Day 7: Great Zimbabwe

Friday afternoon, we drove down to Masvingo, some 300km south of Harare (past the point where Susan Tsvangirai lost her life, not a very safe road). Then onward to the Lodge at the Ancient City, which is really close to the monuments. We got there just after nightfall and mom said it was the fanciest place she has ever stayed in, nice little bungalows in the style of Great Zimbabwe. 

 

Saturday, we went to visit Great Zimbabwe, which is the oldest and largest stone structure in the Sub-Saharan continent. It is often compared (especially by the Zimbabweans ;-) to the pyramids, or to the ancient temples build by the Incas. It even gave the name to the country, Zimbabwe, in 1980, when it stopped being a part of Rhodesia. Zimbabwe literally means 'Big House of Stone': Z- to indicate something big

• IMBA - house in Shona
  
• IBWE- from stone
  

Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much, on pictures it looked like a lot of piles of stones. But I was quite impressed. Built around the 12AD, no ciment or morter was used, stones were 'simply' piled up, up to 11m high, with 6m wide at the base and 2m at the top. 

Our local guide, Champion, told us many stories, also insisting on the role of diviners or spirit mediums. 

He told us that sometimes even nowadays, the 'Elders', the influential political leaders of the country, go up to where the Kings used to meet, and consult the ancestors on the best course of action for problems. Spooky...