Lalibela
This excellent new museum has beautifully presented displays about Lalibela’s history, both past and present. The exhibits range from cultural artefacts to ancient manuscripts and other archaeological finds from Lalibela's sites. But the real stars are the 11 detailed information panels around the walls outlining Lalibela's history and archaeology. A museum guide is included in the entry fee.
The museum is signposted on the street as 'Lalibela Cultural Center' and sits above XO Lalibela.
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When you think of Lalibela, you're thinking of Bet Giyorgis. Resting off on its own, St George’s Church is Lalibela’s masterpiece. Representing the apogee…
0.47 MILES
Connected to Bet Medhane Alem by a tunnel is a large courtyard containing three churches. The first, Bet Maryam, is small, yet designed and decorated to…
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Resembling a massive Greek temple more than a traditional Ethiopian church, Bet Medhane Alem is impressive for its size and majesty. Said to be the…
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Free-standing and monolithic, Bet Amanuel is Lalibela’s most finely carved church. Some have suggested it was the royal family’s private chapel. It…
7.71 MILES
Despite Yemrehanna Kristos being one of Ethiopia’s best-preserved late-Aksumite buildings, few people reward themselves with a visit. And a reward it is…
2.24 MILES
Set at 3150m, atop Abune Yosef mountain, is this monastery where the local priests believe they’re ‘closer to heaven and God’, and it’s easy to see why…
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Reached via a series of trenches and tunnels (one is long, narrow and pitch-black) that starts from Bet Gabriel-Rufael, this church may have started as…
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Its entrance flanked by a sloping sliver of rock known as the ‘Way to Heaven’, this imposing twin-church marks the main entrance to the southeastern group…
0.29 MILES
When you think of Lalibela, you're thinking of Bet Giyorgis. Resting off on its own, St George’s Church is Lalibela’s masterpiece. Representing the apogee…
0.38 MILES
Lalibela’s Saturday Market is quite large. It's quieter on other days, but still worth visiting.
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Its entrance flanked by a sloping sliver of rock known as the ‘Way to Heaven’, this imposing twin-church marks the main entrance to the southeastern group…
0.43 MILES
Hewn into a rock face, Bet Abba Libanos is unique among Lalibela’s churches because only the roof and floor remain attached to the strata. Many of its…
0.45 MILES
Reached via a series of trenches and tunnels (one is long, narrow and pitch-black) that starts from Bet Gabriel-Rufael, this church may have started as…
0.46 MILES
To the south of the Bet Maryam courtyard is the pleasingly primitive and grotto-like chapel of Bet Danaghel (House of the Virgins), said to have been…
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In the trench fronting the western facade of Bet Golgotha, past the symbolic Tomb of Adam (a giant, hollowed-out block of stone), Bet Uraiel opened as a…
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A trench at the southern end of the Bet Maryam courtyard connects it to the twin churches of Bet Golgotha and Bet Mikael (also known as Bet Debre Sina)…