The visitor to the pavilion travels between a rich history and a promising future

Expo... with an Ethiopian flavor, a ritual of happiness and coffee...

• Carefully brewed coffee is poured by an Ethiopian girl with a generous smile.

  Photography: Ahmed Ardeti

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Between the smell of coffee, the atmosphere of a very distant history, a promising future with opportunities and happiness, the visitor to the Ethiopian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, which is replete with many landmarks, sheds light on the role played by this country as a vital center in the brown continent, by displaying its heritage and its efforts to preserve its authenticity and culture.

One of the highlights of the pavilion is inviting the Expo guests to taste the distinctive Ethiopian coffee “Gabbana”, which is prepared in a jug with a beautiful art form and a well-known character.

The pavilion accompanies its visitors on a journey through millions of years of civilization, as they are greeted by Grandma Lucy, the oldest human fossil found, estimated at 3.2 million years old, and the oldest skeleton of a human fossil ever found. Amharic, discovered in northeastern Ethiopia in 1974, gives pavilion guests a chance to meet and celebrate the oldest hominid fossil ever found.

The pavilion also displays artifacts including ancient silver and bronze coins that embody the ancient culture of Ethiopia and its foreign relations.

Visitors can also see ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Christian manuscripts made of precious papers, along with ancient Ethiopian Islamic handwritten manuscripts.

The pavilion houses the cho cho, which are handmade wood and leather decorated pots commonly used to preserve diesel in eastern Ethiopia, and ancient judicial stamps, which are evidence of the depth of Ethiopian civilization.

Visitors can see the Ethiopian fashion up close, and hear stories woven from the fabrics in the joyful traditional colors.

Every thread in it tells tales of ancient culture paired with a horizon and a future full of opportunity.

In its pavilion located in the Opportunity Zone, Ethiopia is presenting great opportunities in the field of investment in the textile and spinning industry. The presented knitted and crocheted fabrics, carpets and clothing demonstrate the quality and strength of the industry in this field.

Textiles in Ethiopia have also developed rapidly with increasing interest in it because it creates job opportunities, which qualifies the country to become one of the leading centers in Africa in the textile industry with expected exports of $30 billion.

The pavilion shows that the textile industry alone is not Ethiopia's horizon, but that its future looks bright in the fields of tourism, pharmaceutical industry, livestock, food industries, and other promising economic sectors that reflect the true position of Ethiopia.

Visitors can learn some of the Amharic alphabet, which is the official language of Ethiopia, and is one of the oldest alphabets in the world, through a platform that learns who wants words preferred by the Ethiopian people, such as: happiness, family, home, coffee, friend and flower.

Before the visitors finish their tour in the Ethiopian pavilion, the coffee plays a role in recognizing the authenticity of the country, as it offers them carefully prepared coffee poured by an Ethiopian girl with a smile that shows the people's generosity, hospitality and warm welcome to the guests.

And to have coffee in the Ethiopia pavilion is a ritual that visitors can experience, as it can be tasted sitting in sessions of tanning and communication.

An extra cup is always empty

Gathering for coffee is an authentic Ethiopian home tradition, but rather the most important social occasion for the Ethiopian people, in which they share laughter and sorrows, and form one body and soul.

What proves the leadership of Ethiopian hospitality is the presence of an extra cup that is always empty on the table, in anticipation of the presence of an unexpected guest. Wing officials about this special coffee ritual in their country.

Grandma "Lucy" is waiting for guests. It is the oldest human fossil found, and its age is estimated at about 3.2 million years.

Christian and Islamic historical manuscripts..and a platform that knows some words from the Amharic alphabet.