Most scholars believe Great Zimbabwe was built by the Gokomere culture who are ancestors of the modern Shona people. — Photos: DAVID BOWDEN
Wars were fought, art and architecture proliferated, dynasties reigned, and in turn, they were overthrown. While the ruins of Great Zimbabwe are well-known to scholars and archaeologists, Zimbabwe’s most significant heritage site has yet to make it onto the list of “must-see” places for most of those who travel to the African continent.
Zimbabwe is a fascinating country in endless ways, and it is slowly finding its way onto the holiday itineraries of intrepid travellers seeking an enchanting mix of African adventure, culture, wildlife, archaeology, and history.
This landlocked nation, formerly referred to as Rhodesia, is renowned for its wildlife safaris and the spectacular sight of one of the world’s most dramatic vistas: the cascading waters of the Zambezi River as they crash over and down the celebrated Victoria Falls.
However, the ancient royal city of Great Zimbabwe has been accorded the Unesco World Heritage Site status, making it one of the continent’s most significant archaeological sites.
Heritage to the world
The stone city of Great Zimbabwe is recognised as the largest ancient structure in Sub-Saharan Africa, and its Great Enclosure remains its masterpiece, second only to Egypt’s Great Pyramids as ancient Africa’s largest built structure.
As the centre of an expansive and powerful empire that is thought to have traded with present-day Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania, the home of the Gokomere people was designed and built to impress.
It is recognised as an achievement that dominated the region from the 11th to the 15th century.
Great Zimbabwe is strategically located near the head of the Save River, where goods passed through the settlement. The taxes that were imposed enabled the city to grow, and as it did, it developed a skilled workforce of stonemasons, soapstone carvers, and goldsmiths.
Another theory on its development suggests that Great Zimbabwe evolved to accommodate a complex and centralised cattle herding system that moved between various feeding areas depending on the season.
The place is nearly 800ha in size, and is divided into the Hill Ruins, the Great Enclosure and the Valley Ruins.
While some parts of the site are in ruins, much of it has withstood the harsh climatic extremes because the structures are built of stone, which is unusual for a continent more used to impermanent structures made from grasses, wood, and mud.
Remarkably, these lichen-covered structures, which stand up to 11m in height, are constructed using dry stone without any mortar, and they were so impressive that they inspired hundreds of other stone settlements in the region.
The word “Zimbabwe” is derived from local terminology used freely to mean either “venerated houses” or “stone houses”.
Conical towers are a feature of the protective walls of Great Zimbabwe.
Chance discovery
This great stone city in the African interior thrived and grew as the centre of a vast gold and ivory trading empire. After its demise in the middle of the 15th century, not much was known of Great Zimbabwe until a German hunting expedition came across the stone ruins in the late 19th century.
At its peak, it was the continent’s most important settlement, with between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants living within and around its protective stone walls. Arab and Swahili merchants traded textiles and beads sourced from the Middle East and ceramics and glassware from Asia.
Priests and prophets performed rituals within the enclosures while from high upon a granite fortress; the community’s spirits supposedly spoke through powerful mediums.
While archaeologists have speculated, no one really knows how or why this important society declined in regional importance, but it has been suggested that overpopulation exhausted the surrounding land and the people were unable to support themselves any more.
Other scholars speculate that political instability and climate change leading to famine might also have been factors in the abandonment of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century.
Early studies of Great Zimbabwe by European researchers viewed the ruins through a colonialist perspective in that they were premised on the opinion that such an impressive, powerful, and sophisticated civilisation was beyond the capabilities of the local people.
The stone city of Great Zimbabwe is recognised as the largest ancient structure in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In the 1960s, censorship prevented the ruins from being referred to as African in their creation, despite the fact that archaeological evidence suggested that the local people conceived and built Great Zimbabwe themselves, in response to the local conditions.
The real splendour of Great Zimbabwe is forever lost, as no records remain of the names of its kings, of their victories and achievements, or of the lives of its people. Perhaps this is what makes the ruins so speculative and intriguing.
Like most of Great Zimbabwe, the stone walls and passages within the hillside complex were never meant to rise above the landscape, but rather the natural boulders have been incorporated into the built structures. The design and architecture are a statement of harmony with the environment, not one of dominance.
Lodgings near the ruins
My accommodation of choice was Clevers Lakeview Resort (formerly Norma Jeane’s), a few kilometres away from the ancient site and overlooking Lake Mutirikwi (formerly Kyle Dam). Like some of the lodgings in Zimbabwe, Clevers Lakeview is locked in a quaint time warp that I found rather refreshing as it offers extremely cosy facilities, very much like a country retreat in rural England or Fraser’s Hill in Pahang.
The gardens here are meticulously maintained, and all rooms are comfortable with good facilities and services provided. It offers a comprehensive spectrum of accommodation, from camping to a handful of hotel rooms.
Food is another good reason for staying here, with home-style meals that are complemented by a good selection of beverages and wines (wines from Zimbabwe’s Bushman Rock Estate are worth seeking out).
After touring Great Zimbabwe, I lunched at the Lodge At The Ancient City, which is an amazing example of environmentally sensitive architecture with a cluster of rooms built from stone, providing accommodation in a style not unlike the great archaeological ruin that it overlooks.
The stone walls encrusted in fiery-red lichen.
Situated upon a wooded granite outcrop close to Great Zimbabwe, this lodge looks out across a valley of low shrubby Msasa trees and over the Great Enclosure of the ancient city.
It has been built around granite outcrops with views down the valley towards the ancient ruins, and its architects integrated the scrubby forests and rounded boulders with dry stone walling and steep thatched roofs over each of the chalets.
Notable features of this complex include several huge boulders that form an integral part of its overall architecture.
While not the most noted area in Zimbabwe to see wildlife, game drives and walks around the nearby Lake Mutirikwi Recreational Park and through the adjacent tribal lands can be arranged.
Zimbabweans are rightly proud of their heritage, and in particular, that of the civilisation of the Great Zimbabwe, which continues to intrigue visitors as to how this once dominant society declined in regional importance.
While the enclosures and passageways are normally empty with few tourists, the energy of Great Zimbabwe radiates out into the surrounding countryside.
Travel notes
Getting there: There are no direct flights from Malaysia to Zimbabwe, but several carriers fly there with at least one or two stops along the way. The shortest journey will take approximately 20 hours. Ethiopian Airlines flies from Kuala Lumpur to Harare in Zimbabwe via Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Great Zimbabwe is 270km south of Harare and 28km southeast of Masvingo.
Documents: Malaysians do not need a visa to visit Zimbabwe for a maximum of 90 days. Also, Zimbabwe is not one of the countries in Africa where a Yellow Fever vaccination is needed prior to entry. However, if you plan to visit other countries nearby, you may need one. Check out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website for more information. Alternatively, you can also get in touch with a tour operator that specialises in African holidays.
Currency: The Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL) is the official currency, and is less than ZWL10,000 to the Malaysian ringgit (or RM1 = ZWL7,644).
