<< Lalibella - Day One - Part Two

11/14/19 - Lalibella - Day One - Part One

The area around Lalibella was greener and lacked the exposed rock outcrops of Tigray. We drove from the airport, settled in to our hotel, Mezena Lodge, and then went straight into town to explore the complex of churches carved into a prominent hill top. Unlike European cathedrals which tower over their surroundings, the churches of Lalibella are underground, carved into the earth and surrounded by man made canyon walls, many of which have churches carved into them.

It is hard to capture the sense of surprise and mystery at Lalibella with just a bunch of photographs. One looks down from ground level and below there is a church of church complex. Descending, one enters another world where the sky is only visible in part. The light is different. Trees grow from the ground above. The buildings are the size of cathedrals and connected by passageways.

Our guide led us around from church to church and complex to complex. We only saw part of everything. Inside each church there were murals, painted ceilings, rich fabrics, paintings and sacred artifacts. The pictures in this post and other posts from Lalibella only give a sense of what we saw.

Greener country on the road from the airport

We are not in TIgray anymore

The view from our hotel patio

Descending to the complex of churches which are protected from weathering by a modern roof

A bit of the descent

Looking down

Looking up

Down below

Rock work

Another view, more windows

A mankala board

Inside view with curtains

Another view

A priest showing us one of the crosses

Paintings on display

Natural light

Another view from the carved canyon

More church windows

Yet another view

Keywords: ethiopia