Unesco cards from Ethiopia

These are the Ethiopia cards Pavel sent, 8 cards from 3 different unesco sites, "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela", "Tiya" and "Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town".

Lalibela, a rural town in nothern Ethiopia, is known around the world for its monolithic churches which play an important part in the history of rock-cut arcgitecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 13 churches, Bete Giyorgis is said to be the most finely executed and best preserved of them.

Built in the early thirteenth century, it is the most well known and last built of the churches in the Lalibela area, and has been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World. The dimensions of the complex are 25 meters by 25 meters by 30 meters, and there is a small baptismal pool outside the church, which stands in an artificial trench. The church itself is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela".

The first European to see these churches was the portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilhã.

"Tiya is a town in southern Ethiopia.

Tiya is best known for its adjacent archeological site, which is distinguished by 36 standing stones or stelae, "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," marking a large, prehistoric burial complex. A German ethnographic expedition had visited the site in April 1935, and had found at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs. The archeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980." - in: wikipedia

"The fortified historic town of Harar is located in the eastern part of the country on a plateau with deep gorges surrounded by deserts and savannah. The walls surrounding this sacred Muslim city were built between the 13th and 16th centuries. Harar Jugol, said to be the fourth holiest city of Islam, numbers 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines, but the townhouses with their exceptional interior design constitute the most spectacular part of Harar's cultural heritage. The impact of African and Islamic traditions on the development of the town's building types and urban layout make for its particular character and uniqueness." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1189

The rest of the cards, most of them from Harar and another showing the stelae in Tiya.