Small town of Lalibela is a religious and pilgrimage center in Ethiopia . Lalibela is famous for its 11 rock-hewn churches built 900 years ago . It attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year . Alebachev Retta , an 86-year-old church scholar who has studied in some of Ethiopia 's holiest cities , explains what makes these churches so distinctive . ` The church was originally constructed by the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II to honor his wife Queen Dewi Mariam, who died giving birth to their son King Yohannes IV.
Small town of Lalibela is a religious and pilgrimage center in Ethiopia . Lalibela is famous for its 11 rock-hewn churches built 900 years ago . It attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year . The church was originally constructed by the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II to honor his wife Queen Dewi Mariam, who died giving birth to their son King Yohannes IV.