Debre Bizen Monastery

Debreh Bizen Monastery is a sacred place that is located on a mountain at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level, in the town of Nefasit, near Asmara.

This monastery survived the destruction of shrines in the XV century because it is in a remote place. And when most of the shrines in Eretria were destroyed, the monastery of Debreh Bizen remained intact and can now be seen in its original form.

The monastery is also known for not letting women in. Entrance is strictly for men only and only men can stay for the night. As the priest said, “It is better to be in the arms of a lion than to see a woman.”

The brethren of the monastery now number no more than 200 people, although earlier more people came here and the brethren numbered more than 1,000 people. As the elders say, people have become less devout and young people come here very rarely.

Here also live hermits who decided to completely renounce worldly vanity, but they can be seen very rarely, as they live in their cave cells and do not appear in the eyes of the people.