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Bete Giyorgis, Lalibela, Ethiopia The small rural town of Lalibela in Ethiopia (one of the first countries to convert to Christianity) not only was one of the most pious Christian centers in the world (about 20% of the male population is a priest) but also developed a unique architectural style. The town sits on a granite bed and its eleven churches were carved into the granite. Basically, this is a rare case of inverse sculpting: they did not sculpt the church, rather they escavated the empty space around it (the Kailasa temple of the Hindus at Ellora is another example). Each church has an underground entrance. The eleven churches are connect by a network of tunnels. The "roofs" of the churches are level with the streets of Lalibela (named after the 12th-century king who commissioned the churches, possibly inspired by a trip to Jerusalem). Instead of walking up the magnificent staircases of the Italian churches, the Lalibela faithfuls walk down narrow ladders to their churches. This is hardly the way to present the glory of God that the Popes had in mind. Obviously, a different thinking (that came from the hermits of the desert rather than from the bishops of the cities) was at work here. King Lalibela himself ended his life as a hermit in a nearby cave. The town compares with Varanasi in India and Mecca in Arabia in terms of spirituality. There is hardly a day without a procession of sorts rolling through the unpaved roads of the town and heading for one or another of the churches. Crowds dressed in white approach the site singing and dancing. Bete Giyorgis (St George's church), built by Lalibela's widow after his death (1220s) is the crowning jewel. Viewed from above, it has the shape of a square cross. It is interesting that this style has no precedents anywhere in the Christian world, but it has a precedent in the Buddhist caves of India and China.

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