Gabi Steiner | Where Stone Still Prays
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela show the deep history and spiritual life of Ethiopia. There are eleven churches, each carved from volcanic rock, in the western Ethiopian Highlands near Lalibela. King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty had them built to recreate Jerusalem in his own land. Today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church still uses these churches, and they remain important pilgrimage sites. In 1978, UNESCO added the site to its World Heritage List to recognize its cultural and historical value.
