Carved into the sandstone Gheralta mountains up to 1,600 years ago , this is an extraordinary network of Ethiopian cave churches . The network of Christian places of worship was carved into the rock in Tigray between the 5th and 15th centuries and painted with frescoes . The Abune Yemata Guh church , which sits 2,500ft above ground , is said to have been carved out by an Egyptian priest who walked all the way there . Mariam Korkor church : This is one of the extraordinary Christian places of worship carved into the sandstone Gheralta mountains in Ethiopia . Journey : Anyone visiting the Abune Yemata Guh church must make their way along narrow ledges and cross a rickety makeshift bridge . Historic : The mountains where the Abune Yemata Guh church is located , 2,500ft above ground level - and carved out by an Egyptian priest . Father Yemata ’ s journey established a church which the congregation can now only reach by scaling a 19ft-high rock wall without ropes or harnesses . Anyone wanting to pay a visit nowadays must also make their way along narrow ledges and cross a rickety makeshift bridge . But families have brought their newborn babies there to be baptised , while corpses have been carried up to be buried on the mountain . Some of the priests at the church - which was virtually unknown to the public until the Sixties - are said to have been up there for 40 years . Interior design : The stunning frescoes inside the Abune Yemata Guh church remain extremely well preserved thanks to their remote location . It is not known why Father Yemata established the church - with theories suggesting he wanted to pray alone in the clouds , or even escape raiders . The stunning frescoes inside the churches remain extremely well preserved thanks to them being hidden in such an inaccessible place of worship . Also featured in the images taken by photographer Olivier Grunewald are the churches of Abune Abraham , Mariam Korkor and Abune Michael Kebe . The mountains are located about 500 miles north of Ethiopia 's capital , Addis Ababa , and are around 60 miles south of the border with Eritrea . Climbing : Visitors must take a dangerous route to the Abune Yemata Guh ( left ) . Also pictured is the interior of Abune Abraham church ( right )
Network of Egyptian places of worship was carved into the rock in Tigray between 5th and 15th centuries . Abune Yemata Guh church sits 2,500ft above ground and is said to have been carved out by Christian priest . Congregation can now only reach place of worship by scaling 19ft-high rock wall without ropes or harnesses .