The Orthodox Coptic Christian church of Beta Ghiorghis (St George) in the small town of Lalibela in Northern Ethiopia.
Ethiopia ,Walo Province,Africa. The Orthodox Coptic Christian church of Beta Ghiorghis (St George) in the small town of Lalibela in Northern Ethiopia. Hewn from the living rock ,as are ten other churches in the area, this being the most unusual carved in the form of a cross. A high level of precision is involved cutting the exterior to match the interior which has columns and cupola ceilings. The precise dates of construction and the perpetrators are unknown due to a lack of written folklore would have it that the whole complex of Lalibela was build during the reign of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela to replace Jerusalem which had been overrun by Muslims in the twelfth century are by no means in agreament over the subject however. The architects may, have come from southern Egypt where knowledge of stone carving and construction was at an extremely high hypothesis is that the builders arrived from Yemen across the Red sea ,another country with a high level of architectural know how. The building were saved from destruction by marauding hoards of Muslims lead by Ahmed Grahn, who invaded Ethiopia in the 14th century ,by being covered over with wood and straw. The whole of the Lalibela area is a Unesco World Heritage Site .
Size: 4352px × 2896px
Location: Lalibela, Walo Province, Ethiopia
Photo credit: © Antony Stringer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, beta, building, carving, christian, church, construction, coptic, ethiopialalibela, ethiopian, ghiorghis, heritage, historical, holy, orthodox, site, unesco, walo, world
