Lalibela, Ethiopia

Lalibela is a mountainous area in Ethiopia famous for its a peculiar complex of twelve religious constructions built probably in the 12th or 13th century. These “Monolithic Churches” (Church of the Redeemer, of Saint Mary, of Mount Sinai, of Golgotha, of the House of the Cross, of the House of the Virgins, of Saint Gabriel, of Abba Matta, of Saint Mercurius, of Immanuel, of St. George) have been carved out of red volcanic rock in the Middle-ages probably for the will of King Lalibela. 

The local sovereign wished to found a a “New Jerusalem” after Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land was forced to stop due to Muslim conquest.