Books: Philip Marsden

For Philip Marsden it was love at first sight with Ethiopia, and he returned to this magnificent country 20 years after his initial visit. He read everything there is on Ethiopian Christianity and shows his eagerness to touch its mystic core in his book, The Chains of Heaven (now in paperback).

A book reviewer in the Telegraph writes this: "His exhilarating, sometimes burlesque narrative introduces several fascinating characters, including Tekla Haymanot, the holy man of the 13th century, said to be descended from Zadok the priest, who "once prayed without interval for 20 years. During that time he did not sit down and his right leg rotted and fell off. His praying though was unaffected, and he carried on for another seven years on his left leg."

I was amazed by the intensity of faith in this African country when I attended the Timket celebrations in Lalibela and Gonder. The devotion and spirituality expressed by Ethiopians rivals any that I've seen in my travels to the well known centers of faith, be it in India's Varanasi, at Morocco's shrine of Moulay Idriss or at the Shwedagon Paya in Rangoon, to name but a few. The story about Tekla Haymanot above mirrors the many stories told and retold about legendary sadhus in India.

An eye-opener of a book, and darn good yarn. If you're interested in Ethiopia, that's a book for you.