*WS06 ( re-post ) - The underground churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia*
Lalibela is a small town in northern Ethiopia. It was a former capital in the 12th century founded by King Lalibela who was responsible for "digging" many rock churches, not horizontally but vertically downwards into the bedrock.
Each church was created by first carving out a wide trench on all four sides of the rock, then painstakingly chiseling out the interior. The roofs are thus level with the ground. The churches are reached by steps descending into narrow trenches, 1st photo. 11 churches were identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The reason of excavating such underground churches? Said to prevent attraction by the powerful Muslim forces at the coast.
We visited Ethiopia in 2015. The Church of Saint George (2nd and 3rd photos) is the most famous and best preserved. It is 15 m down and the roof forms the shape of a Greek cross.
The House of the Saviour of the World (4th and 5th) is the largest monolithic church in the world, 33 m long, 23 m wide and 10 m deep, with 72 chiseled out columns. Look at the smooth ceiling and arches. Fantastic workmanship.
The House of Mary (6th photo) is a popular small church with many old frescoes and images of the Virgin, one shown. In Ethiopian art, only the "Good" people will be portrayed with big eyes.
Please note that these are "live" churches, still being used as churches.
(Ethiopia is a most fascinating country. Will have a few more sights to highlight).
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