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Conservation project

Ethiopia · Christianity · Church complex

Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches

Lalibela, Amhara

Bete Giyorgis at Lalibela, carved from reddish rock within a deep trench.
Bete Giyorgis, the Church of Saint George at Lalibela, Ethiopia, photographed in November 2012; one church within the eleven-church World Heritage site.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 2012-11-08
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About the building

Lalibela’s eleven medieval churches were carved directly into the rock and remain places of Ethiopian Orthodox worship. UNESCO’s 2025 conservation review records restoration progress while calling for sustained maintenance, monitoring and integrated conservation planning.

The project

Regular conservation and maintenance, environmental and structural monitoring, and church-specific conservation plans shaped with the clergy and local community.

Sources

Report year is 2025; no exact publication day was established. Conservation progress does not establish open volunteer access, a live appeal or safe travel conditions.

State of Conservation (SOC 2025): Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

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