Peter may have built his church upon a rock, but the ruling king in 12th century Ethiopia decided to build his churches into the rocks themselves.

During his reign 900 years ago, King Lalibela commissioned the building of a set of churches to form a 'New Jerusalem.'

All 11 churches are still standing today in a rural Northern Ethiopian town named after the same King.

What's so unique about these structures though is that they were carved into a solid piece of rock. The inside and outside of the churches were built into the ground on stretches of volcanic tuff rock. Workers would start at the top and carve down creating the roof and walls of the church.Then they would hollow it out to create the interior structure.


Out of stone: Bete Giyorgis, one of the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ehtiopia during the celebration of the Epiphany - the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River


The new Holy Land: King Lalibela created the 11 churches as the 'New Jerusalem' - an alternate pilgrimage site to the Holy Land for Coptic Christians


Legendary: One folk tale says that men worked all day to build the churches, and that angels would relieve them at night and get twice as much work done


Protected: In 1978 the churches became a UNESCO World Heritage site, and five years ago protective awnings were set up to slow down corrosion

They are different because they were built from the top down,' church scholar Alebachev Retta told the Nigerian Tribune. 'Everywhere in the world, structures are built from the ground up. There is nothing comparable in the world.'

The 'New Jerusalem' was created after Muslim conquests made travel to the Holy Land dangerous.

The church structures are in two groups, divided by the Ethiopia's own river Jordan. On the north side of the river stands Biete Medhani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biete Mariam (House of Mary), Biete Maskal (House of the Cross), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins), Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael).

To the south of the river there is Biete Amanuel (House of Emmanuel), Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of St. Mercoreos), Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biete Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael), and Biete Lehem (House of Holy Bread).

An eleventh church, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), stands apart from the others, but is connected to them by a series of trenches.

Several differing legends explain why King Lalibela was inspired to build the site. One theory was that God came to him with instructions on how to construct the buildings, even such minor details as color choices.

Another legend supposes that he was poisoned by his brother and went into a coma for several days, where he was handed the instructions during his brief stay in heaven.

Other stories say it was the Templar Knights of Europe who made them or that Lalibela traveled to the actual Jerusalem and wanted to recreate it back home.

A particularly interesting story is that men worked on the construction during the day, and at night angels would pick up the slack - getting twice as much work done.

In Ethiopia, where nearly two-thirds of the population is Christian, Lalibela has become almost important as the real Holy Land.

'It is one of the very important places for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church people,' local guide and Lalibela-native Fikru Woldegiorgis told the Nigerian Tribune. 'There is a belief that Lalibela pilgrims share the same blessing as pilgrims to Jerusalem,' he explains. 'They have to come at least once in a lifetime.'


The churches attract many pilgrims, mostly of the Ethiopian Orthodox church


The churches continue to be used for daily services

SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2352138/The-amazing-900-year-old-churches-Ethiopias-New-Jerusalem-built-solid-rock.html

Wow! 900 years ago. This is unusual.
This kind of Architecture can only be inspirational.

Artistic piece of creation if you ask me.

Indeed, imagination encircles the world...

The only significance of this is the tourism value. It has no bearing on the Christian faith or whether the people who visit the ite make heaven or not.

This country have really existed for ages, they have a rich historical background
Dating as far back as the Bible days

More stunning photos

Lalibela - Rock-hewn churches

Simply amazing

Nice one. I like Ethiopia. So unproblematic

Simply awesome!

Jesus said:

"upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

God bless.

little did yall niggaz know where Christianity originated from , 85% of the world's religion, both known and forgotten originated from Africa

^^^^

^^^^
lol...jay jay Otumokpor.

Viva Africa....

The Coptic Christians are complete opposite of our Nigerian Christians.
They are after seclusion & worship of one true God, not materialism, pastoprenuers & worship of gods of men.

Wonderful

Their churches are something else...
Checkout pictures of Abuna Yemata Guh.. It is currently the most Inaccessible Place of Worship on Earth..

Read more:
The most Inaccessible Place of Worship on Earth

Ethiopia no be today now........some parts of Africa was onced called Ethiopia(burnt faces)

Ethiopia (Aethiopia) was the word the Greeks used to describe people who were possibly the darkest shades of Negroid in Africa. According to the Early Greeks, the people who were dark were Melanchroe and the people who were much darker were the Aethiopians in other words, burnt faces.

Christianity amaka

Nice one....

Woow

Hope its not going to be serving as a tourist centre tho

Shardblades were used here, if you know you know.

So beautiful.... D official religion in Ethiopia is Christianity, I think Ethiopia is d only country in Africa that was not colonized by d whites... It shows the country has been existing since

Happy Sunday to all

This is nice. I hope that Ethiopia end the ongoing war in the Tigray region and restore peace in the land

amazing

God is Great

. Ethiopia amaka, Africa afonja.

btw,I just got to realise that Nairaland was the second to wish me a happy birthday after first bank did first.... wow, come on, nairalanders,ya'all should wish me, your bro a happy birthday....

Whilst my beloved country they would burn everything down.
They even went as far as stealing the glasses from awolowo's statue.