Fact Sheets & Video - Ethiopia

Lalibela is a small town in the Ethiopian highlands, 250kms from the capital Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian countries in the world and around 800 years ago devout Christians began carving into red volcanic rock to create 13 churches hewn from stone. 11 rock churches remain today. The churches were created by cutting a square trench into the ground and then chiselling the churches from the outside in. They were designed to be hidden, rather than exposed and therefore remained undetected by invaders over the centuries.

It is agreed that a king named Lalibela commissioned the structures, and while it is said it took only 24 years for the churches to emerge from the rock, given the scope of the project, as well as the exquisite sculptural detailing on all of the churches facades and interiors, it's more likely that the project spanned centuries. Legend has it that craftspeople worked on the churches by day and angels finished off the work by night.

The most remarkable of the Lalibela churches, called Bet Giorgis, is dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of Ethiopia. According to legend, when King Lalibela had almost completed the group of churches which God had instructed him to build, Saint George appeared (in full armour and riding his white horse) and sharply reproached the king for not having constructed a house for him.

Lalibela promised to build a church more beautiful than all the others for the saint. The church of Bet Giorgis is a nearly perfect cube and is hewn in the shape of a cross. The church is set in a deep pit with perpendicular walls and it can only be entered via a hidden tunnel carved in the stone.

Bete Medhane Alem is the largest of all the Lalibela churches measuring 33.7m in length, 23.7m in width and 11.5m in height. Taking the form of a Greek temple, it is unusual in being entirely surrounded by square-shaped columns, with a further forest of twenty eight massive rectangular columns supporting the roof inside. In a corner of the church, one can see three empty graves said to have been symbolically dug for the biblical personages of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Narrow, labyrinthine tunnels connect several of the churches, and the walls of the trenches and courtyards contain cavities and chambers filled with mummies of pious monks and pilgrims. The churches are still used for worship today and many are filled with richly painted biblical murals.

Further Information:

Qantas - Flies return to Johannesburg from $2205 ex Perth, $2370 ex Sydney, $2410 ex Melbourne, $2420 ex Brisbane and $2430 ex Adelaide. Prices correct at 4/4/07. Prices include surcharges, fees and taxes, subject to fluctuation. Conditions apply.

Ethiopian Airlines- Flies return to Addis Ababa from $1039 ex Johannesburg. Call Ethiopian Airlines on

1300 600 001. Prices correct at 26/4/07. Prices include taxes, subject to fluctuation. Conditions apply.

Essential Ethiopian Experience - 12 days from $2945 a person. Includes internal flights, transfers, accommodation, guides & most meals. Valid September 07 - February 08. Contact Peregrine Travel Centre on 1300 854 500. Prices correct at 12/5/07. Prices include taxes, subject to fluctuation. Based on twin share. Conditions Apply.