Taye's Information about Ethiopia!: Lalibela Rock Hewn Churches-UNESCO heritage site

Lalibela Rock Hewn Churches

Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Axum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country.

Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.

Lalibela was intended to be a New Jerusalem in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims, and many of its historic buildings take their name and layout from buildings in Jerusalem.

There are 11 medieval monolithic cave churches which are completely rock-hewen churches. They are hewen in the 13th-century and called 'New Jerusalem' and all are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings.

The churches are grouped based on the four directions.

1. The Northern Group: Bete Medhane Alem (house of the savior

of the world), and which is home to the Lalibela cross and believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, probably a copy of St Mary of Zion in Axum.

2.Bete Medhane Alem is linked to Bete Maryam (possibly the oldest of the churches), Bete Golgotha (known for its arts and said to contain the tomb of King Lalibela), the Selassie Chapel and the Tomb of Adam.

3. The Western Group: Bete Giorgis said to be the most finely executed and best preserved church.

4. The Eastern Group: Bete Amanuel (possibly the former royal chapel), Bete Merkorios (which may be a former prison), Bete Aba Libanos and Bete Gabriel-Rufael (possibly a former royal palace), linked to a holy Bakery.

Farther afield lie the Monastry of Ashetan Maryam and Yimrehane Kiristos church (possibly eleventh century, built in the Aksumite fashion but within a cave).

There are hotles around these UNESCO heritage sites. The hotles give a very nice service with Ethiopian reception. One hotle is shown below with a very nice topological view.