♱ At 2,580 metres (8,460 ft), Abuna Yemata Guh: The Most Inaccessible Place Of Worship on Earth Is Located in Northern Ethiopia
The Image: Its entrance is highlighted by a red circle and has to be climbed on foot to reach.
If churches were assesse…
♱ At 2,580 metres (8,460 ft), Abuna Yemata Guh: The Most Inaccessible Place Of Worship on Earth Is Located in Northern Ethiopia
The Image: Its entrance is highlighted by a red circle and has to be climbed on foot to reach.
If churches were assessed by their risk factor, Abuna Yemata Guh would be our new Sistine Chapel. Perched 650 feet above a steep cliff in Northern Ethiopia, visitors face a 45-minute climb up the cliff’s vertical face in order to access the precariously positioned church. The first 45 minutes of the climb is mildly challenging, with a couple of tricky sheer sections requiring toehold action; guides carry ropes for the final push. The last two minutes require nerves of steel to make the final scramble and precarious ledge walk over a 200m drop.
The Abuna Yemata Guh church has a local guide and vanguards at every step of the climb, making sure visitors know which foothold to take and rock to climb and helping out with the ropes.
Despite the scary climb, the church is active with churchgoers climbing up the cliffs several times a week including mothers with their children on their back, pregnant women, babies and old people to attend services.
Dating back to the 5th century, history has it that its founder Father Yemata built the chapel to be closer to heavenly spirits; however, others claim it was a strategic move to avoid his enemies.
The church houses some of worlds oldest Christian art.
Inside, the sandstone walls are adorned with portraits of the Bible’s protagonists as well as depictions of its parables.
There are more paintings depicting figures from the Old Testament than from the New Testament. The dry air and lack of humidity have preserved these artworks in their original perfection.
The paintings date back to initial traces of Christianity in Ethiopia and are themed around the nine saints and twelve apostles. The oldest icons are in the form of diptychs and triptychs dating back to the fifteenth century.
