Abuna Yemata Guh

The guide book refers to this as the most spectacularly situated rock hewn church anywhere in Ethiopia. We were not disappointed. To me it has been the highlight of our travels in Ethiopia.
It is located somewhere between Axum and Mekele. There is only a small village near by. From a distance you see three towering rock pillars. 
In no way can you imagine there is a church up there carved into the rock. Late morning we started climbing the stone steps leading up to what seemed a cliff. We arrived at the base and could see a crack in the rock leading upward. With the help of several helpers our hands and feet were guided into some well rounded footholds and handholds.


At times we were hanging on the cliff with precipitous drops below. Finally we got to the spot between the pillars.Here we discovered some kind of marmot animal and a crypt full of human skeletons.

 Next we climbed up to a ledge that was about eighteen inches wide. Below was a sheer drop of several hundred meters. It was here that I started experiencing a weakness in my knees. 

A few meters of that and we were into the church carved into the tower. It was about 15 to twenty meters in diameter with two pillars in the center. 



The floors were carpeted and it was cool, silent and serene. The walls pillars and ceiling were covered with scenes from the bible. We were told the church dates from the third century and that the murals were done in the fifteenth century. Piled beside one of the pillars were four holy books wrapped in skin there said to be four hundred years old. The back of the church was covered with a curtain and restricted to priests. As we entered a priest welcomed us and made sure we didn't get up to any trouble.
 Later the priest was not shy about demanding a 100 birr donation. Later the cliff climbing helpers asked for some outrageous tip. We negotiated it down to something more reasonable.
So on a holy day the services start at four in the morning. It is hard to imagine the faithful snaking up the cliff face in the dark, and how amazing must be the service they have in the church.

Just found this photo in a magazine. The dashed yellow line shows the entrance to the church.

Comments

  1. Terry&Michele13 February 2020 at 02:37

    Beautiful! But you will never catch ME going up those cliffs... so thanks for the photos.

    ReplyDelete

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