Abuna Yemata Guh

Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located in the Hawzen woreda of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is situated at a height of 2,580 metres (8,460 ft) and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its spectacular location, its architecture and dome dating back to the sixth century, and its 15th century wall paintings.

About

The church is one of the “35-odd rock-hewn churches [comprising] the largest concentration anywhere in Ethiopia.” It is situated in the erstwhile Gar’alta district (woreda). The entrance is reached by a steep and hazardous ascent with hand and footholds in the rock.Visitors have to cross a natural stone bridge with a sheer drop of approximately 250 m (820 ft) on either side, and thereafter a final narrow wooden footbridge. A strenuous ascent is followed by a climb up a vertical rock wall depending entirely on hand grips and foot holds (without additional support), crowned with a walk over a 50 cm (20 in) wide ledge facing a cliff of 300 m (980 ft) sheer drop.The standing pillars are made up of Enticho and Adigrat Sandstones, which are the last erosional remnants of a sandstone formation that once covered the Precambrian basement. Although Abuna Yemata Guh is the most inaccessible place of worship in the world, priests have not recorded deaths from the climb.

History

According to a local legend, the church was hewn during the sixth century, and dedicated to Abuna Yemata (also referred to as Abba Yem’ata), one of the Nine Saints. The Nine Saints are traditionally believed to have originated from Rome, Constantinople, and Syria between the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centuries.

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