January 2016

Debre Libanos Monastery

Debre Libanos - Close to the Canyon is the monastery of Debre Libanos. It is market day in Debre Libanos the day we visited and all farmers from the area came to sell or exchange their produce. We drove past the market towards the monastery. There we had to buy tickets to do a tour of the church and the museum with our guide. Women have to wear a scarf over the heads which we got at the entrance together with our tickets. Our guide took us around the grounds, the church museum and explained the history and meaning of this monastery to the local area. The present church was built in 1961 and has no trace of the ancient monastery anymore due to past wars in the area. Debre Libanos still remains one of the holiest sites in the whole of Ethiopia.