Friday 19 November 2010

Photo Friday: Ethiopian Orthodox painting from Lake Tana

Welcome to Photo Friday, a new series I'm starting here at Midlist Author. I have so many photos from my various travels I've decided to share them with you every Friday. I'll also be rummaging through sources such as the Library of Congress for more interesting pics.

This is from a mural in a medieval monastery on Lake Tana, Ethiopia. The Virgin Mary has her own book in the Ethiopian Bible. In fact the Ethiopian Bible includes not only the Apocrypha, which were removed from the European Bibles centuries ago, but also books that were lost in the West, like the books of Enoch and Jubilees. The Ethiopian Orthodox monasteries on the islands of Lake Tana are famous for their ancient libraries. You gotta like a culture that likes books!

This image is typical of Ethiopian churches, which adorn their walls with brightly painted Biblical scenes on cloth glued to the surface.

1 comment:

Sioux Roslawski said...

The mural is gorgeous...the colors are so rich.

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