This morning’s excursion was to Yemerhane Kirstos cave church outside of Lalibela through a beautiful mountainous landscape.  It the region was very dry but in this wet season from May to July the rains give life back to the vegetation with the vegetation lasting again for a few more months.  We are at 2800 meters above sea level and we walk for 20 minutes which is approximately 400 metres.  This was a bit of a slow walk due to the altitude.  All of these churches were constructed in the 12^th century.

Finally we reach the top and see a church which is very different to the rock hewn churches which Lalibela is known for.  This one has been built inside the cave with cedar, limestone and rocks and just fits under the cave ceiling.  Inside the church the ceiling is carved from wood and naturally in the middle section is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.  Outside this church is the third section which is used for chanting.  At the back of the cave the guide shows us where there are 700 year old skeletons of pilgrims who wished to be kept here and a tomb which holds the person who built this church.

The afternoon we visited the second group of the rock-hewn churches; Bete Emanuel (house of Emanuel) is architecturally the finest.  There are three rock churches on this site.  After entering the first rock church over a bridge we walk through the underground tunnels to enter the other two.  Some restoration has been completed as the first church as a large crack due to the rain on the roof seeping through as these churches have a flat roof where the St George church as a slanted roof and a gutter for the water to run off.  Speaking of rain we had a thunder storm which lasted for about 15 mins so by the time we were ready to head off to the next rock church the sun was out.

A small walk from these three rock churches is Bete Giorgis (the house of George or St George) which is the finest of all the churches in Lalibela.  Art historians conclude that this church is carved at the end of the cluster, after the masons have developed their skills to carve churches with such extraordinary perfection. This church is the one which has the cross on the top and is the one which is mostly displayed when Ethiopian churches are mentioned.  We enter into these three churches and are shown all around except for the inner section as it is only for priests and deacons and holds a replica Ark of the Covenant.  With the St George rock church you can see that the roof is the same level as the ground level. To enter we walk down a narrow path carved in the rock which gets deeper as you descend.  This church is not as large as the other churches, both sides of the cross are 10 metres wide.  In Ethiopia, it is believed that the rock churches were carved into the ground so that they would be protected from destruction as many churches during this time were destroyed by Muslims.