King Lalibela

Extending out at the south of the Bet Maryam (The house of Mary) courtyard is the little chapel of Bet Danaghel 8.6 m. length and 3.6 m. height. It’s one of the rock-hewn church in Lalibela.

This small chapel is linked with one of the most fascinating legends of Lalibela. According to a legend recorded in the Ethiopian Book of Martyrs, the chapel was contracted in honor of 50 Christian maiden nuns murdered by the Roman ruler Julian the Apostate in the 4th century. 

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Bet Medhane Alem is the largest monolithic rock-hewn church in the world, measuring 11.5m in height and covering an area of almost 800m2.

A plain building, held up by 36 pillars on the inside and another 36 around the outside, Bet Medhane Alem has a classical dignity reminiscent of an Ancient Greek temple, a resemblance that has led some experts to imagine it was modeled on the original St Mary Zion Church built by King Ezana at Axum.

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