(Image credit: Stuart Butler)
Many travelers have heard of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia, but few know about the “New Lalibela” carved out of the rock walls by dedicated monks.
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Legend has it that Lalibela’s dramatic rock-hewn churches were built with the help of a team of angels. Buried deep in the rocks of the northern highlands of Ethiopia, the 11 monolithic churches were built by King Lalibela between the late 12th and early 13th centuries. King Lalibela claimed to have built the church according to God’s instructions.
With the Crusades in full swing and Jerusalem’s pilgrimage site too dangerous to visit, the church at Lalibela was envisioned as a “new” Jerusalem and a place of pilgrimage for Ethiopia’s large Orthodox Christian community.
Today, the church remains a major place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Christians. they again, UNESCO World Heritage Siteinternational travelers flock here to see one of Africa’s greatest historic sights.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klxt.jpg)
According to local guide Workay Dessere Alem, there are two possible reasons why the church was buried in the rock. The first was as a form of protection. Over the centuries, Muslim invaders destroyed many of the more overt churches, so much so that King Lalibela thought that burying the churches would keep them safe from potential attackers. turned out to be correct). Another reason, according to Alem, is that King Lalibela “was also inspired by the biblical account that Jesus was born in the caves of Bethlehem and was buried in the caves of Golgotha.”
Whatever the reason, Lalibela’s churches are architecturally remarkable. His one of the churches, Bethmed Hanealem, is 33 meters long, 23 meters wide and 10 meters high and is considered the largest monolithic church in the world. Bete Amanuel Church (pictured above), on the other hand, is known for its fine stone carvings. It is said that this church actually started as the royal residence of King Lalibela.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klgm.jpg)
It takes great ambition to embark on the construction of the “New Jerusalem”, but you might think that after King Lalibela completed his masterpiece, no one else would dare to surpass it. But on a remote mountain slope about 60 kilometers south of Lalibela, a devoted monk and two church deacons are busy carving out of the rock a stunning new version of the church.
They are building Dagmawi Lalibela (meaning Second Lalibela). The all-hand-made work he started in 2010, and so far he has built seven monolithic churches. When completed, like Lalibela, the complex will consist of 11 rock-hewn churches. Abu Gebre Meskel Tesema, a solitary monk and hermit, rarely gives interviews, but one of the reasons he builds the church is that the original Lalibela church must have been built by foreigners. It is on record that he said it was to prove those who claimed to be wrong. help.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klgk.jpg)
Some of the reasons Tesema chose this site as the site of a second Lalibela were the presence of a source of holy water nearby, and the already unfinished cave church near the site, whose construction was commissioned by King Lalibela. This is because it is believed to be due to itself. Alem also said the church’s structure of exposed cliffs and rock faces brings the church “closer to God”.
Dagmawi Lalibela’s overall style is also very similar to the original. Both are adorned with bold and sometimes colorful carvings inside and out, one even in the form of a cross reminiscent of Bethe He Giorgis (St. George’s Church) in Lalibela.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klgh.jpg)
However, Dagmawai Lalibela’s church is considerably smaller than the other Lalibela churches and has a different order of construction. In the original Lalibela, both the interior and exterior of the church are believed to have been carved at the same time, whereas in Dagmawai’s Lalibela, the church was built from the foundation and the exterior was carved first.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klg5.jpg)
Incredibly, Tesema worked completely alone for the first year. But today two church deacons have joined him in his duties. But even then, Tesema does all the excavation and carving himself, while the butlers only help clear up and remove the rubble.
“While Tesema works, he does not accept any food and does not use artificial lighting,” one of the butlers told me. “When he sculpts the interior of churches, he often does it in near darkness.”
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klg1.jpg)
Tesema deliberately uses only the most basic building tools, chisels and hammers, just like the building techniques from the time of King Lalibela, so no bricks, mortar or wood is used. If that is not enough, there is no overall architectural plan and all dimensions are done by eye.
According to Alem, using these traditional building techniques “makes people feel more spiritually committed.”
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6klfx.jpg)
In 2018, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognized Tesema’s ministry and the church was consecrated. Today, worship services are held here regularly for the local community and visitors, and the dimly lit interior is decorated with religious paintings and objects (pictured).
This place can easily be visited as part of a half-day tour from Lalibela. Tesfa Tours It operates a series of community-managed trekking guesthouses and walking trails linked to the cliffs just above Dagmawi Lalibela.
![(Credit: Stuart Butler) (Credit: Stuart Butler)](https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0g6kl96.jpg)
With no more space left on the rock wall, Tesema has stopped most of the work on this site and is looking for another suitable location nearby where the last four churches can be built. But despite this suspension of proceedings, Tesema and his butlers aim to complete the project in the next few years. They hope that in a few hundred years Dagmawi Lalibela will be viewed by visitors with the same reverence that New Jerusalem is today.
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