The Mythical Ark Of The Covenant | The Ethiopian Keepers Of The Lost Ark With David Adams | Timeline

deep within the mountains of North Africa and looking for the origins of an ancient legend an incredible story that begins with Moses and the Ten Commandments [Music] it's about an object so sacred it can only be viewed by the most pure Christians it's so dangerous it can destroy cities spread plague and burn people alive many have looked for the source of this legend the Crusaders the popes of rome the great kings of europe even indiana jones and like them my quest has brought me to ethiopia I'm looking for the keepers of the Lost Ark [Music] my name is David Adams I'm a photojournalist and while I travel to many strange corners of the earth I don't normally get a reception like this Ethiopia is a landlocked nation in North Africa once a mountain Kingdom it remained isolated from the rest of the world for over a thousand years [Music] [Music] Ethiopian is the only African nation never to be colonized thanks to warriors like these they wiped out invaders with for Russia's efficiency and this is how they developed battle courage it's the ancient sport of quacks [Music] it's a form of jousting and as you can see the rules are simple get out of the way fast the spears are real and very sharp [Music] [Music] that was incredible whoever chased like that in horse ever it's no wonder that Ethiopia has never been really occupied with guys like that chasing the people out of here just fantastic but I come in peace in fact I come as a pilgrim my journey starts in the ethiopian highlands where i'll shortly set out on a 200 mile pilgrimage that's 320 kilometers my journey will take me to some of the most sacred shrines in this ancient land [Music] first stop is the town of lalibela where thousands of pilgrims are gathering for Christmas Ethiopia is one of the world's oldest Christian nations so I wear a white shirt to show respect and I carry a pilgrim staff for divine determination my pilgrimage will take me through the 12 days of the Orthodox Christmas ending with Tim can the Ethiopian Feast of the Epiphany but none of this happens on any dates we use in the West according to the local calendar there are 13 months in a year the 21st century is still years away and sitting here under the midday Sun it's still 5 p.m. in other words Western time here is irrelevant and listening to this fire and brimstone preacher so are some aspects of Western culture no coffee he shouts no alcohol no loud talk excessive laughter or noisy parties otherwise I will not enter the kingdom of heaven not exactly my idea of Christmas so to help me on my pilgrimage and guide me through this fundamental Christian country I need expert help I find it in this humble lalibela home so all these people just come from the street you invite them in yeah everybody does that for Christmas I set the custom yeah it's like a semicircle Juliet this is issue to his wife Ababa and a cousin Taytay tomorrow we leave on a family pilgrimage to the ancient city of ganda and these people have come from how far away they came almost seven days and eight days from they came from different part of Ethiopia thank you this is highly bred it's astonishing charity in a country so desperately poor so out of respect and despite the warnings of the fire and brimstone preacher I try some of issue to his beer that's good it's um it's quite bitter there's things floating in it somehow I don't work before I set off as a pilgrim I must learn more about Ethiopian belief and in Lalibela you don't have to go far [Music] here the church is a thriving institution one in five Christian males is a deacon or priest [Music] this is a Christmas liturgy conducted as it would have been 1500 years ago the chanting the robes the mysticism all belonged to the deep biblical past [Music] while there's something that seems very African about this chance it's actually one of the oldest liturgies in existence it has its roots in the days when Christianity was a radical Jewish sect and underlying it all is a swarthy faith they call Lalibela the New Jerusalem [Music] there are 11 of these churches here dating from the 12th century and all of them are carved by hand out of solid rock hello I'd like to buy some channels yeah thank you very much Merry Christmas [Music] [Applause] [Music] the churches are connected by a maze of tunnels over the centuries they've been turned into catacombs [Music] all around me are the bodies of long-dead monks skin and burn preserved in the dry mountain air [Music] the passages twist and turn into an elaborate underground labyrinth all of it chopped out of stone by hammer and chisel but how [Music] well according to legend the heavy work was done by saints and angels when King Lalibela died God ordered him back to earth to carve the churches and some George and the Archangel Gabriel led him a hand or that's what the faithful believe [Music] here in Ethiopia faith is an obsession this woman has travelled for days to be rechristened at the Church of San Jorge and these hermit monks will spend the rest of their lives in holes reading and rereading their Bibles until they to join the catacombs of the dead [Music] can you imagine it and made this just with a hammer and chisel and this