**10 places only**

The kings of Aksum formally became Christian during the second quarter of the 4th century, making Ethiopia one of the first countries to officially adopt the new faith. David Phillipson’s in depth tour is based on his landmark book, Ancient Churches of Ethiopia (Yale University Press,2009) which was the first to integrate historical, archaeological, and art-historical evidence to provide a comprehensive account of Ethiopian Christian civilization and its churches—both built and rock-hewn—from the Aksumite period to the 13th century. Professor Phillipson, a foremost authority on Ethiopia’s archaeology, situates the churches to be visited within the development of Ethiopian society, illuminating the exceptional continuity of the country’s Christian civilization and thereby offering a fresh view of the processes which gave rise to this unique African culture. We include detailed visits of the rock-hewn churches at Lalibela’s World Heritage Site, gain original insights and highlight new chronological findings of enormous interest to travellers wishing to discover the soul of Ethiopia.