HISTORY OF ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe got its name from historical stone structures. They are all evidence of a past imperial capital of architecture.
Southern Africa was inhabited by people with a different life style. The Bushmen people did not live in cities and they were hunters and fruit gatherers. Their history is based on thousands of rock paintings. There are still a few of them that remained in Zimbabwe.
European penetration in the country began through Christian missionaries. They were then followed by fortune hunters, soldiers and land grabbing settlers. Cecil John Rhodes bought a concession for mining purposes. Rhodes declared war and overthrew the government and named the country Rhodesia as a British colony.
African resisted the British rule. Although they were defeated, they still took up arms. The uprising was supressed by the use of brutality and torture of the prisoners of war and civilians. Political, labour protests and unrest continued.
Originally known as Southern Rhodesia and later as Zimbabwe Rhodesia, Zimbabwe was renamed upon gaining independence from Britain in 1980.
The leader of Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe is the longest serving, most infamous African ruler ever. He was a trained teacher and spent 11 years in a prison because of politics under Ian Smith’s old Rhodesian government. His only motto in life was to lead the Zimbabwe African National Union movement and he was one of the key negotiators in the Lancaster House Agreement in the late 1970’s. That off course led to a democratic Zimbabwe. He was elected prime minister and later president and embraced conciliation with the country’s white minority but sidelined his rivals through politics and force. He started taking farms from whites in 2000 and that caused an economic collapse and really bad inflation. He agreed to share some power with the rival Movement for Democratic Change in 2009. However he still kept up the pressure, subjecting MDC parliamentarians to arrest, imprisonment and torture.
ZIMBABWE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
1. VICTORIA FALLS
Victoria Falls is the most beautiful sight on the Zambezi River, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It means “the smoke that thunders”. It is by far the greatest curtain of water in the world.
2. HWANGE NATIONAL PARK
Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest game reserve in Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the widely noted Victoria Falls and near to Dete.
3. MATOBO NATIONAL PARK
The Matobo National Park forms the vocal point of the Matopos Hills. The hills consist of granite kopjes and wooded valleys. They were formed over 2billion years ago.
4. VICTORIA FALLS NATIONAL PARK
Situated on the western side of Zimbabwe, the Victoria Falls National Park protects the area of the Victoria Falls.
5. VICTORIA FALLS BRIDGE
The Victoria Falls Bridge was built to link the two countries. There are border post on both the Zambian and the Zimbabwean side of the bridge.
6. NYANGA NATIONAL PARK
Nyanga National park is located in the north of Zimbabwe. One of the first national parks in the country, it contains the highest land in Zimbabwe. The Nyanga National park incorporates the former Mutarazi Falls National Park on its southern boundary.
7. CHIMANIMANI DISTRICT
Chimanimani is a town in Zimbabwe in the Chimanimani District in southeast Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. It is the home of Charter border Timbers. There are macademia plantations and it is very reach in fresh fruits, but the poor roads made the valley lagging behind.
8. BALANCING ROCKS
The Balancing Rocks are a geological formation found in the township of Epworth, southeast of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. It is a formation of rocks perfectly balanced without other supports.
The Mother and Child balancing rocks are a well-known feature in Matobo National Park.
9. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ZIMBABWE
The National Gallery runs an art school, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Visual Art Studios in Mbare. The school offers students with training in disciplines including Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Design and Photography.
10. ZIMBABWE MUSEUM OF HUMAN SCIENCE
This museum is located in Harare. The museum contains the seven hundred year old Lemba artifact ngomalungundu, which some believe to be a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. It is the oldest wooden object ever found in sub-Saharan Africa.
11. SCHAPUNGU SCULPTURE PARK
The Chapungu Sculpture Park [1] is a sculpture park in Msasa, Harare, Zimbabwe, which displays the work of Zimbabwean stone sculptors.
12. BULAWAYO RAILWAY MUSEUM
The Bulawayo Railway Museum is located behind the Bulawayo Railway Station. You can access the museum via the pedestrian footbridge at the station. The museum is owned by the National Railways of Zimbabwe. Opened in 1972, the museum displays a wealth of small exhibits and models as well as steam and diesel electric locomotives.
13. NATIONAL HEROES ACRE
National Heroes Acre is a burial ground and national monument in Harare. Its purpose is to commemorate Patriotic Front guerrillas killed during the Rhodesian Bush war. Persons buried here are considered heroes by the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front regime, which has administered the country since independence at 1980.
14. NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF ZIMBABWE
The National History Museum of Zimbabwe is located in Bulawayo. Opened in 1964, the museum contains exhibits illustrating the history, mineral wealth and wildlife of the country, including the second largest mounted elephant in the world.
15. MUTARE MUSEUM
Mutare Museum is a museum in Mutare, Zimbabwe. It is one of the four national museums of Zimbabwe and was initially established as a society in 1954 before becoming a national museum in 1959.
16. HARARE GARDENS
The Harare Gardens is the city of Harare’s largest garden.
