The first three photos are of the St. George (Giyorgis) church, viewed from an overlook to the north, in the late afternoon shadows of 7 January. We decided not to try to go inside then because the crowds were still large.

The pattern in the roof also serves the purpose of draining rainwater to spouts at the ends of the cross arms.

Looking down into the courtyard of the church, where we visited the next morning.

The yellow line shows the approximate paths at the St. George church, including the route for descending to its courtyard.

This is the view of the south side of the church with morning shadowing. The overlook for the previous photos is at the upper left edge.

Looking down at the entrance to the church

Pilgrims in white ascending the path down to the courtyard. Our guide and our shadows await our turn to go down.

We are nearing the bottom of that path to the St. George church courtyard. The bright upper left is sun-lit rock.

Three views from the southwest corner of the courtyard, showing the entrance, the south side, and reeds in a baptismal pool:

This is the church from the northwest corner of the courtyard.

In the side walls of the courtyard some people of the distant past dug chambers for the storage of their bones after their deaths.

The vaulted ceiling is sculptured to effectively support the solid roof.

This is an interior display. There is a protected ancient storage case with relicts to the right.

Then we climbed out that narrow pathway.

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