10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ZIMBABWE

Discover Zimbabwe. 10 interesting facts about the southern African country. Like many other African countries, Zimbabwe's fame is centered around its beautiful nature and rich cultural traditions that are still in use. Zimbabwe is a country full of cultural diversity that has a history of colonization but is also famous for its natural resources. If you're enjoying the content, don't forget to like and subscribe to Africa Revealed. There are many more interesting and fun facts to follow. Let us dive into the 10 weird and wonderful facts about Zimbabwe. Number 10. Victoria Falls. As one of the seven wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Victoria Falls attracts many tourists, which is believable considering that this is the largest waterfall in the world. The waterfall is 1,708 meters wide and 108 meters high, for a sure magnificent sighting. The Lhazi people call this waterfall Mosiatunya, meaning smoke that thunders, and the Tonga people speak of Shungunamu Titima. The name derives from the thunder-like sound that the water makes and the bubbles that form when the water comes crashing down into the lake. The spectacular waterfall is found in Victoria Falls National Park and can be witnessed from the safety of your car, on foot, from a helicopter or from a microlight. There is a bungee jump, bridge swing and white rafting for the adrenaline junkies. Depending on the season, tourists can swim in the Devil's Pool right on the edge of the waterfall. Apart from its beauty, Victoria Falls bears some important historical information. It is found that the area has been inhabited for about 3 million years and artifacts from the Middle and Stone Age have been found and dated. Number 9. Zimbabwe was not always called Zimbabwe. Before 1980, Zimbabwe was named Rhodesia. The name Rhodesia came from the British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who was the ruler at the time. Rhodesia covered both the countries that is now known as Zimbabwe and Zambia. Zambia being North Rhodesia and Zimbabwe formerly known as Southern Rhodesia. Because Zimbabwe only became an independent state in 1980, there are many people outside of Zimbabwe and usually the older generation who still talks about Zimbabwe as Rhodesia. Number 8. Official languages. If you think South Africa has 11 official languages where many, get ready for more. Because Zimbabwe holds the record for the most official languages in the world. Zimbabwe has 16 official languages. Chewa, Chibaruwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambia, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign Language, Soto, Tonga, Swana, Venda and Xhosa. English is the main language used for instruction and is also the lingua franca, meaning that it is used in business and government because of the large quantity of official languages. English in this case is the second language of most citizens and the first language of the population of European descent. Number 7. Official currencies. Zimbabwe has two official currencies, the United States dollar and the real-time gross settlement dollar. From 1980 to 2009, Zimbabwe had four official currencies, but these four currencies fell under the name Zimbabwean dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar was reduced a lot over time and at a time fell to the lowest currency unit in the world. This caused the Zimbabwean dollar to be re-denominated. It was re-denominated three times and officially abandoned in 2009. This introduced a multi-currency system and the country used the South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Pound Sterling, Indian Rupee, Euro, Japanese Yen, Australian Dollar, Chinese Yuan and the United States dollar. This sustained until 2019 when the currency was replaced with the new Zimbabwean dollar only, but that was only in use until 2020, where after the multi-currency system was re-introduced. Tourists are recommended to use US dollars when doing payments instead of the real-time gross settlement, just to keep it simple and uncomplicated. Number 6. Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Kingdom of Zimbabwe is a medieval Shona located in modern-day Zimbabwe. It is a protected area and also the place where Lushingo, now Great Zimbabwe, can be found. Great Zimbabwe is the largest stone structure in pre-colonial Southern Africa and is built in between the 11th and 15th century. The ruins consist of three main areas, the hill complex, the valley complex and the great enclosure. From which the hill complex is the oldest and was where the stone carved Zimbabwean beds stood. Because of an incident where some of the statues were stolen, the beds are now kept in an on-site museum that can be visited by guests. The beds are carved from soapstone and some of them are standing up to 1.5 meters tall. Great Zimbabwe, a kingdom of ancient ruins, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It spans 7.2 hectares and at the peak of its time would have housed approximately 18,000 people. Number 5. Tobacco exportation. Zimbabwe is one of the world's biggest tobacco producers and exporters. It is the largest producer of tobacco leaf in Africa and fourth largest producer of flu-cured tobacco in the world. The country exports 98% of the tobacco it produces. This is due to the large number of tobacco manufacturing industries and the production of cigarettes only enough to supply for domestic demand. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's biggest export, having exported 728 million in the 2020 season and forms a big part of the country's agricultural sector. The great number of producers and growers is a great impact on the economy and also ensures for job creation. Number 4. Vadoma people. The Vadoma people are part of the only hunter-gatherer tribe indigenous to Zimbabwe. They live in the southern part of Zimbabwe and are especially famous for a part of their tribe that has ectrodactyly. Ectrodactyly is a condition in which the hand or foot is split or cleft and the three middle toes are missing and the two outer toes bend inward. This causes the tribe to also be known as the ostrich people or the two-toed tribe. Among the tribe members, ectrodactyly is not seen as a disability and the members are well integrated into the tribe. The homeland of the Vadoma tribe has now become the Chewore safari area. Many of the Vadoma tribe members have left the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and moved to the lowlands after being threatened by game rangers due to their poaching. This move to the lowlands caused the people to adapt a semi-forager lifestyle and building homes on wooden platforms to avoid predators. The Vadoma people are reluctant to wear textile clothes and live mostly in isolation for the majority of the population. Number 3. Manapuz National Park. The name Manapuz comes from the Shona word mana that means four. The park got its name from the four big permanent pools formed by the meanderings of the middle of the Zambezi river. Manapuz is a 219,600 hectares wildlife conservation area and national park in northern Zimbabwe. The southern part of the Zambezi river runs through the park and consequently floods the plains from time to time. Because of the occasional flooding, it attracts wild animals and is a huge tourist attraction and a renowned wildlife viewing experience. Wild animals such as Hippopotamus, Crocodile, Cape Buffalo, Zebra and Elephant as well as more threatened species like Lions, Hyenas, Cheetahs, Cape Wild Dogs and Leopards are found. The park along the Sapi Safari Area and Chewore Safari Area was named a single UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Interesting enough, Manapuz National Park was voted as the number one traveler's choice safari between Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Number 2. Sandawana Emeralds. In the 1950s, the government funded an incentive to discover new beryllium and lithium mines, but instead of new metal deposits, they found emeralds. The first stone was discovered about five kilometers west-southwest of the confluence of the Nwanezi and Mutsime rivers and was named Vulcan. After more mining at the same spot where the first emerald was found, more and more emerald stones were found and it later became the first emerald mine, called Zeus. The name Sandawana in Sandawana Emeralds refers both to the place and an African folklore about a mythical tale about a red-haired animal. The folklore says that the owner of one of these animals' red hairs will have good fortune for the rest of their lives. Like the folklore, the Sandawana Emeralds are said to also bear good luck to their owners. There are also other emerald mines in Zimbabwe which still function, but the Zeus claim at Sandawana has given the most consistent flow of emeralds through time. Number 1. King Solomon's Gold. King Solomon, a biblical figure in Christian faith, received a cargo gold from Ophir every three years. It is theorized that Ophir, the place from where he received his gold, could be in Africa and could actually be Great Zimbabwe. As further evidence, Ophir was identified in Milton's Paradise Lost among other works of literature and science. Although not officially recognized as the mining place of King Solomon's gold, the theory draws enough attention to make it noteworthy. Now without even lifting a finger, except for pressing the like button, you have learned 10 new things about Zimbabwe. After watching this video, you should be prepared for a quiz night about this lush and lucrative country. Thank you for watching the video and keep tuned for more.