopia
For most people Axum is the base of exploring the kingdom of Axum (100 AD-940 AD) archaeological site. I made some not so wonderful videos with my phone.
Normally I am not to keen on archaeological sites, and this is not exceptionel. But as always it is nice to see but nothing special. I was wondering why some of the Obelisks had a door.
Cathedral of Maryam of Tsion is much more interesting. It is opposite the Stelae Park. Like the atmosphere of the place. It is nearly like touching religion.
The big thing is in an outbuilding on the church site. They claim that in this building there is one of the world most renown artifacts. The Tabot or the Ark of Covenant. Obvious this is a truth that is widely disputed. There is no way they will allow anybody to examine the Artifact. So it is a little argument against argument. My position is, that if this make them happy it doesn’t hurt anybody. And remember, that in the old times, every church needed something to make them special. Like a splinter from the Cross or a strand of hair from Jesus. It made religious arguments have more punch, sanction by God himself. So the validity of the ark argument is not important. Religion is about believing in something bigger and not looking for logical truth.
The place for the Tabot is heavenly guarded. The guard of the Covenant is appointed for life. Interesting is, that the Tabot suppose to have been in the second temple in Jerusalem. How the Covenant is to be in Axum today is a story I would love to hear.
Sometimes when you travel you are going to experience something unexpected exceptional. And this happened in Axum early morning Sunday. I call it the white waves of Axum. It is an amazing spectacle, where everybody is out for the service.
There is a segregation going on between the woman and men. It is an amazing spectacle. There is singing game where there is a lot of singing and dancing. I didn’t avoid the watchful eye of a guy who didn’t want me talking a video. But the amosfare this morning was second to none. Seems to me that everybody was there. Everybody dressed in white and in constant move. Just like a big white sea. Happy I bought sunglasses to prevent me from becoming snow blind ,o). On the religious side priest was doing outdoor service which is obvious, as there is no way these crowds of people will fit indoors.
Religion run deep in the souls of Ethiopians.
There is a thing about religion. Marx called religion opium of the people. And there is a correlation between the rich countries and their populations lack of believing. On the other hand, the poorest countries are also the most believing. If it is impossible to change the now, people tend to focus on the spiritual and the next life to make the now bearable. Just like in the rich countries before.
Interesting video. And not the whole truth….
Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. – Dalai Lama.