Awesome, wonderful, amazing, spectacular, miraculous, magical, unbelievable, stunning, incredible are just some of the words I would use to describe the rock hewn churches of Lalibela. My guidebook states they are arguably Ethiopia's top attraction. So I went to check it out, taking the easy option, flying in to this isolated, mountainous area. The altitude is 2630m so walking too fast up hills did make you breathless.

More breath-taking were the churches, said to be built in the 12th century. Today these ancient churches are still in use and Lalibela is a centre of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. I could only stand and ponder with admiration, how did they do this, build from the top down into rock and create such awesome churches.

Imagine standing on top of a mountain of rock and deciding to carve (excavate) and construct a church down into the rock. Chiselling out the church, shaping both the inside and outside, including pillars, beams, arches and windows, all beautifully sculptured, some churches even with a decorated roof. Cutting enough stone away so you could have the church separated and standing free of the rest of the rock. Carefully engineering trenches to keep the water out. Building passages through the rock to link the different churches.

Legend tells of King Lalibela being taken to heaven by angels and there instructed by God to build these churches. He was given detailed instructions on where and how, as this kind had never been built before. All the world's great stone masons, artists and craftsmen came to Lalibela and work began. They worked hard during the daylight hours. At night angels came and worked. As a result the churches rose at a miraculous speed.

Divine intervention or not, they are definitely awesome, wonderful, amazing, spectacular, miraculous, magical, unbelievable, stunning, incredible… and very hard to describe.

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