Why the city of Lalibela isn't listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World I'm not sure. Seems like it'd be a strong candidate. This is one of Ethiopia's premier Orthodox Christian holy cities, attracting pilgrims from around the country, especially during religious holidays.
But it's also the showcase for some of mankind's most impressive feats when it comes to architecture, construction and sheer perseverance. Without going into too much detail, Lalibela
-- located in Ethiopia's remote mountains -- is famous for its rock-hewn churches. In other words, the city's 11 churches were not built in the usual sense of the word -- they were carved out of the existing mountain. Pretty amazing stuff. Legend has it that King Lalibela sometime in the 1200's visited Jerusalem, got inspired and upon returning to Ethiopia ordered the construction of this holy city. It's said to have taken 40,000 workers 25 years to perform the feat.
The most famous of the churches, the masterpiece, is Bet Giyorgis (Church of St. George.) It is the only one that has been carved free from the mountain on all four sides, making it a 15 meter high independent structure. Unlike most of the other churches that were undergoing restoration when we were there because of serious wear and tear, Bet Giyorgis remains in excellent condition.
For some reason weaving seems to be left almost exclusively to men in Ethiopia. We didn't see any women weave but several men. Here's one in Lalibela.
For some reason weaving seems to be left almost exclusively to men in Ethiopia. We didn't see any women weave but several men. Here's one in Lalibela.
Louise and Yonase with some of the local friendly faces who greeted us as we strolled by.
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