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The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela Ethiopian rock churches Megan Sauter • 08/25/2016 While many spectacular churches have been constructed in Ethiopia, perhaps the country’s most famous churches are the ones carved out of stone. Located 150 miles south of Aksum, Lalibela is the best example of Ethiopia’s hypogean (rock-hewn) architectural tradition. With 11 rock-hewn churches, Lalibela is understandably a place of pilgrimage for those in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The site Lalibela was originally called Roha, but it eventually took the name of King Lalibela, who ruled around 1200 C.E. as part of the Zagwe dynasty. King Lalibela is traditionally...

The small town of Lalibela in Ethiopia is home to one of the world's most astounding sacred sites: eleven rock-hewn churches, each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at ground level. Bet Giorgis (St. George) Were it not for these extraordinary churches, Lalibela would almost certainly be well off the tourist radar. A dusty rural town nestled into rolling countryside, Lalibela only recently received electricity. It has few motorized vehicles, no gas stations and no paved streets. Isolated from the modern world, the town goes about its business much as it has for several...

On the trail of the arkBy Raymond Matthew Wray"He says you must go now," my translator told me. I looked from him to the official standing across from the old church ruins. "I thought I could stay until six o’clock?" I protested. He shrugged and got up to lead me out.While we were leaving!, three more visitors entered the compound. I pointed this out to him, waving my entrance ticket in the air. Finally, he opened up: "In the past, they have had some trouble with people here." In other words, I’d overstayed my welcome. I was being thrown...

The ancient mystery shrouding Lalibela, Ethiopia's revered medieval rock-hewn churches, could be lifted by a group of French researchers given the go-ahead for the first comprehensive study of this world heritage site legend says was "built by angels". The team will have full access to the network of 10 Orthodox chapels chiseled out of volcanic rock -- some standing 15 metres (42 feet) high -- in the mountainous heart of Ethiopia. Local lore holds they were built in less than 25 years by their namesake, the 13th-century King Lalibela, with the help of angels after God ordered him to erect...

Medieval Houses of God, or Ancient Fortresses? Volume 57 Number 6, November/December 2004 by David Keys Cambridge archaeologist has redated the church of the archangel Gabriel, previously believed to have been carved from the rock at Lalibela, Ethiopia, around A.D. 1200, to between A.D. 600 and 800. The church may originally have been built as a fortress. (Courtesy Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, Cambridge) Investigations in Lalibela, Ethiopia, are revealing that Africa's most important historical Christian site is much older than previously thought. Up until now, scholars have regarded the spectacular complex of 11 rock-cut churches as dating from around...

Church art in Axum depicts the Ark of the Covenant from King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem to Ethiopia.Photo: Courtesy   Nestled in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, ignored by most historians and unknown to most tourists to Africa, is the site of one of the ancient world's most powerful empires. The monuments to its former glory stand tall - 20 meters high, to be precise, in the form of dozens of stone obelisks - but the city that is their home is determinedly inauspicious, as authentically Ethiopian and undeveloped as any of Ethiopia's modest cities. Situated in the northern Ethiopian...