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House of Holy Bread

Biete Lehem is an underground monolith church carved into rock. It is located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was created during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. The name Biete Lehem is from Bethlehem Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם (House of Holy Bread).

A few tens of meters from the House of St. Mark, there is a rounded tower, a kind of turret with more than 10 meters, completely isolated and anaccessible. The monument hides, in its upper part, a circular shaped room. Tradition places Bethlehem here, an important element found in all churches in Ethiopia. In this place, bread was baked and wine was prepared for the Eucharist. The room is connected to the House of Emanuel by a tunnel that opens into the interior of the church, near the south entrance door.















Source: Biete Lehem - Wikipedia