The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

Photos courtesy of Awaze Tours' client, Adrian Whear.

Hidden for centuries in the remote highlands, about 700 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, the magnificent rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are not to be missed by today's visitor. This group of eleven monolithic and semi-monolithic structures was carved directly into the stone of the mountainside at least 800 years ago. With the largest monolithic church in the world; a maze of passageways and tunnels; intricately carved reliefs; and fabulous examples of icon paintings; the Lalibela churches were built by carving a massive rectangular trench around a solid stone block. This solid block was then hollowed out, leaving interior columns, windows, reliefs, etc. Other churches were carved in a similar fashion but leaving either one side or the roof attached to the surrounding stone. Not only the craftsmanship but also the sheer size of the churches is stunning. Medhane Alem, the largest, sits on 800 square meters and St. George is 15 meters deep.

Lalibela is on the Historic Route

The entrance to Yemrehana Kristos.

Yemrehana Kristos

Located at the end of a winding dirt road 42 kilometers from Lalibela, the church of Yemrehana Kristos sits in a shallow cave where it was constructed during the 11th or 12th centuries. Built of wood, stone, and marble, the architecture is quite different from the churches of Lalibela and the cave and adjacent forest create a very tranquil setting. Near the church, on the edges of the cave's interior, lay the skeletal remains of hundreds of Orthodox Christians where they have rested for centuries.

Timkat

Timkat or Epiphany is one of the most celebrated days for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Every 19 January (20 January during leap year) a priest from each church brings the "tabot" from its sacred place inside the church and proceeds with all believers to a nearby location for a mass baptism. The "tabot" are representative of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed.

The ancient and hand-written texts held in almost every church were written in "Geez," the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. A semitic language, Geez is is the forerunner of modern day Amaharic.

Church service in Lalibela's rock churches.

Church of Emmanuel.

A priest displays a bible hand-written in Geez.