Debre Damo monastery
It is one of the oldest monasteries in Ethiopia. Built on an amba (an inaccessibly steep, flat-topped hill) in the early centuries of the Axumite Kingdom, Debre Damo is the earliest and a completely intact church in Ethiopia. Its inaccessibility was responsible to the preservation of the church building and its invaluable treasures throughout the 1400 years the monastery has been in existence.
The monastery is said to have been founded
by Abune Aregawi, a Syrian monk and one of
the nine saints who expanded Christianity to
Ethiopia.
An uphill walk of two grueling hours ends at
the foot of a cliff vertically towering 24 meters.
A clamber to the flat top, where the monastery is
built, is possible only with the help of a rope,
which the monks lower to every authorized visitor.
Women are not allowed into Debre Damo.
|
 |
| click here to elarge the image |