Lalibela

By Frieda

Lalibela is a very-far-away-from-everything town up in the mountains. That there is a town is due to ancient King Lalibela whose dynasty built around 10 rock churches that were not built out of rock but carved into it. These churches are conected with a system of tunnels and trenches. We wanted to see the churches, however the entrance fee is around 50 Dollar per person. Since the tickets are valid for up to five days some people take leftover tickets from other tourists. We gave our tickets to an Argentinian couple.

On the first day we found the most amazing restaurant I have ever been to: Ben Abeba. The most amazing thing about this place is not the food (even though it is very good! Especially the western food options) but rather the arichitecture of the place and most importantly the view. It is a half open half closed building made of several terraces and balconies sitting on a rather high hill surrounded by the most amazing landscapes. You can see 360 degree around you into valleys that strech far around and border into high rows of moutains in the distance. We liked that place so much that we came here for three meals J propably also because of the very nice staff and charming Scottish lady who is the owner. Only on the last evening in Lalibela we went to the “seven olives” fo dinner which was propably the best Ethiopian food we ever had.

On the second day we met Yosef and Bobby, an Israeli and an American who cruised around Ethiopia by bike. It was really nice to hang out with them and since they did not want to pay the horrendous entrance fee we got ourselves some drinks and climbed a mountain from where the churches were visible from above. On our last day we visited the churches. They were really impresive! Not a single stone was used to built these churches but they are carved deep into the ground and look just amazing. But they are even more impressive from the outside. Getting lost in the labyrinth of tunnels and diving out to see one of these impressive buildings was the part I enjoyed the most.