TIGRAY ROCK HEWN CHURCHES
There hundreds of rock hewn churches over the mountains of Tigray. The rock churches are found in sand stone escarpments; stone built villages and cave churches in Gheralta, Timben, Hawezien, Atsibidera, Genta Afeshum, and Wukro and in many other places scattered unevenly. They vary from their modifications that roughly hewn out, beautifully elaborate wall murals and they are hidden in valleys, cliff faces and indeed, mountaintops.
They are predates lalibela to 4th c even more. The town of Hawizen is a base exploring these churches to any direction. Some of these churches are found in scenery of mountains, difficult ascent; others are famous for their stone workmanship, ancient paintings and manuscripts.
The most numerous clusters of churches, carved into the rocky face of the mountains in the Gerhalta area, which lies to the south of Hawizen. Such great churches as Abuna Yemata, Mariam Korkor, Daniel Korkor, Debre Tsion, Yohannes Maequddi, Abraha Atsebha, Abuna Gebre Michael, and Silasse Degum are in the very heart of this cliff. This group includes some of the most stunningly situated churches anywhere in Ethiopia.