Axum

Draped in sacred white cloth, the procession drifted silently towards a priest calling the faithful to celebrate the Archangel Michael, a revered saint in Ethiopia.

Around dawn, thousands of worshippers gathered at the church in Amhara, the second-largest region of Ethiopia, which is staging long-awaited elections on June 20.

"Lalibela: Land of Angels," on show at the Melina Municipal Cultural Center in Athens, is a collection of photographs taken by Vassilis Artikos during several visits to the UNESCO-listed Ethiopian city, where he participated in Ethiopian Orthodox Christian celebrations and customs. Located in the Amhara region, Lalibela is Ethiopia's second holiest city after Axum.