In a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia (the second country which adopted Christianity, after Armenia, in the first half of the 4th century), at Lalibela, 11 medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Actually, Lalibela flourished after the decline of the Aksum Empire, and is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and a center of pilgrimage. Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. The building of the churches is attributed to Saint Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (negus of Ethiopia in the late 12th century and early 13th century) who set out to construct a New Jerusalem, after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
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