Tigray region, in northeastern Ethiopia is home to many churches and monasteries that reside in remote places, making the journey to them not less enjoyable. Though officially being one of Ethiopia’s star attraction, I haven’t seen many tourists in the rock hewn churches of Tigray.Â
These churches were (probably) built in the 9th century when a Jewish (or pagan) queen named Gudit was persecuting Christians, destroying all their places of worship. So, they built their churches in very remote places, which are hard to access also today.
I didn’t plan on going there as well, but when I had the opportunity, I jumped on it. Leaving from Aksum, we went on a 2 day trip that ended in Mekele. It began with these weird landscapes on the road:
The first and the most exciting place on the trip was Abuna Yemata Guh church. It began with an uphill walk along the red stoned hills.
Being very close to the church, the walk turned into a climb. In the last few meters, we were requested to take off our shoes, since we were entering the zone of the church. This actually made the rock climbing easier.
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Also the inside of the church was very impressive. The ancient paintings were in a good shape, probably due to the isolation.
After descending very carefully, I could summarize the visit to Abuna Yemata Guh as an excellent experience: beautiful landscapes, a sense of adventure and a pretty church.
The next place on this excursion was the Abuna Atsbeha chuch. It was different from the previous one, but also very nice.
Driving to a different are, the 3 churches of the Takatisfi cluster also provided a walk in the countryside. Petros and Paulos was very impressive, and also Medhane Alem Kesho was nice.
We took a break from Chirstianity and went to visit the mosque of Negash, the first place that Islam set foot in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, we saw only the new mosque, and we couldn’t see the old one.
We also went to see another church in Wukro (where we slept at night), but we were already saturated with churches. Maybe next time!
Anyway, I can surely recommend renting a car (with a driver of course) and exploring Tigray. The scenery and history were remarkable.
More pictures from the Churches of Tigray