Lalibela

Lalibela is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia renowned for its 11 monolithic rock-hewn churches, carved directly from solid volcanic rock using hammers and chisels. Attributed to the 13th-century King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, the churches were intended to recreate Jerusalem in Ethiopia. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, the complex sits at 2,480 metres elevation and includes both free-standing and semi-monolithic structures connected by tunnels. Recent excavations dated earlier secular occupation of the site to 900-1100 AD.