is volcanic rock if anything is an act of faith this is but inside the church is the source of an even deeper religious obsession the Ethiopians believe that somewhere hidden behind these curtains is an object handed to Moses by God [Music] it's the Ark of the Covenant the box that held the Ten Commandments now I must say I'd always believed it was destroyed when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 586 BC but here they believe it was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba [Music] all over Ethiopia hundreds of churches claimed to possess it it might be here it might be elsewhere but where well that's the point of my journey [Music] tomorrow I set out through the 12 days of Christmas on a pilgrimage I traveled to some of the most remote hiding places in Ethiopia on my quest for the secrets of the Lost Ark dawn on the first day of Christmas and our pilgrimage is underway as we set out from Lalibela to the ancient Ethiopian city of ganda 200 miles or 320 kilometres is not a huge distance but it's a long way to walk stage one takes us to Bethlehem but not the biblical Bethlehem there's a Bethlehem in Ethiopia too and here I'll find a church that claims a unique connection with the Ark of the Covenant issue - and a Baba have brought their son Zedd and their little daughter Jordana's and it isn't long before we're in the heart of the ethiopian highlands this is another reason why Ethiopia has been isolated for so long these amazing mountains they're a natural barrier to invaders and explorers and that includes people like me investigating the legend of the Lost Ark you know if you were gonna hide an object it was the core of three of the world's great religions this wouldn't be a bad place to do it the pilgrims trail takes us through some of the best farmland in the country [Music] only about 12% of Ethiopia is suitable for farming which means that a population of 50 million Ethiopians depend on a few farmers like these to survive no wonder it's so often a land of famine and there's a drought on right now [Music] these farming methods have hardly changed since biblical times they still fresh grain here much in the same way as they did 2,000 years ago no tractors or mechanized pharmacy are here by now we've done about 12 miles or 20 kilometres and the journey is beginning to take its toll on the youngest member of the group [Music] are you getting very heavy so why do it all on foot well to achieve real Redemption a pilgrim must make a genuine effort the more we walk the closer we get to God and the closer we get to our first destination Bethlehem this little town of Bethlehem is typical of the Ethiopian highlands no power no running water not much land for crops or grazing and desperately poor we meet the Abba or priest if I want to know more about the Ark I'd better not get on the wrong side of him like all guests we must be made welcome and that means coffee they know all about making coffee here in Ethiopia and so they should coffee gets its name from the cafe region of Ethiopia the place they say where coffee beans were first discovered it's always handed round with some ceremony here indeed few conversations start without coffee and there's a lot that I want to ask the ABBA about the ark as the church ever housed the Ark of the Covenant is he foolish to tell what and America yes maybe but I thought the genuine Ark the one taken from the Temple in Jerusalem was supposed to be in Lalibela there's our cue in the church because every charity has it on Arcis and we ask for this church so each church has its own Ark fair enough but isn't there supposed to be only one Ark the one brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses this been the resting place of the central Ark oh okay right but isn't there some confusion there are now two churches both claiming the genuine were sinful a Christian she's our Ark is but surely the Ark can't be in a hundred places at once is he speaking literally or metaphorically on ledges glass laughs both he says now this is really confusing the other shows me the Bethlehem Church it was built by people from Israel in the third century he says by foreigners who wish to protect the Ark and it's well protected this is as far as the ABBA can go because he's recently eaten and made love to his wife he's temporarily impure and cannot enter the consecrated part of the church so I enter under the watchful eyes of his assistant but there's another mysterious eye staring at me from behind the curtains is this the Ark of the Covenant and warned not to step too close even for a skeptic like me it would be wise to obey but the real point is that these people believe that behind these curtains is an object that was touched by God and Moses himself and if I was to go in there and touch it flames would shoot straight up my nostrils and I'd be burned alive I move back just in case I'm sapped by the earth [Music] that evening is Taytay and a Baba prepare a meal I keep little jewel darkness amused I'm all prepared for a quiet and reflective night around the campfire when suddenly out of the shadow come these dancers it's called rather euphemistically shoulder dancing and it's a strange mix of Christianity and paganism it's a dance about two spirits one good the other