Khami Ruins

We just returned from an incredible overnight stay at a rhino conservancy, which is about a 2 hour drive southeast of Harare. I’m hoping the boys will write about it tomorrow. We have a lot of catching up to do with this blog on what we’ve been doing ever since we left Bulawayo, arrived in Capetown and are now Harare. In fact, I failed to document the visit we made to the 3rd of 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites here in Zim. The other two we visited were Vic Falls and Matobo National Park. The Khami ruins date back to the 15th century, rising to prominence after the fall of Great Zimbabwe (another UNESCO site). Fashioned similarly to Great Zimbabwe, the stone walls at Khami were built as retaining walls for terraces upon which huts were built. Similar to the walls in Cusco, Peru, these walls were impressive in that they were built by bricks that were carved to fit together rather than held together by mortar. The Khami walls were also decorated in layered check, chevron, herringbone, and other patterns. Khami was destroyed by the Portuguese in the 17th century, so some walls have been reconstructed. The site itself contains archeological evidence of human habitation from 40,000 years ago, around the Stone Age. The most interesting thing in the museum is the Ming pottery, evidence that the former inhabitants were trading with China during the Iron Age. 

In answer to Linsey’s question, the boys have since accepted the fact that the pool is very cold, as they will do anything to get out of doing their workbooks!