"ETHIOPIA, THE LAND OF WONDERS"

ERETZ ISRAEL MUSEUM, TEL VIVE, ISRAEL 

FEBRUARY 15 - June 10, 2013

Eretz Israel Museum – a big, central museum located at the richer north of Tel-Aviv – is hosting an extensive exhibition entitled “Ethiopia, The Land of Wonders” that will run through June 10th 2013.

In a rare attempt to broaden the otherwise narrow perspective Israelis have on Ethiopia, curator Sara Turel did a great job in gathering and displaying a plethora of photos, videos, manuscripts, dresses and artifacts from many public and private collections.

Visitors are first introduced to the legendary sphere of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; then, through Ethiopian Christianity, to the historic towns of Axum, Lalibela and Gondar, to Ethiopian musical instruments, to food and the buna (coffee) tradition. The story of Beta Israel, Israelis of Ethiopian origin, is also present, although their immigration is a minefield deliberately avoided. Curator Turel says this is an Israeli, not an Ethiopian story. Some space is given to Islam in Ethiopia too and to the different nations and nationalities, before moving on to political history from the 19th century through Haile Selassie I (including a picture of his spouse Menen Asfaw, taken during her visit to this very museum in 1959), the Derg, and the present era; even the Rastafarians have not been left out. The exhibition ends with a series of pictures by Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh. It is a wonderful display, accompanied by an impressive printed catalogue.