The Holy Grail

Written by Mark White on April 10, 2008 - 13 Comments Download audio file (theholygrail.mp3)

at drp Axel: What kind of churches were they? Isabel: There are churches now, but they were not obviously churches then, but they are temples in the shape of a cross Luis: You know this? Isabel: And they are all hewn out of rock from the top down. Luis: They are like huge sculptures. Isabel: Mm. Luis: Yeah, Sculptures. They are carved in rock. Isabel: Mm. Luis: They are not built buildings but Axel: Excavated from the rock face. Mark: Caves? Luis: Not exactly. Isabel: No no no. It is a very geometric building when you look down on it. Mark: It is cut out of the rock? Luis: Look from a helicopter! You arrive to Lalibela for example which is where we are talking about Isabel: Mm. Luis: You get to Lalibela and you see, Lalibela is a flat place with huts and palm trees, and you say, where are the buildings? Then you look from the air Mark: From the air? Luis: from the air and you see a huge square like I dont know five hundred metres on every side. Mark: M-hm.

Luis: Here is like an empty corridor of perfect flat walls and in the centre a building in the shape of a cross, for example but this building has not been built there. It is that all this around and all this stone inside the building has been taken out. Mark: Taken out. It has been sculptcut out of the rock. Luis: They are like huge sculptures rather than buildings. They are not built actually. They are carved. Mark: Three thousand years old. Monasteries? Temples? Churches? Isabel: They are connected with Luis: Monasteries. Mark: Coptic Christian? What is the religion? Isabel: No. Now they are Christians. Luis: They are Christian. Ethiopian Christians. Mark: Coptic Christians. Luis: No. Ethiopians. Mark: EthiopianI think Luis: It is not exactly the same Isabel: Yeah, there is a difference. It is not quite Christian. It is almost a Zionist Christian. Luis: No no no no! But Mark: But who are the people who built these buildings? What is the name of the placewhere these buildings are? Luis: Lalibela. Isabel: Lalibela. Mark: What is the name of the people who built the buildings? Luis: The Amharas. The Amharic people is the big ethnic group in Ethiopia and the one which has been on the throne for, I think The problem is the Amharic are black, but they trace their path from King Solomon. Isabel: That is right. They are also totally connected with King Solomon. Mark: So there is a linguistic genetic thing (that) doesnt link up somehow? Luis: There is a temple in Lalibelain which only the priest; only one priest can accede (access) to the big relic inside and the big relic are supposed to be the Ten Commandments. Isabel: The Holy Grail. Luis: Well, I have heard the Ten Commandments.