"This cross shaped church was reached by a deep trench leading to a tunnel into the excavated square. I think of the 11 churches this one was my favourite. The churches had been hewn from the solid red sandstone rock, and I was soon to discover were quite remarkable. Our first stop was to be the head priest's office where I had to buy a ticket. At £6 I thought it a bit of a rip-off, but having come so far I was not going to miss them. For the rest of the afternoon I was guided through tunnels to visit the individual churches, and be shown inside by their attending priests. It was a most interesting and enlightening experience, and by the time I had seen them all I felt I had well had my £6 worth.
 Built in the 13th century under the instructions of King Lalibela, the thing I found most remarkable about these churches was that all of them had been excavated during a period of only 20 years. Digging away first at the rock to leave the outside shape of the church standing free in a large hole in the ground, then they had to carve out the inside. The more I thought about the skills and effort this must have entailed, the more I appreciated and marvelled at what I was seeing, especially when I considered the primitive tools that they would have haad to work with in those days." - MH