Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe
Lecture
Lunchbox Lecture: Visiting the Sacred Valleys of the Beta Israel. A Hike through the Semien Mountians
CERES Palais, room "Ruhrpott" (4.13)
The "Ethiopian sub-group", together with a tag-along Ethio-Armenian affiliate, of the JewsEast project set out for a three week field trip to search for the monastic remains of the Beta Israel, the Jews of Ethiopia, as well as some tangible traces of medieval Ethiopian-Armenian relations. In order to reach the sacred valleys of the Beta Israel we climbed from the highest mountains of Ethiopia, down into low and hot valleys, hiked for hours through the burning sun, and camped out under the full moon. The Ethio-Armenian portion had some surprising revelations about Armenians in Ethiopian and their role in Ethiopian society.
In this informal talk we want to show some impressions from our trip, with a focus on the adventures we had, the people we met, the food we ate and the impressive landscape we crossed. The presentation is based on findings of the JewsEast team.
