97Paul Bloomfield is a travel and heritage writer
and photographer, co-author of Lonely Planet’s
ALAMY/AWL/SHUTTERSTOCKROBERT HARDING/ALAMY/AWL Where to Go When (Lonely Planet, 2016)
Exquisite artwork
Bet Maryam (House of Mary), in the
north-west cluster, is one of the
smallest of the churches at Lalibela- but also the most popular with
pilgrims and arguably the most
beautifully decorated. Carved bas-
reliefs, capitals and frescoes depict
biblical scenes, plants and animals,
including this unusual two-headed
eagle. Bet Maryam may have been
the first church to be built at Lalibela,
then known as Roha.
Chapel in the cliff
Bet Abba Libanos, one of five churches
comprising the cluster south-east of
the Jordan river, is connected with the
rock only through its floor and ceiling- the rest is carved away entirely.
Relatively simple on the outside,
interior friezes are Aksumite in style,
betraying earlier influences.
According to legend, it was created in
just one night by Lalibela’s wife,
Meskel Kebra, with help from angels.
\ Ancient chronicle
This colourful illuminated book, reput-
edly 750 years old, is one of the treasures
housed in the church of Na’akuto La‘ab,
named for King Lalibela’s nephew and
successor, built in a cave around four
miles south-east of Lalibela. In 1270, not
long after the end of the reign of Na’akuto
La‘ab, the Zagwe dynasty was overthrown
by Yekuno Amlak, first emperor of the
Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia
(albeit with interruptions) until Haile
Selassie was deposed in 1974.ИЗПОДГОТОВИЛАГРУП
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