Wukro Chirkos

Wukro Chirkos is a monolithic church in northern Ethiopia, on the northern edge of the town of Wukro near the main highway. From the time members of the British expedition of 1868 reported its existence until the early 20th century, it was the only rock-hewn church known to the outside world.

Wukro Chirkos is dedicated to the child martyr Quiricus of Tarsus. Due to its location, this church remains the most accessible example of these structures.

Description

The layout of this church is generally described as cruciform or "cross-in-square". As a result, it is frequently grouped with other churches with the same floor plan; namely Abreha we Atsbeha and Mikael Imba. Although the structure's interior is divided into three or five aisles -- "depending on how one describes the intermediary supports in the transverse section" according to Ruth Plant -- its cruciform layout is emphasized by the barrel vault in line with the apse and the sanctuary containing the tabot. Plant identified Axumite detail acting as frieze above the columns in the three arms of the crossing. The column shafts are chamfered, rising from bases upon the floor, and the capitals of the smaller columns are squared with elliptical chamfered edges. Plant wrote that the bracket capitals of the columns at the crossing are not as refined as the corresponding columns of Abreha we Atsbeha.

Wukro

Wukro (Ge'ez: ውቕሮ) (also known as Wukro Kilte Awulaelo; Ge'ez: ውቕሮ ክልተ ኣውላዕሎ) (also transliterated Wuqro; formerly known as Dongolo (Ge'ez: ዶንጎሎ) is a town and separate woreda in northern Ethiopia. It's located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) zone of the Tigray region on the Asmara-Addis Ababa highway (Ethiopian Highway 1). Wukro is surrounded by Kilte Awulaelo woreda.

Overview

Wukro town,center of the 'Kilte awlaelo' district is a beautiful town just 45 km north of Mekelle,capital of Tigray in Ethiopia.Wukro is one of the famous towns in Tigray.

The rock-hewn churches around Wukro are the town's most distinctive landmarks; in the early 20th century the town's name was changed from "Dongolo" (Ge'ez: ዶንጎሎ) to the Tigrigna word for a structure carved from the living rock, Wukro.

Local industry includes Sheba Tannery, which is capable of processing 6,000 hides a day. Opened in 2004, the tannery is one of the 13 companies owned and managed by the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT).

Kilte Awulaelo

Kilte Awulaelo (Ge'ez: ክልተ ኣውላዕሎ) is one of the woredas in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Kilte Awulaelo is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone, on the northeast by Hawzen, on the north by Saesi Tsaedaemba, and on the east by Atsbi Wenberta. Towns in the Kilte Awulaelo woreda include Agula, Tsigereda and Maymagden. Town of Wukro is surrounded by Kilte Awulaelo.

Overview

Archeological surveys at the village of Aynalem has recovered Sabaean inscriptions, an obelisk carved from stone, rocks shaped to resemble Egyptian pyramids, and ancient metal utensils in an area which has been left uncultivated due to religious beliefs. Gezaei Haile, a scientist and geology instructor at Mekelle University, in an interview with Jimma Times dated these artifacts to "a time of 200 years before birth of Christ, as none of the antiquities have sign of cross on them." There are several local monolithic churches in this woreda. These include Wukro Chirkos (at the edge of Wukro town), Abreha we Atsbeha, and Minda'e Mikael. The village of Negash, widely believed to be the first Muslim settlement in Africa, is also an important local landmark.