We took a short flight from Gondar to Lalibela due to the situation in the Amhara region, where the ethno-nationalist Amhara Fano militia controls the road between the two cities. Before it was known as Lalibela, the town was called Roha (or Warwar) and served as the capital of the Zagwe dynasty. The town’s history is tied to King Lalibela, who relocated his capital there and commissioned the rock-hewn churches, transforming the site into a major pilgrimage destination for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. This transformation aimed to create a “New Jerusalem” for Ethiopians who found it difficult to travel to the Holy Land.
