The church was designed by King Lalibela, who sought to recreate the new city of Jerusalem in the 12th century, after Muslim conquests put a stop to Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
The synagogues of Lalibela are grouped into two main groups, the first representing the earthly Jerusalem and the second representing the heavenly Jerusalem. Directly between these two main groups is a ditch representing the Jordan River. The ditch is 25 m in length and has a small baptismal pool outside the church.
These churches were not built of ordinary bricks or stones and there are no signs of joints in the walls. Instead, the churches were carved out of a single solid block of stone. The solid stone was further chiseled to form doors, windows, pillars, floors, roofs, etc.
This elaborate carving was further completed with an extensive system of drainage ditches, moats and ceremonial corridors, some of which opened into hermit caves and catacombs.
One of the most spectacular churches of Lalibela is Bete Giyorgis (St. George's Church).
The church is a perfect cube, hewn in the shape of a cross and located in a 15m deep pit, with a cruciform roof.
The five-aisled Bete Medhani Alem is said to be the largest monolithic church in the world, while Bete Giyorgis is a cruciform stone church with a unique design that is most notable.
Almost all of the churches in Lalibela were used for their intended purpose from the time they were built, but two, Bete Mercoreos and Bete Gabriel Rafael, may have been used as royal residences before becoming churches. Some of the church interiors are decorated with beautiful frescoes.
St. George's Cathedral was recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1978.
