Rock
Hewn Churches around Tigray.
Many of the Tigray rock hewn churches lie along the main road between Adigrat and Mekele, or can be visited from it. Four main clusters
are covered in this chapter, of which the churches that lie along
the main road between Sinkata and Wukro are the most accessible
to those without private transport or limited time. The pick of
these churches is undoubtedly Adi Kasho Medhane Alem, part of the
highly accessible Teka Tesfai cluster 10km south sinkata. A second
rather loose cluster consists of Wukros Chirkos – the most
accessible of all the Tigrayan churches, as it lies 500m from the
main road in the town of Wukro – and the magnificent Abreha
we Atsbeha church along the Hawzen road. The most extensive cluster
is found in the Gheralta region, which lies to the south of Hawzen
and includes some the most stunningly situated churches anywhere
in Ethiopia. Gheralta can easily be explored out of Hawzen with
a vehicle, or over a few days of hiking, bearing in mind that the
region’s finest churches are reached by long, steep walks
that require a fair level of fitness. A fourth and more dispersed
cluster lies in the Atsbi area, to the east of Wukro. With one exception,
the Atsbi churches can be explored only with a vehicle.
GONDER
The founding of Gonder as the capital of early 17th century Ethiopia,
by Emperor Fasilidas (1632 -67) Gonder regime was the major turning
point of the country’s history in different aspects. What
was new and memorable about Gonder was not its ideal new location,
but the fact that it was destined to remain Ethiopia’s capital
for over two centuries Gonder is one of the most important historical
and cultural attractions with an ideal access to the Semein mountains
natural park hosting the Fasil compound Semein Mountains as the
two world heritages registered by UNESCO. The Royal enclosure, a
walled compound having 6 different castles built from 17th 19th
centaury by different Kings, The pool of King Fasilidas which is
still serves as a baptismal pool during Ethiopian Epiphany, as well
as several churches including the Deberberhan Sillassie known for
the elaborate Remarkable ceiling paintings of decorated with winged
angles. Gonder is also the home of the black Jewish or Felashas.
Numerous castle like placed dated from early 17th century to mid
19 century when it was a capital it was emerged as one of the largest
and most populous city in realm.
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