One often finds panels of pictures such as the one shown at the right, which tell a story. This is a story quite important to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. According to legend, some 2,900 years ago, the Queen of Sheba made a pilgrimage to see King Solomon. The Queen was quite beautiful--the Ethiopians are a beautiful people--and what might a man want upon seeing such a beautiful woman? The Queen was there for other reasons (Or, was she?) and didn't comply with his desires. However the King made her promise that she would not take anything that was his, and if she did, then she would have to comply with his wishes. That evening, he had his servants make a very spicy, salty food for dinner. That night, very near the Queen's bed a vase of cool, inviting water was placed. Suffering a bit from the spicy food, the Queen took a drink of water and immediately the King stepped in, saying that she had taken something of his, and therefore....To make a long story short, the result of this union was Menelik I who was the first of the long dynasty of emperors in Ethiopia. In this way, the Ethiopian Orthodox church is connected to the Davidic line and is the real church. Quite an interesting legend.....
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