01/06/2015
Rock Hewn churches of Tigray
While the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are the most dramatic buildings, the cliff churches of Tigray show the most dramatic landscapes and the longest Christian tradition. Unknown to the world outside, these churches were first described by the British explorer Ivy Pearce as ‘the greatest of the historical-cultural heritages of the Ethiopian people’. It was not until some 4 decades ago that there were some 200 rock hewn churches, and even more may still be unknown. Most better-known churches are found in the following clusters: Gheralta, Taka Tesfay, Atsbi, Tembien and Wukro. The churches are usually semi-monolithic - a part is cut out of rock, while another part is built with masoned rocks - or hewn out of caves. Many of them relatively easily accessible, but some can only be reached by climbing up difficult terrain or even a cliff. Being hidden in mountainous areas, the many of these churches are in surroundings of breathtaking landscapes.
Usually rather primitive in design, many of the churches have some classics inspired columns and they usually are divided into three spaces:
the most holy part, only accessible to the priest, where a replica of the stone tablet with the 10 commandments - is kept;
The inner ambulatory, which is used by communicants at mass; and
the outer ambulatory, which is accessible to anyone.
Like elsewhere in Ethiopia, in many churches one is expected to take off one's shoes and some churches and monasteries are only accessible to men.
While the ages of the churches are usually unknown they seem to predate those at Lalibela, though few churches in Tigray are as immediately impressive as the ones in Lalibela.
