Biete Medhane Alem, Lalibela, Ethiopia

3D Model

The Zamani project, University of Cape Town,. documented this church in 2008 with laser scans, photogrammtric images, GPS, and panoramas.

Lalibela, one of Ethiopias most holiest cities, is home to a collection of monolithic rock-hewn churches. The churches were built as a representation of Jerusalem in the 1100’s.

Biete Medhane Alem has been cut of out sandstone rock and sits inside a trench, surrounded on all sides by steep walls.