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Lake Tana is Ethiopia's largest lake and famous for the churches and monasteries on 20 of the lake's 37 islands. The Lake is known as the home of the Monasteries founded on some of the 20 of its 37 Islands. Ura Kidane Mehret is a church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, located on the Zege peninsula in Lake Tana of Ethiopia. It is part of the complex of the Convent of Mercy. At least one author considers it the most attractive church in the Lake Tana region.The convent was founded in the 14th century by the saint Betre Mariyam (Amharic "Rod of Mary"), although the present circular church dates from the 16th century.

The seven ostrich eggs on the cross mean that you're supposed to be in church seven days a week.

Why ostrich eggs? Because ostriches never leave their eggs and you should never leave the church!

The old cross was changed

The outer corridor, the "qene mehlet", accessible to anyone;

The church itself is deceptively simple on the outside--a large, round building topped by an elaborate cross--but when we pass through the tall wooden doors we're stopped short by brilliantly colorful paintings reaching from floor to ceiling

Its wall are decorated with numerous murals painted between 100 and 250 years ago; subjects include Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam and his followers.

The most significant were painted by Alaqa Engida during the reign of Emperor Menelik II.

Every inch of this wall is covered in paintings. Some scenes are familiar, like the Crucifixion and St. George defeating the dragon.

Many of the churches and monasteries of Lake Tana are very famous cultural museums because of their beautiful mural paintings and many other valuable treasures such as varieties of crosses, crowns, costumes of Kings, illuminated manuscripts, mummified bodies and remains of several Ethiopia Emperors in wooden coffins and glass boxes.

Others are strange to us, coming from holy books that have been discarded by or lost to the Western tradition, like the Miracle of Mary and the Kebre Negast.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes many such books in their canon. The books of Enoch and Jubilees were translated into Ge'ez, the ancient Ethiopian language still used in church services, but were lost to the West and survive in the New Testament only in a few quotations. If it wasn't for ancient Ethiopian translators, these books would be almost entirely unknown

The paintings are vivid, showing scenes of miracles and worship.

Mary is a popular figure and every phase of her flight to Egypt is shown in detail. There's also a brilliant painting of all the souls in Hell being freed after the Crucifixion.

The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of Ethiopia's ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds.The kebero is a large hand drum used in the Orthodox Christian liturgy. Smaller kebero drums may be used in secular celebrations. A piece of animal hide is stretched over each end, thus forming a membranophone.

Lake Tana has thirty-seven islands, twenty of which are home to churches and monasteries. Some of them dated back to the 13th century and many others are dated from the 14th century to the Gonderine period of the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of the original churches of Lake Tana are said to be renovated and reconstructed during the Gonderine period.

Many of the Lake Tana churches have been used as the major refugees for many cultural treasures of the country in general and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in particular during the times of war and worse conditions in the history of the country

The paintings sometimes take interesting twists to familiar themes. For example, the common image of St. George killing the dragon has a unique legend attached to it in Ethiopia. There once was a village that worshiped the dragon and made human sacrifices to it every day. A maiden named Brutawit was going to be sacrificed and St. George told her that if she believed in God that she would be saved. She was, thanks to George's skill with a lance, and she took the dead beast back to the village to show that God was more powerful than the dragon. The entire village then converted to Christianity.

The church has its treasury in a nearby outbuilding, which contains the richly embroidered robes of Negus Tekle Haymanot and his wife Laqetch Gegre Mehdin, as well as the crowns of Emperor Yohannes IV, Emperor Tewodros II, Negus Tekle Haymanot, and Emperor Tekle Giyorgis

Sound: Ethiopian Orthodox meditation chant - Kidasse Alebigne Wilta

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Sanda Negruţiu Alin Samochis Daniel Scrãdeanu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda