Opinion - Let us return to the question on Ethiopia's need of statues, which we raised in these pages two weeks ago in relation to Emperor Tewodros II.

The saint had been carved in bas-relief out of the rock wall of the church nearly 800 years ago. The features were strong and simply rendered and bore the unmistakable planes and lines of the African.

With its 900-year-old churches carved from rock, the Ethiopian town of Lalibela attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims each year.