File:Church of Bet Medhane Alem (House of the Redeemer of the World), Lalibela, Ethiopia (3198040844).jpg
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[edit]DescriptionChurch of Bet Medhane Alem (House of the Redeemer of the World), Lalibela, Ethiopia (3198040844).jpg |
The first thing a visitor to Lalibela's famed rock-hewn churches notices is the profusion of scaffolding, in various stages of assembly and disassembly, that surrounds many of the venerable buildings. Oh, and the sheet-metal roofs hovering over the structures on tall metal supports. I haven't been able to obtain a clear understanding of The Plan for preserving and restoring Lalibela's churches which, being carved out of soft volcanic rock, are as subject to erosion from the elements as, well, soft volcanic rock. The best information I found was on UNESCO's Web site, which says: "UNESCO and the European Community have organized an international competition to built temporary shelters to protect the monuments from the rains. As soon as it is technically possible, the sites will be restored." whc.unesco.org/en/activities/160/ Based on that tidbit, I'd have to say the scaffolding you see is being used to erect the temporary shelters referred to above. Well, I'd rather have seen the churches at Lalibela with their scaffolding than have missed them altogether. At least something is being done to protect these marvelous ancient edifices. According to the Website "King Lalibela," "Bet Medhane Alem is the largest monolithic rock-hewn church in the world, measuring 11.5m [37' 8"] in height and covering an area of almost 800m2 [8,610 square feet]." "A plain building, held up by 36 pillars on the inside and another 36 around the outside, Bet Medhane Alem has a classical dignity reminiscent of an Ancient Greek temple, a resemblance that has led some experts to imagine it was modeled on the original St Mary Zion Church built by King Ezana at Axum." "The interior of the church is also plain, and its huge size creates a cathedral-like austerity. Graves have been carved into the rock floor; they are no longer permanently occupied, Bet Medhane Alem has a wide courtyard whose walls are pockmarked with niches that originally served as graves or hermits’ caves." "Approaching the most eastern church of this group, Bet Medhane Alem, you first catch a sight of the roof, decorated with relief crosses connected by blind arcades, and the upper part of the solemn colonnade surrounding the church: The roof demonstrates traces of the plaster remains of the restoration efforts of the early 1930’s." "The tuff, from which the church is carved, blazes a typical deep pink color in striking harmony to the brownish-yellow earth and green-leaved trees of the landscape." "It is a dignified structure, standing on its platform with its pitched roof and surrounding external columns, somewhat reminiscent of ancient Greek temple architecture." kinglalibela.com/bet-medhane-alem-house-of-the-redeemer-o... |
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Church of Bet Medhane Alem (House of the Redeemer of the World), Lalibela, Ethiopia
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Author | A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest |
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This image, originally posted to Flickr, was reviewed on 5 October 2012 by the administrator or reviewer File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), who confirmed that it was available on Flickr under the stated license on that date. |
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current | 17:48, 5 October 2012 | 1,659 × 2,512 (1.54 MB) | File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske) (talk | contribs) | Transferred from Flickr by User:Elitre |
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Camera manufacturer | NIKON CORPORATION |
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Camera model | NIKON D70 |
Exposure time | 1/1,500 sec (0.00066666666666667) |
F-number | f/4.8 |
ISO speed rating | 200 |
Date and time of data generation | 15:19, 1 November 2007 |
Lens focal length | 18 mm |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Horizontal resolution | 72 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 72 dpi |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 15:19, 1 November 2007 |
Exposure Program | Manual |
Date and time of digitizing | 15:19, 1 November 2007 |
APEX exposure bias | −1.5 |
Maximum land aperture | 3.6 APEX (f/3.48) |
Metering mode | Pattern |
Light source | Cloudy weather |
Flash | Flash did not fire |
DateTime subseconds | 80 |
DateTimeOriginal subseconds | 80 |
DateTimeDigitized subseconds | 80 |
Color space | 0 |
Sensing method | One-chip color area sensor |
Custom image processing | Normal process |
Exposure mode | Manual exposure |
White balance | Manual white balance |
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Focal length in 35 mm film | 27 mm |
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Subject distance range | Unknown |