Lalibela is a town set at 8500 feet in the beautiful highlands of Ethiopia.
A child herding goats.
Lalibela is home to eleven 900 year old churches that were hand carved with chisels directly from the stone. Today, to preserve the churches, most have protective coverings.
Inside of one of the churches. It's amazing to think that everything you see here is carved from a single block of stone!
The churches are 900 years old, but are still used today by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian locals.
Traditional Ethiopian-style painting of Mary and Jesus.
Our guide taking us through some tunnels between the churches. The churches have been carved down into the rock from above, so there are systems of trenches and tunnels to get between them.
In one of the trenches just outside of a church.
These are traditional Lalibela-style houses. They are two stories with the family living above and the cattle living below.
Mandi was a magnet for local children!!!
Traditional Ethiopian looming methods. The loom is built around a hole that has been dug to sit in.
Incredible sunset from our hotel balcony!
Mandi drinking Tej - the local "honey wine" beverage. The vessel is clear, the tej is very thick and yellow. We think it must be an acquired taste - it was bitter and smelly.
At the tej house, the local entertainer pulled people up to dance. Jon was picked first!
The most famous church in Lalibela - the St. George church.
The St. George church is in the shape of a Greek cross and is very well preserved.
At the roadside, we stopped for a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Here, she is roasting the coffee beans.
Mandi helps to grind the roasted coffee with a mortar and pestle.
She brews it and serves it up. Yum! Jon's favorite coffee!