Churches in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is full of ancient churches and visiting them was one of the main points of our visit there. The main focus of our church visits was the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela - a set of eleven churches carved into the solid rock of the ground - but we visited several other old churches as well.
St. George Cathedral
We started our tour in Addis Ababa with a visit to the St. George Cathedral.
Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela
Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches were carved out of solid rock sometime around the reign of King Lalibela (1181-1221). There are two clusters of underground churches, eleven in total. We visited them all over the course of two days. They were fascinating but I didn’t photograph them all. Here are some photos from them.
Yemrehanna Kristos
Before viewing the second half of the eleven churches in Lalibela, we drove to a remote church called Yemrehanna Kristos. It was built (rather than excavated) under a volcanic slab and it pre-dates the churches in Lalibela by 80 years.
Church at Yemrehanna Kristos
Abraha We Atsbeha in Tigray
After flying from Lalibela to Mekele, we took a van to Abraha We Atsbeha in the Tigray region. Although this church is reputed to have been built in the 4th century, architectural and archaeological evidence points to the 10th century. We had a specialist deacon guide to explain many of the beautiful murals inside it.
