Hewn into a rock face, Bet Abba Libanos is unique among Lalibela’s churches because only the roof and floor remain attached to the strata. Many of its architectural features, such as the friezes, are Aksumite. Curiously, although it looks large from the outside, the interior is actually very small. The carved corners of its cubic capitals represent angel eyes. Legend says it was constructed in a single night by Lalibela’s wife, Meskel Kebra, with a little help from angels.
Bet Abba Libanos
Lalibela
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Nearby Lalibela attractions
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Reached via a series of trenches and tunnels (one is long, narrow and pitch-black) that starts from Bet Gabriel-Rufael, this church may have started as…
0.03 MILES
Its entrance flanked by a sloping sliver of rock known as the ‘Way to Heaven’, this imposing twin-church marks the main entrance to the southeastern group…
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0.2 MILES
Connected to Bet Medhane Alem by a tunnel is a large courtyard containing three churches. The first, Bet Maryam, is small, yet designed and decorated to…
0.21 MILES
A trench at the southern end of the Bet Maryam courtyard connects it to the twin churches of Bet Golgotha and Bet Mikael (also known as Bet Debre Sina)…
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Carved into the courtyard’s northern wall at Bet Maryam is the tiny semi-chapel of Bet Meskel. Four pillars divide the gallery into two aisles spanned by…