The city of kings, as it is affectionately called, Bulawayo is the second largest city of Zimbabwe and used to be the industrial hub of the country. The central busines development (CBD) is layed out in the most organized formation with avenues numbered from 1 to 23 and streets named after the heroes such as Joshua Nkomo or Josiah Tongogara upto Lobengula street. There are a few notable avenues though named after individuals such as Cecil and Leopold Takawira.
The grid is made up of wide streets which were designed to accommodate ox wagons from the pioneer column back in the 1880s. The city of kings is a historical marvel traced back to 1870 where Lobengula established his capital in the area. His father Mzilikazi who broke away from Shaka Zulu had brought in his Ndebele followers with him and settled in the nearby Matopo and Khezi areas .
With a population of over 1,2 million, Bulawayo is mainly a stop over between Beitbridge and Victoria falls and an hours drive to Matopos hills national park. During the hey days, the city also saved as the international railway interchange between the lines from Botswana, south Africa , Mozambique and Zambia. The large railway museum witnesses how the city dominated the railways in the region back then.
The Khami ruins 20 km west of the city solves a bit of historical confusion as the ancient ruins depict those in the Hwange NP and have some resemblance to the those of the Great Zimbabwe. That’s therefore the region was earlier enhabited by a different group way before the Ndebele and civilization came in.
