Lalibela

Everything in Ethiopia is sold as ‘Ethiopia’s version’ of something else.  Lalibela is Ethipia’s Petra and if the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera Centre (?? really??) can be in the running for the Seven Wonders of the World, Lalibela should definitely be in there too.  I’ve never been to Petra, so I can’t compare, but these churches (12 of them have been found so far) are incredible.  Imagine, decending down steps carved into rock, exploring hidden chambers (some open only to men), navigating through underground tunnels while trying to avoid mummified pilgrims and gawking at ancient paintings and scriptures.  Pretty surreal… the pic on the left has a link to see other photos.