Mekele, Ethiopia - Wukro Chikros Church

April10 - We were picked up from our Addis Ababa hotel at 6:00am to catch our flight to Mekele, the provincial capital of one of Ethiopoia's farthest northern regions. The weather was perfect and the scenery was spectacular. In Mekele, we met our driver, Bereket, at the airport. We did a quick hotel check in then headed out to see two amazing "rock hewn" churches. Rock hewn means the entire church was carved out of one solid mass of rock.  Unfathomable, even by today's standards, but keep in mind these two churches were "built" in the 4th century. 

Below (and next 6 photos) - Wukro Chirkos Church

The sanctuary, with Abba (priest) in foreground. 

Worshippers in church for daily payers. 

A portion of the originally painted icons. In the 10th century, the church was burned by a group of Islamic invaders. This corner shows the only surviving remnant of the masterpiece. 

The grounds contain a large number of graves; a tribute to those who were important to the church during their lifetime. 

The entrance gate to the grounds. 

The view of the valley below from the entrance gate. 

Stay tuned for pics and stories during our time at St. Mikael Imba Church.