It
was an inspiringly cool August afternoon when the Boeing 767 carrying
Ahmed landed majestically in the center of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo
International Airport runway, 25 km to the north of Bulawayo. That
Friday I was glad that Ahmed, my former student from Kuwait, had
finally arrived in Bulawayo. After exchanging some warm and excited
greetings, he remarked,” “Beautiful airport. I like it!”
I smiled, “Though small in size, it is our gateway to such
amazing world heritage sites as the Khami Ruins and the Matobo
Hills”.
When
we arrived home, I gave him a bit of background information about
Bulawayo. “This city was founded by none other than Lobengula,
the Ndebele king who was a son to King Mzilikazi. Born of Matshobana,
he settled in contemporary Zimbabwe around the 1840s after the
Ndebeles` great march from Nguniland. As the second largest city in
Zimbabwe, Bulawayo has more than two nicknames. One famous one is
‘Ntuthu ziyathunqa’ — which is a Ndebele phrase for
‘a place where smoke guts out ’. Historically, Bulawayo
was the country`s massive industrial base, and even today one can
see gigantic cooling towers of the coal-powered electricity
generating plant in the city centre. In the olden days these towers
used to emit steam and smoke all over the place. Bulawayo is
affectionately known as the City of Kings and Queens.” Ahmed
interjected with a joke, “I`d like to be an heir to the throne
too. This royal city has good quality tap water.”
I
disclosed to him that not only does Bulawayo boast of pumping and
maintaining the healthiest and tastiest quality tap water in the
country, furthermore, it has been widely acknowledged as the cleanest
and best-managed city in Zimbabwe. With one of the friendliest and
humblest African citizens on the continent, the respect for visitors
and all is a cultural protocol and pleasure for the locals. There are
no major security concerns as the street crime levels are largely low
and isolated. In spite of the country-wide economic challenges, the
metropolitan’s cultural richness and service delivery to the
generality of the residents and tourists is second to none. “It
hardly recycles waste water. It uses treated waste water for
irrigation purposes. As an integral, industrial, cultural and
logistical hub, the city was known to provide rail links between
Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia”.
Knowing
that he loves soccer and cricket, I decided to give him a dose of
sport update. I touched on local soccer teams and the current log
standings, including the best-performing local cricketers in
particular and the level and spirit of national cricket in general.
“By the way, Bulawayo is home to the Queens Sports Club and
Bulawayo Athletic Club, just two of the three pitches in Zimbabwe
where test match cricket has been played. Additionally, it is home to
Hartsfield on which a number of Southern Africa's prominent rugby
players have participated. It is home to one of Zimbabwe’s
greatest sportspersons of all time like Peter “Nsukuzonke” Ndlovu,
Heath Streak, and Henry Khaaba Olonga, who was the first
black cricket player and the youngest-ever player to represent
Zimbabwe at international level”.
On
Saturday morning we cruised all the way to the Natural Museum of
Zimbabwe which is situated in the Centenary Park in Bulawayo. Built
in 1962, with its spectacular exhibitions and precious research
collections, it is the finest arts center in Southern Africa and
rated fourth in magnitude among the museums of Africa. I watched
Ahmed as his eyes were fixed on the public display galleries, the
beauty of the lecture hall, the study collections, the artifacts, the
well-preserved animals in the displays. “Your eyes are fixed on
the displays”, I said. He chuckled,” Fixed…actually
my eyes are feasting on these attractive and informative displays
here. I`m awed by the magnificence and abundance of one of the best
natural history museums in the world”.
Ahmed`s
itinerary glimmered with mouth-watering names like the Khami Ruins,
Bulawayo Railway Museum, Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage and Research
Centre, Bulawayo National Gallery of Zimbabwe, The Hillside Dams
Conservancy, Tshabalala Game Sanctuary, Old Bulawayo and Mzilikazi
Art and the Craft center. I admired his travel programme. However, I
thought it lacked one three-word ingredient to consummate a regal
experience: Matobo National Park! I did not have to convince him
because on Monday we drove toward the black eagles, the black and
white rhinos and the scenic balancing rock formations in the heart of
Matobo National Park. Ahmed was speechless.
