Ethiopian Jesus

by Sean McLachlan on


It’s Christmas, when the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The Muslim world celebrates too because in Islam Jesus is considered a prophet.

Christianity has spread all over the world. One of the best things about travel is the different world views it exposes you to, and one of these insights is that religious artists have created Jesus in their own image. Europe has a white Jesus, Africa has a black Jesus, and Latin America has a Latino Jesus.

So what did Jesus really look like? The Bible is a bit sketchy about his personal appearance, but being a Levantine Jew he wouldn’t have looked like the Nordic hippie we’re familiar with in the West. He probably looked a bit more like this picture above, which is in the 16th century church of Ura Kidane Mihret on Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Brown skin, dark eyes and hair. . .this is what most people in ancient Judea looked like.

Ethiopia became Christian in the 4th century, and is the second oldest Christian nation after Armenia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has built incredible houses of worship all over the country, including the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, stone buildings dug out of the bedrock.

For more on the fascinating culture that produced this image, check out my series on travel in Ethiopia.

Ten clear signs you’re in the wrong city for Christmas

by Annie Scott on

Christmastime is a special time for Christians, and also for non-Christians who don’t mind the excuse to decorate, eat, and exchange presents. One of the main chagrins of perpetual travelers is that they often find themselves in the wrong city for Christmas. Being away from family is one thing, but sometimes, December 25 can roll by without feeling like a “real Christmas” at all. I feel weird even celebrating sans snow.

I understand that not all Gadling readers observe the Christmas holiday, but I do, and this is for those of you who do, too — and who knows? Maybe even some people who don’t celebrate Christmas can appreciate this article in the spirit in which it was intended: lightheartedly. Here are 10 clear signs you’re in the wrong city for Christmas.

You know you’re in the wrong city for Christmas when…

  1. The only smell of pine is coming from the cardboard “freshening” apparatus dangling from your cab driver’s rear-view mirror.
  2. When someone says “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” to you, you feel insecure about not blending in well enough.
  3. You at any point attempt to decorate a palm tree.
  4. None of the shopkeepers seem to understand your impulse to “decorate” a cookie (and they certainly don’t know where you can get some of those delicious non-edible silver dragees).
  5. The only Christmas tree you can procure is below waist-high.
  6. Friends brutally mock you for having believed in Santa Claus ever, like, even if it was over 30 years ago.
  7. You at any point attempt to hang ornaments on something that isn’t a tree (or the friend who mocked you).
  8. You can look around and feel certain that not one person in your vicinity knows the trials and tribulations of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
  9. You forgo inviting friends over for a few days because you don’t know how they’ll react to the oversized socks hanging from your fireplace.
  10. Every time you think you see a nativity scene, it turns out to just be a manger with people around it.

Got more ideas? Put ’em in the comments below, we want to hear!

[Photo by avlxyz via Flickr.]

Adventure travel meets faith: cycling to Mecca for the Hajj

by Sean McLachlan on


Two Muslims from South Africa mixed adventure travel and spirituality this year by cycling to Mecca for the Hajj. Natheem Cairncross, 28 and Imtiyaz Haron, 25, cycled through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Visa problems with Sudan and Ethiopia meant they had to take a plane from Kenya to Turkey, but that doesn’t lessen their achievement.

In an interview with the BBC, Cairncross said the 6,800-mile journey was a life-changing experience. Both had to sell possessions to raise money for the trip. Cairncross even sold his car. Yes, he had a car and he decided to go by bike.

The Hajj is the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim should do at least once in their lifetime if they are able. Currently the Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai is exhibiting photos and recordings made by Dutch explorer Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje in 1885. Check out the link for some amazing early images and eerie recordings made on wax cylinders that had only recently been developed by Thomas Edison.

[Image courtesy Ali Mansuri via Wikimedia Commons]

Ancient statue of decapitated ballplayer discovered in Mexico

by Sean McLachlan on

One of the most enduring puzzles vexing archaeologists is the Mesoamerican ballgame. Played for 3,000 years by several cultures until the Spanish conquest, it had deep religious significance, although archaeologists are unsure just what that means.

Two teams faced off in a rectangular stone ball court, trying to knock a solid rubber ball using everything except their hands. At the end one team (presumably the losers) were sacrificed to the gods. Why? Nobody is really sure.

Now a new piece has been added to the puzzle. Archaeologists working at the site of the ancient settlement of El Teúl in the Zacatecas region of central Mexico have uncovered the statue of a headless ballplayer. El Teúl was inhabited for 1,800 years, longer than any other major site in the area.

The statue was found in the remains of an ancient ball court. Archaeologists theorize the statue acted as a pedestal on which to put real heads. Give me that old-time religion!

No good photo is available at this time, although you can see a shot of it lying where it was found in this article. The new find looks very different from the famous stele of a decapitated ballplayer shown here from the Anthropology Museum of Xalapa, Mexico.

If you want to try to figure out just what all the ballplaying and beheading was about, you’ll have your chance in 2012 when El Teúl opens to the public. Mexico is filled with ancient sites, and history buffs will soon have another important one to visit.

[Photo courtesy Maurice Marcellin via Wikimedia Commons]

Photo of the Day (11.16.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on

This Sunday marked the beginning of the Hajj, the world’s largest annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. As the fifth pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage is a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim that can do so. Saudi officials have reported that a record-breaking 3.4 million people are expected to come from all corners of the globe to perform the Hajj this year.

This astounding photo, titled “Headed to Mecca” was taken by Flickr user Theodore Kaye as a mother prepares to leave Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan for Mecca. I love that Theodore was able to be present for and capture the intimacy of this moment and took advantage of the lighting to make the image even more beautiful. The result of being in the right place at the right time, and knowing how to capture a great photograph.

If you want to see more of the Hajj, Boston.com put up an amazing series of images of this year’s processions. Also worth checking out is VBS.tv’s short documentary of an inside look at the pilgrimage. What’s your personal Mecca? Share it with us by adding photos to our Flickr group and it could be our next Photo of the Day.