Tigray
Tigray is the northern-most of the nine ethnic regions (kililoch) of Ethiopia inhabited mostly by Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1. Its capital is Mek'ele. Other major towns and cities in Tigray include Abiy Adi, Adigrat, Adwa, Aksum, Himora, Inda Selassie, Korem, Maychew, Wukro and Zalambessa. The region borders Eritrea to the north (independent from Ethiopia since 1993), Sudan to the west, the Ethiopian region of Afar to the east and the Ethiopian region of Amhara to the south. Covering 50,286 km2, its population (as of 1999) is 3,593,000.
The predominent language of this region is Tigrigna, which is related to Ge'ez.
A distinctive feature of Tigray are its rock-hewn churches. Similar in design to those of Lalibela.These churches are found in four or five clusters -- Gheralta, Takatisfi, Atsbi and Tembien -- with Wukro sometimes included. Some of the churches are considered earlier than those of Lalibela, perhaps dating from the eighth century. Mostly monolithic, with designs partly inspired by classical architecture, they are often located at the top of cliffs or steep hills, for security. For example, Tigray's ancient Debre Damo monastery is accessible only by climbing a rope 25 meters up a sheer cliff.
