Greencaviar Travel

Chapter 7:  I Rock-Climbed My Way to the Church in the Sky I knew we’d be climbing to see a rock-hewn church, but I had no idea what that really meant. There were five of us on this adventure, and none of us could have imagined how intense it would get. The destination was Abuna Yemata Guh, the legendary “church in the sky.” Perched on a sandstone cliff  nearly 8500 feet above sea level, it isn’t a place you simply walk into. To reach it, you must climb barefoot up sheer rock faces, squeeze through narrow crevices, and inch along ledges with nothing but the abyss below. The climb itself is an act of faith, and perhaps that’s the point. Built in the 6th century by Abuna Yemata, one of the Nine Saints who spread Christianity in Ethiopia, this church was designed to bring worshippers closer—literally—to heaven. And as I began my own ascent, I realized that this journey was not just about reaching a destination, but about confronting fear, testing trust, and stepping into a stor...

Chapter 6: Axum, Cradle of Ancient Civilization  After days of winding mountain roads, rugged landscapes, and stone castles that felt pulled straight out of legend, we finally reached Axum. This wasn’t just another stop on our Ethiopian journey—it felt like stepping directly into the heartbeat of history. Ethiopia calls itself the Land of Origins, and in Axum, I understood why. With more than 2,500 years of history, Axum was once the capital of an empire that traded with Rome, India, and Arabia. Its name alone carries the weight of myth, faith, and mystery. Most famously, Axum is believed to guard one of the greatest treasures in religious history: the Ark of the Covenant. The Church of St. Mary of Zion The Stelae of Axum Our first stop was the Stelae Fields, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These towering granite obelisks are unlike anything I’ve seen before. Some stretch nearly 20 meters high, carved from a single piece of stone, their faces etched with windows and doors as tho...