Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Church of Saint George
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iii
Reference	18
Inscription	1978 (2nd Session)
Coordinates	12°01′57″N 39°02′36″E / 12.03250°N 39.04333°E / 12.03250; 39.04333
Location in Ethiopia

The eleven Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela are monolithic churches located in the western Ethiopian Highlands near the town of Lalibela, named after the late-12th and early-13th century King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, who commissioned the massive building project of 11 rock-hewn churches to recreate the holy city of Jerusalem in his own kingdom. The site remains in use by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church to this day, and it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers.^[1] It took 24 years to build all the 11 rock hewn churches.