Selassie Chelekot

Chelekot is a small village only 17 km south of Mekelle where a century old church by the name of Selassie (Trinity) is situated. The track to Chelekot turns off at 5 km on the Mekelle-Samre road. Selassie Chelekot is one of the great churches in Ethiopia. The church is famous for its magnificent paintings, murals and valuable church treasures.

Besides this church comes a historic mountain by the name of Imba are'adom whre the Ethiopians made a gallant stand against the Italian invaders someties before the battle of Adwa in 1936.

Eyesus hintsa

The area running southwest embraces Eyesus Hintsa rock-hewn church, located near Gijet, a small town 61 km far away from Mekelle. The church with rock-hewn entrance depicting a Greek cross has three doors and nine windows. Both openings have their exterior and interior scenes appearing circular and rectangular. The windows are made in such a away to allow enough light into the inner part of the church. The construction is executed following the Aksumite architectural styles. The church holds six free standing pillars that are well decorated. The ceiling too is incised with striking designs and patterns. Some carry cross and sun lights. It is also alternatively ornamented with Aksumite blinbarches, identical to that of Gheralta rock-hewn churches. It is reached by a vehicle. Mikael Ara A castle like church, Mikael Ara, is perched along the Mekelle-Addis Ababa road. The church made of stone, has two cruciform wooden pillars which support its ceilings. The inner part, decorated with fine timbers and rich paintings are the focal point of the attraction. The relic lies 8 km east of Adigudom town, 35 km after Mekelle.

Mariam Nazara

Behind a cliff that guards the town of Hiwane in the east, 50 km far from the capital there is a church dedicated to St. Mary. At a place now called Adi-Abona, emperor Amdetsion who lived in the 14th century is said to have constructed a castle with large stones. The place is believed to have had consisted of 44 chambers. The ten rock-pillars and four chambers standing still hint that the building in its heydays was so splendid. There are four rooms with oval-shaped brick roofs, which where later adopted as the church sanctuary. The church, whose history goes back to remote time, has its enclosure strewn with hewn slabs of stone and artistically incised bowls. The remain marked by a cupola is accessible. Aba'ella (shiket) Land behind the mountain that embraces Mekelle in the east, turns into an agrarian surroundings spotted with some more places of interest. The part that extends east forms an escarpment that comes to hang over the Afar depression. The town of Aba'ella, part of the Afar region, lies about 37 km and can be reached by road. The settlement has a small outdoor market that brings together the Afar nomads and the crop-growing highland people. The market occurs every Thursday. Aba'ella would allow experiencing the llife style of the Afar people. The track that leads to Aba'ella turns east at 16 km on the Mekelle-Addis Ababa road. Heading to Aba'ella you can stop in the north verge of Quiha, 12 km from Mekelle, to see a ruined palace. It is a demolished place believed to have been erected by Emperor Amdetsion who ruled the country in the 14th century. The attraction seems to yield if excavated.

Rock Churches

The environment stretching north and west enters rugged lands where more than 120 rock-hewn and cave churches are found. They are situated, for example, in Gheralta, Tsada Imba, Atsbi Wonberta and Debre Assa. They are within 100 km radius from Mekelle. To sum up, most of the people of Mekelle's vicinity are out their livings from the craggy surroundings. They yoke oxen to grow crops and thereafter engage themselves in harvesting and threshing. These traditional means of living coupled with their flock marriage, burial and religious ceremonies add fascinations to all that lies within the area. The outskirts of Mekelle town thus seem to yield more surprises if exposed.