Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

W e walk through the cobbled streets with our guide, our muleteer and his grumpy equine companion, who seems less than thrilled about the prospect of lugging our backpacks up a mountain. We're already at 2,400 metres above the distant sea. By the time we arrive at our destination, we'll be 1,000 metres higher. We have spent the last few days time-travelling in lalibela, a long-ago capital of Ethiopia. The city is named for the 12 th -century king, who, legend has it, was responsi- ble for the construction of its remarkable complex of 11 subterranean, rock-hewn churches, which are now a uNEsCo World heritage site. aN aNCIENT FooTPaTh soon, we leave the city streets behind and join a steep and ancient footpath. It's early afternoon, and the traffic on the mountain is heavy. There are a few donkeys, but mostly it's a stream of country folk on foot. They are farmers headed home from market, carrying everything from scuffed plas- tic jugs of cooking oil to rolls of roofing metal. Many of the men are dressed in the local fashion. It's a practical blend of old and new: a gabi, a kind of multi-purpose blanket wrapped around the head and shoulders, hand-sewn short shorts covered in decorative buttons, set off by neon-hued plastic sandals. They move effortlessly up the rocky slope, arms draped over the omnipresent wooden staffs they carry yoke-like across their shoulders. The women, elegant in their long, colourful dresses, tote impossibly large bundles on their slim backs. Frequently, we step aside to let them pass. But mostly it's an excuse to catch our breath and gulp some water. The air is thin and getting thinner. "selam," we gasp; "selam," they respond, before disappearing around the next rocky outcrop. Children, tending flocks of goats, puzzle over our passing on their mountain. The aroma of wild thyme fills the air. Three and one-half hours after setting out, we leave the trail, gingerly cross a narrow, natural stone bridge and pass through a metal gate. There, a grass-covered amba—a mesa—opens before us, shimmering gold and silver in the late afternoon breeze. on all sides, there are precipitous drops of many hundreds of metres, panoramic views of valleys patched with farms and tiny villages stretching back to the distant city. look up, and the mountain peaks march into the distance. it'S a warM Saturday, Market day in lalibela. opposite: The Church of St. George is one of 11 monolithic churches, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, found in the isolated city of Lalibela, Ethiopia. milosk50/shutterstock.com top right: Two families pass each other on the path near the Hudad. david Mcdonald left: Almost all the land on the mountain is farmed. david Mcdonald W i n t e r 2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5 47

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