20070111-Amhara-Lalibela-092

Amhara (Amharic: አማራ^?) is one of the nine ethnic divisions (kililoch) of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar.

Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile river is located in Amhara, as well as the Semien Mountains National Park, which includes the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashan.

During Ethiopia's imperial era, Amhara included several provinces (such as Dembiya, Gojjam, Begemder, Angot, Amhara, Shewa (in olden times spelled as XOA) and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus. The Amhara Region incorporated most of the former provinces of Begemder, Dembiya, Angot, Amhara, Gojjam, and Showa.

A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. They are one of the most basic forms of monolithic architecture.

The churches are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain and can be of comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings.

Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km². Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.