MIKAEL IMBA CHURCH
- MIKAEL IMBA CHURCH
Mikael Imba is laid out in a similar way to Abraha We Atsbeha and Wukm Cherkos. With an inner surface of 140 square meters, the church is perhaps the most spacious of all rock-hewn churches in Tigray. The pillars have stepped capitals, the ceiling is decorated with artistic patterns. In addition, the ceiling shows a stone relief of a large Greek cross. When it comes to decor and workmanship, Mikael Imba is comparable. Dr. Twelde Medhin Yosef, the pioneer of the scientific study of the rock-hewn churches of Tigray, describes Mikael Imba as "an artistically perfect church". The church is 15 kilometers east of Atsbi or 23 kilometers from Agulae (ኣጉላዕ) on a mountain with recently built stairs which leads up to the church.
MIKAEL DEBRE SELAM CHURCH
- Aksumite facade of the Debre Selam Mihael church
In terms of its architectural design, Mikael Debre Selam is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful church. It is a church in a hall or, as Ivy Pearce puts it, "a church in a church". The middle door leads into an anteroom with three huge brick pillars, a beautiful free-standing arch and the striking acoustic layered construction (alternating layers of wood and stone, each painted black or white). On the doors and shutters there are wonderful wood carvings with geometric patterns, including swastika-like symbols. Above all, the middle shutter shows a picture of the Virgin Mary with the child painted on wood 15th century. The protruding heads of the wooden beams are masked and add to the beauty of the church, which is also famous for the frescoes on the warden and arches of the Blessed Sacrament, which can be viewed with the permission of the priest. According to Pearce, the influence of Byzantine art can be seen here. The church can be reached via a 9 kilometer-long gravel road north-east of Atsbi and an easy ascent of around 20 minutes.