mischievous one serves God the other serves the devil suddenly my pilgrimage is on hold and as they danced music that sounds strangely Irish I wonder which spirit will win the good one will the mischievous one thank goodness the argus safely locked away in the church far beyond the reach of skeptics like Maine tomorrow I continue my quest for the keepers of the Lost Ark I take a shower under the thundering waters of the Nile and cross a bridge built with honey eggs and clay [Applause] it's the fifth day of Christmas and we wake up to the cool air of a North African winter's dawn soon we're back on the Pilgrims trail our route takes us from the Ethiopian Bethlehem back into the mountains as we head for the Blue Nile and the chissus at Falls but our pilgrims progress has checked by one of the sadder realities of Africa a Cortez like this can only mean one thing a funeral [Music] in the crowd we recognized one of the dancers from the night before the 23 year old cousins died as is the custom in small close-knit communities like this everyone attends including us [Music] like everywhere in Africa death is part of life happens all the time it's a real privilege to be here because knowing the family it's a very private moment for them and very very special for me I won't ever forget this [Music] we're now well into our pilgrimage we've got just over a week to go but there's still 120 miles of hard slog ahead of us I revel in this beautiful ethiopian landscape when suddenly in the middle of nowhere we see this an old european-style bridge apparently the Portuguese built it in the 15th century so the story goes there was no cement so they stuck it together with honey eggs and clay [Music] we're now approaching the Blue Nile and in the distance a strange white mist these are supposed to be some of the most spectacular waterfalls in North Africa I see the wafting haze that gives them their local name to set or the smoke of fire [Music] if you want somewhere to marvel at the world's greatest river tissa set is the place to be it's here that the Blue Nile plunges a hundred and fifty feet into a chasm it's the first time that issue 2 and his family have ever seen so much water in one spot remember this is an arid country plagued by drought too most pilgrims this is a miracle it's not over now I think I'll go down have a really nice shower under the slightly skeptical I have this young shepherd I make my way down to the ultimate chalice II we're in the middle of the dry season the Falls are at their lowest end imagine what it's like around here one of Ryan's they call it the River of Life the Blue Nile provides 80 percent of the water for the Nile proper if these Falls ever stopped millions would starve to death for a thousand miles downstream from here [Music] [Music] [Music] talk of turning a shower into a religious experience although I suspect issue to a little Jordana's think I've lost my mind I don't know about them but this pilgrims feeling very much rejuvenated that was like standing in the middle of a hurricane this is like just the most fantastic billions it's everything about Africa my god come and stand under the knife all that afternoon we go into Tessa's hat village to stock up on food and in a country that's often stricken by drought the choice is never huge no shrimp stew chuck on the barbie here basically it's potatoes tomatoes and onions but they're fresh anyway Taytay and a Berber seem to know what they're looking for however there doesn't seem to be much in the way of meat but then meat is a luxury in North Africa besides as pilgrims we should live and eat frugally to gain maximum redemption in the eyes of the Lord but after seven days on the pilgrims trail I must say I could eat a horse Gretchen this is the local staple a flatbread called Indira it's made from millet and appears at every meal when someone shares food with you it's a great compliment but when they actually put it in your mouth it means affection Gustus I respect and buy now I'm getting to no issue - and his family normally a pilgrimage would be a very private family event so they've been generous indeed to let me tag along you know a lot of countries in the world don't have have pilgrimages at all and a lot of people I think find it very strange that people are still walking hundreds of miles for religious reasons well here in we have a lot of pilgrims and we came from different parts of Ethiopia and they visit the monastery church but this is my first time with my kids and my wife back on the nine and a tiny River port that could be straight out of the African Queen while issue two and family go ahead on foot I'm making a detour to fill up a new lead on the ark [Music] I'm told that when the art was brought to Ethiopia became up past this spot they tell me there's an island on a lake upstream where the Ark is supposed to have been kept for eight hundred years some say it's still there so I need a boat and the best way to get one around here is to have one made they're making papyrus canoes in a manner unchanged in 3,000 years I've seen similar crafts on the river tigris on the caspian sea and on the andean lakes of south america how the same ideas spread so far we just don't know so whatever the reason for their design it's obvious that these