Early-morning worshippers head for the most skilfully executed and best-preserved of the Lalibela churches, Bete Giyorgis (House of St George). It is chronologically probably the last of the churches, and legend has it that it was excavated after St George appeared before King Lalibela and claimed he had been forgotten. Its plan is the shape of a Greek cross, with each arm of equal length, a motif echoed on the roof, which is engraved with a triple Greek cross. (Photo by Ethiopia – The Living Churches of an Ancient Kingdom/The American University in Cairo Press/The Guardian)
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