File:Church Window, Lalibela, Ethiopia (3294229084).jpg

This lovely little window is at the corner of the 13th century rock-hewn Church of Bet Gabriel-Rufael in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It is one of "the very unusual Aksumite windows with little pointed arches" described in the passages quoted below.

What makes the window "Aksumite," or, as I would say, "Axumite"? The window is Axumite because the shape resembles the top of the towering obelisks (aka stelae) at the ancient Ethiopian capital of Axum.

Erected in the third or fourth century of the common era as royal grave markers, the stelae at Axum had distinctive tops. It's not a stretch to say the unique outline the classic Axumite stela became a logo, a motif that appeared in Lalibela over eight centuries later to assert political legitimacy and claim continuity with the past.

I wasn't able to get a good picture of the best remaining Axumite stela because it was surrounded by a fence. I recommend going to sacred-destinations.com www.sacred-destinations.com/ethiopia/axum-photos/slides/s..., where you'll find a photo of an Axumite stela. While this window doesn't duplicate the outlines of a classic Axumite stela, I think you'll agree the stela strongly influenced designers who created this window.

===================================================

For viewers who have just tuned in, the structures you're seeing are below ground level. Bet Gabriel-Rufael is a free-standing structure carved out of, and into, solid volcanic rock.

I like this photo because it captures Lalibela's maze-like qualities, with narrow passages winding around, into and past ancient rock-hewn buildings and the surrounding bedrock.

==================================================

According to the book Ethiopia & Eritrea by Frances Linzee Gordon and Jean-Bernard Carillet (2nd Edition, Lonely Planet, 2003):

"Because of its curious, irregular plan, it is thought that Bet Gabriel-Rufael served another function before its conversion to a church - perhaps a residence of the royal family."