little crafts have played a huge role in moving people around the globe even they've been around for about 3,000 years it'll probably hold together just long enough to get me out on Lake Tana to find that equally mysterious Ark of the Covenant I launched my canoe on the Blue Nile it was going to be the toughest 20 miles of my pilgrimage [Music] [Music] [Music] so far so good but it's definitely a workout in the wet season I'd never stand a chance with so much water flooding the river I'd be swept downstream to oblivion as for papyrus canoes will they're extremely buoyant a little sluggish but surprisingly stable this is an Ethiopian river community that few Westerners ever get to see gone is the arid landscape this one is rich fertile and well watered [Music] five miles down 15 still to go [Music] and as the seventh day of Christmas turns to dusk with arms aching I looked for a place to camp I know exactly where I am this GPS monitor uses navigation satellites to tell me compared with the great explorers it feels a little like cheating the reading tells me that tomorrow I must paddle another 15 miles east nor East to an island on Lake Tana the most secret hiding place of the Lost Ark morning on the eighth day of an Ethiopian Christmas and I'm back on the River of Life the Blue Nile of Ethiopia in North Africa I'm now heading out of the river onto one of the great freshwater resources on earth Lake Tana remember most of the water that flows down the Blue Nile comes from here and that's all bottled water this is an extraordinary place I'm on a lake that 60 times the size of Manhattan it has more water than all of Britain's inland waterways and lakes put together and is 2,000 meters or 6,000 feet above sea level by now the paddling is starting to take its toll somewhere on this lake is the Lost Ark of the Covenant held in a monastery and according to legend this time it's the real one there are 34 islands on this lake and 20 of them have monasteries the island I'm seeking is Tana Kirkus and of course it would have to be the most remote of all the islands on lake tana Christian monks have lived here for 1,500 years not a bad place to hide the Ark [Music] by now my arms feel like jelly I arrived on my waterlogged bundle of raids the only sign of life are vultures peering down like gargoyles from a medieval church but they're not the only ones watching me [Music] we're six cents tells me I'm under surveillance but by now I don't care when I land all I hear is the lapping of water i'ma sure and looking forward to using my feet again welcome to Tanner Curtis the silence is oppressive then I see something that confirms the presence of ancient people stones once used as a sacrificial altar [Music] the holes were to catch the blood of a calf or lamb but animal sacrifice was only practiced by the early Christian church in Ethiopia this means the monastery has been here for a very long time [Music] long enough to hide an object last seen over two and a half thousand years ago perhaps and then I see them the keepers of the Lost Ark these monks have obviously been expecting me yesterday they're clearly quite relaxed about my presence so I come straight to the point I understand that the Ark of the Covenant was kept here or first came here when it came to Ethiopia what what date was that how long ago was the Ark brought here tomorrow yeah Anton what a particular note I would similar sentiment you know ID Corey to that a metal O'Malley maybe I came to the point to abruptly I don't think that first question went down to well I'm not sure if they're arguing about the date or whether they should be talking to me at all finally a deacon translates 982 years before and where is it on the island where is it kept now I think I'm really Donna the atmosphere becomes definitely cool I have the distinct impression that my question-and-answer session is about to come to an abrupt end there was a lot of trying to stall this instrument because of that everybody invades have tried to steal the ark he explains so they've had to hide a holy by putting it under divine protection so it's somewhere on the island in one of the buildings here but no one knows where yeah so it's hidden still here yeah hey dunya okay so even if they knew mm-hmm where the Ark was on the island they're not gonna tell me what they mean their attitude is simple all the other arcs in Ethiopia are fakes used to for thieves the real ark is here on the island and they don't have to prove it to anyone least of all me so as I paddle away from Terra Kirkus in a canoe that seems even more sluggish I leave yet another home of the so called one true Ark and I think I was right the first time I'm not dealing with reality I'm dealing with a legend but I also wonder if that's the real issue the twelfth day of Christmas is fast approaching soon I'll get us close as any skeptic can ever get to the truth of the Lost Ark it's the tenth day of Christmas and at last we're approaching the end of our Ethiopian pilgrimage since we began on Christmas Day we've walked 200 miles that's 320 kilometers now we reach our final destination ganda the African Camelot and after so many days on the road this former Ethiopian capital comes as an intoxicating relief ganda reached the peak of its power in a