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Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
Site number:
18
Type of site: Cultural
Date: 13th Century
Date of Inscription: 1978
Location: Africa, Ethiopia, Amhara Region
Video:
NHK World Heritage 100 series  
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Description: This 13th-century 'New Jerusalem', located in a rocky region in central Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings, encompasses eleven medieval monolithic cave churches. Within Ethiopian Christianity Lalibela is eminent, even nowadays a place of pilgrimage and devotion. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here.
  Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. Lalibela was intended to be a New Jerusalem in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims, and many of its historic buildings take their name and layout from buildings in Jerusalem. Located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara ethnic division, or kilil at 2,500 meters above sea level, Lalibela has a latitude and longitude of 12°01′57″N 39°02′36″E / 12.0325, 39.04333Coordinates: 12°01′57″N 39°02′36″E / 12.0325, 39.04333. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 14,668, of whom 7,049 were males and 7,619 were females. According to the 1994 national census, this city had a population of 8,484. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. For 360 degree imaging of this site, click here.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/18
Source2: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/18/video
Reference: 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page.
 
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