In the misty highlands of northern Ethiopia lies the historic town of Lalibela and its famous collection of rock-cut churches. The churches date back to the 12th century and provide an incredible insight into the lives and beliefs of medieval Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Ethiopia was one of the first countries to adopt Christianity and for several centuries, Aksum was the seat of religious and political power in Ethiopia. Some say that the Ark of the Covenant is hidden within one of its many churches. Nowhere else in the world are constructions of this particular kind found. These rock-hewn monolithic churches, which imitate a built-up structure but are cut in one piece from the rock and separated from it all round by a trench. The rock churches reflect the blending of Axumite tradition and early eastern Mediterranean Christianity: Yet they are an entirely new creation of early Christian art on Ethiopian soil... Instead of rising above ground level, they stand in sunken pits with their roofs on the same level as the surrounding landscape. Doors, windows, columns, and other decorative details were all painstakingly chiseled out by hand, in addition to an extensive system of drainage ditches and connecting trenches, some studded with hermit caves and shrines. Some of the churches actually have a door or stairway leading to nowhere, showing that the original structure had disappeared. Others show improbable outlines, suggesting that they were laid out in accordance with pre-existing structures. The churches are set on several levels, in order to carry off the heavy summer rains. The trenches serve also as a drainage system to the river Jordan. With churches whose placing conforms to the slope of the terrain, the ridge of the roof, gutter edges, the base of the plinth, are slanted in line with it. Whoever has experienced the rainy season in Ethiopia will appreciate the great skill shown by these early builders. The Lalibela churches are full of religious symbols, including crosses, swastikas and stars of David. One of them, has a pillar on which the secrets of the building of the churches is written. This is now covered by cloths and only the priests are allowed to read it. Were these churches an attempt to create a 'New Jerusalem' that what some historians say but this in my opinion just deepens the mystery. Considering as the legend says they took roughly 20 years to create...