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Byo: The historic heartland of Zim

15 Jun, 2018 - 00:06 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Tawanda Musarurwa
Ever been to a place so many times, and then for the umpteenth time you get to realise that you hardly know the place?

This is exactly the experience a certain visit to Bulawayo conjured up.
Well, I kind of knew it was coming. That was the purpose of the visit after all.

I had been invited by Bulawayo arts and cultural icon Cont Mhlanga (director of Amakhosi Cultural Centre) for a tour of the city’s cultural and heritage sites ahead of the official launch of what he termed the “cultural heritage tourism tours”.

A major part of the excitement of the official launch of the Bulawayo Cultural and heritage tours is the refurbishment of historic/heritage sites such as the City Hall Gardens; the Bulawayo historical War Memorial Cenotaph, the “Public Execution Tree” on Main Street, the King Lobengula Inxwala Parade Ground and King Mzilikazi’s burial spot, which had been somewhat neglected in recent years.

So Cont took us around the city, both inner city and in the townships. I must say, this may as well have been my first visit to Bulawayo.
It’s the history that counts…

It takes a special kind of eye to see beyond present infrastructure to the stories that lie behind, and Cont has just that.

“. . . Bulawayo’s heritage basically consists of three independent but related cities that grew together. The First was King Lobengula’s pre-colonial City whose centre now lies under State House (1880-1893).

“Then there is Rhodes’ City or what was known as the White City (circa 1894). Alongside is the African City — now the Townships — that grew separately to that of the White Settlers.

“The last two were intertwined but socially, politically and economically distinct,” introduces Cont.

I’m starting to get the picture.
The tentative excursion took us through a number of interesting “points” around the city that are in truth steeped in history and heritage.

I will mention just a few of these places including: Main Street, which still houses many of the “White City’s” leading commercial and government facilities; Stanley Hall (and the adjacent Stanley Square), which were at the heart of sport and politics in the “African City”; Main and 8th, the junction where a 12 foot statue of Cecil John Rhodes was erected in 1904, and the Market Square, which was once the cultivated fields of some of King Lobengula’s wives.
Who ever thought watching buildings and roads would be this fun?

Aesthetic Bulawayo
Ok, let me be clear here. Bulawayo’s infrastructure is unsurprisingly aesthetically pleasing . . . what with its mixture of Victorian and modern architecture. Now add a touch of insightfulness, and you have arrived!

Part of the sight-see is an opportunity to tour the City Hall, which is itself a major historical symbol. In addition to that you can get to learn its current systems and operations.
And there is more . . . so much more!

If you are a museums person, you’ll be pleased to know that the cultural and traditional history of the Bulawayo area has been carefully documented and illustrated in the Natural Museum, which has a reputation of being one of the finest museums in Africa.

Personally, I found the Railway Museum quite enchanting, with its impressive collection of railway memorabilia and steam locomotives dating back to 1897.

Then if you are a nature person you can get to visit places such as the Matobo National Park, Umguza Nature Reserve and Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage and Research Centre among others that are dotted just outside the city.

With so much choice available, it’s really up to the visitor to pick out their areas of interest, and well, have a blast.

But the most fascinating for me remains the Inner City tours because they gave me so much fresh perspective.

As Cont himself hinted to me, the cultural heritage tours are not just for the foreign tourist:
“It’s not only for foreign visitors. It’s also particularly for the local people to learn about their own space. Once you grasp well the historic content of the city of Bulawayo nothing will mismatch in your head about the history of this whole country and why certain things happened when they happened,” says Cont.

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