AXUM

Axum contains some of the most mysterious monuments in the world, and is reputed to have been the ancient capital of Sheba around the 10th Century BC. Axum is the location of the Church of St Mary of Zion, where the Ark of the Covenant is said to have been placed by Menelik, son of King Solomon, 3000 years ago; a connection with the legendary Queen of Sheba.

THE TIGRAY ROCK- HEWN CHURCHES

The 1868 English expedition against Emperor Tewodros and to take Meqdels, the biggest such campaign of the British Empire, was shown as “astonishing church carved in to a rocky out crop”. For a while this was assumed by the outside world to be the only one of its kind in Tigray.

As recently as 1963, when supposedly a full list of Ethiopia’s rock-hewn churches was published, only nine churches were recorded for Tigray. Since then, no less than 123 have been discovered, three-quarters of which are apparently still in use as normal parish churches of monastic communities. Most of these are found a long the Adigrat Mekele road or else they can be reached from it. At least a week is required to visit the most interesting of them.