With its 900-year-old churches carved from rock, the Ethiopian town of Lalibela attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims each year.

Visiting the church may be a priceless experience, especially in mid-January during Timkat (Epiphany), when thousands of Ethiopian white-clad worshippers, as well as tourists, descend on the churches.

On the central plateau of Ethiopia stand 11 churches, each carved from a single, gigantic, block of stone. No bricks, no mortar, no concrete, no lumber— just rock sculpted into architecture.

Women clean Bet Giyorgis (Church of St. George), which is the most popular of the 11 churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The church is carved 15 meters down into the rock, its cruciform roof at ground ...

For centuries, the origin of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches has eluded everyone except locals, who firmly believe they were carved by angels. I have always questioned God’s existence, but in ...

Abuna Yemata Guh is one of more than 100 rock-hewn churches in northern Ethiopia, but it’s the only one that requires climbing up a 1,000-foot cliff face to reach. Father ...

The 11 Ethiopian Orthodox churches there have to be seen - and walked through - to be believed. They were built in the 13th century on the orders of King Lalibela, not from the ground up, but down ...

After the expansion of Christianity in Ethiopia, among other churches the rock hewed churches, Meskele Keristorse came in to being earlier. This majestic church is a showcase of our ancestors ...

Carving churches out of rock using only a hammer and chisel may seem extraordinary to us, but for those living in rural areas of Ethiopia, it’s simply an expression of faith. “It’s hard work … ...

After 700 years, Lalibela’s 11 Unesco-listed churches may be meeting their greatest foe: travellers. After the 1991 fall of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam made Ethiopia more amenable to visitors ...