sixteenth century from this castle the Ethiopian Emperor's protected by warrior Horseman wielded absolute power [Music] [Applause] but Ethiopian emperors were always in awe of another superior force the spiritual might of Ethiopian orthodoxy and still today we should never underestimate the power of the Orthodox Church in this country even at the beginning of the 21st century it is still incredibly profound here [Music] not far away issue two and his family are entering the most famous church in North Africa to pray they must purify themselves for tomorrow this church is called the Deborah Rehan Selassie built in the 16th century and it's famous for its frescoes [Music] and note how they pray not unlike the prayer rituals of Islam the fresco is of the three wise men who showed the baby Jesus to the world that moment is what Tim CAD is all about [Music] and as the Sun sets over ganda the atmosphere is charged with intense religious fervor it's why the pilgrims are still flocking into town all of them seeking Redemption [Music] next morning is the start of Tim Couch religious passions explode in the streets for the next two days there are similar celebrations all over Ethiopian it's the biggest ceremony in the Orthodox calendar for issue two and his family it's the culmination of their pilgrimage [Music] but for me it's a little different because it's a Tim cotton when the most sacred objects of Ethiopian chrysanthemum are put on show this is as close as you and I will ever get to the mystery of the last hour resting on the priests heads our tablets the tablets upon which God is supposed to have written the Ten Commandments but there seem to be rather a lot of them so which ones are genuine [Music] then I'm told that each tablet comes from a different Church in Ghana each is believed to have the power of the ark which is why they covered in cloth if anyone other than their guardian priest sees them they'll be instantly consumed by fire at least that's what the faithful believe [Music] oliver ethiopian hundreds of tablets are being paraded each were the same pounds each supposedly inscribed with the laws of Moses as written by the finger of God [Music] and here at last and beginning to understand what they're all about this isn't about reality it's about faith you don't ask God to prove his existence so why ask the same of the ark and it's that faith that's brought the pilgrims to ganda it's why issue to his family and I have walked all this way I'm very say what did you think you'll enjoy a shadowy normally student living over would you think you come back next year well maybe I will come with my friend is to visit this place because I enjoyed very much about Tilka or its family [Applause] as the festival reaches its climax on the twelfth day of Christmas the drums beat incessantly the priest blessed the crowd is the most sacred moment of the Epiphany ceremony unfolds [Music] [Music] they push a raft out into the lake the candles are both a sign and a symbol the symbol is the giving of life to the Savior and the sign is for everyone to repeat their christening [Music] water filets everywhere and while it's a moment of deep religious significance I can't help thinking it's also about having a good time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and what of the Ark of the Covenant well the Ark didn't show but its contents did and after a brief appearance they'll be returned once more to a life of seclusion until next year's Tim kettle so if you come to Ethiopia you may not find the Ark but you will find the covenant that agreement between God and humanity it's everywhere in ceremonies like this all over Ethiopia it's in the hearts and minds of the Ethiopian people but right now it's the mouths and stomachs of a group of pilgrims that's concerning as most after so much walking I reckon we've earned enough redemption for some of the pleasures of life and a toast to little Giordano's the youngest member of the group always happy always smiling and sadly it's time to say goodbye to my pilgrim friends and as they head back to Lalibela I head off to reflect I'd done 200 miles across these magnificent Highlands I visited some of Ethiopia's most sacred places and I've got a real insight into the soul of this ancient land [Music] as for The Legend of the Lost Ark well it was exactly what I expected it to be a legend an article of faith that sits somewhere between myth and metaphor and while it is fact and logic that makes the western world tick it's that wonderful mixture of faith and legend that's forever keeping me going on my journeys to the ends of the earth [Music] [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 1,567,569

Rating: 4.7026329 out of 5

Keywords: ethiopia documentary, ark of the covenant ethiopia, the lost ark, david adams, ark of the covenant documentary, ethiopia ark of the covenant, ethiopian documentary, ethiopian history documentary, arc of the covenant, ark the covenant, ark of the covenant, the ark of the covenant, david adams documentary, timeline documentary, full documentary, bbc documentary, history documentary, documentary history, Travelling documentary, Muhammad, Mohammed, Salah, Hajj, Umrah, Madrasa

Id: JFxaZ-dkebw

Length: 50min 22sec (3022 seconds)

Published: Sat May 25 2019