Flag Description:
Seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture, yellow - mineral wealth, red - blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people.

Full country name: Republic of Zimbabwe
Area: 390,580 sq km
Population: 13 million
People: Shona (76%), Ndebele (18%), Batonka (2%), Shangaan (1%), Venda (1%), European, Asian
Language: Shona, English
Religion: 50% syncretic, 25% Christian, 24% indigenous beliefs, 1% Muslim and other
Government: parliamentary democracy
Head of State: President Robert Gabriel Mugabe

GDP: US$27 billion
GDP per capita: US$2,000
Inflation: 465%+
Major Industries: Mining, agriculture, clothing, tourism
Major Trading Partners: South Africa, UK, Argentina, US, Japan

Culture

Artists are highly esteemed in Zimbabwean society and a greater percentage of artists make a viable living from their trade than in most other countries. In fact, Zimbabweans seem to take a measure of artistic talent for granted. Traditional arts, most of which are still practised, include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewellery and carving. Perhaps most notable for their quality and beauty are the symmetrically patterned woven baskets and stools carved from a single piece of wood. Shona sculpture, a melding of African folklore with European artistic training, has been evolving over the past few decades. One recurring theme is the metamorphosis of man into beast, the prescribed punishment for violations such as making a meal of one's totem animal. Most of the work is superb and a few Zimbabwean sculptors are recognised among the world's best.

Zimbabwean's mesmerising music has always been an important part of its cultural life. African legends are punctuated by musical choruses in which the audience participates, and social events (such as weddings, funerals, harvest and births) are each accompanied by unique songs. Traditional musical instruments include the marimba, a richly-toned wooden xylophone and the mbira, a cute plinky-plonky device more commonly known as a thumb piano. The oddest percussion instrument used in Zimbabwe are the mujejeje ('stone bells'). Many stones in granite outcrops around the country have exfoliated in such a way that when struck, they resound with a lovely bell-like tone ( Zimbabwe's first rock music? - ouch). Harare is one of Africa's great musical centres, attracting South African exiles and indigenous musicians performing variations on Chimurenga music, inspired by the wars of independence.

Between 40% and 50% of Zimbabweans belong to Christian churches, but their belief system is characterised more by a hybrid of Christian and traditional beliefs than by dogmatic Christianity. The Mwari cult, a monotheistic animist belief system which entails ancestor worship, and spiritual proxy and intercession, is the dominant non-Christian religion. Mwari, the unknowable supreme being, speaks to his human subjects through The Voice of Mwari, a cave-dwelling oracle who is most often female. The oracle serves as an intercessionary between the spirits, the god and the people, especially in cases of natural disaster or outside aggression. It was the oracle, in fact, who received the go-ahead to begin the First Chimurenga (rebellion) in 1896.

English is the official language of Zimbabwe, but it is a first language for only about 2% of the population. The rest of the people are native speakers of Bantu languages, the two most prominent of which are Shona, spoken by 76% of the population, and Sindebele, spoken by 18%. Although most urban Zimbabweans have at least a little knowledge of English, once you're out in the sticks, a few words of Shona or Sindebele will go a long way. Annoying co-travellers can be swiftly despatched by dedicated practising of the Sindebele 'clicks', made by drawing the tongue away from the front teeth, slapping it on the roof of the mouth, or drawing it quickly sideways from the right upper gum.

Zimbabwean cuisine is mostly the legacy of bland British fare combined with normally stodgy African dishes. The dietary staple is sadza - the white maize meal porridge upon which most local meals are built. The second component is nyama - meat, usually beef or chicken, but also crocodile, kudu and impala. Fruit and vegetables are limited, but don't miss gem squash, a delicious type of marrow.

The alcoholic tipple of the masses is chibuku, 'the beer of good cheer'. Served up in buckets which are passed between partakers, it has the appearance of hot cocoa, the consistency of thin gruel and a deceptively mellow build up to the knockout punch. It's not at all tasty. Chibuku is drunk mainly in high-density township beer halls - a distinctly male social scene. Coffee addicts who want to kick the habit should think about a holiday in Zimbabwe. Although coffee is grown in the Eastern Highlands, it's mostly for export and there's not a Gaggia in sight. Most of what passes for coffee is an abomination known as Daybreak, a revolting blend of 10% instant coffee and 90% chicory.

History

Southern Africa's human history extends back through the millennia to the first rumblings of humanity on the planet. The first upright-walking 'hominids' established themselves in the savannas of southern and eastern Africa nearly 4 million years ago. These human-like creatures slowly developed into persons-as-we-know-'em as more sophisticated tools were produced and climatic conditions became more favourable. By the middle Stone Age, which lasted until 20,000 years ago, organised hunting and gathering societies had been established, and by 8000BC, late Stone Age people occupied rock shelters and caves all over southern Africa. The first inhabitants of Zimbabwe were probably nomadic, adaptable San groups, gradually absorbed by Khoi-Khoi grazier tribes, and slowly transmuting into a culture known as Khoisan.

Bantu-speaking farmers, either Khoisan settlers or Iron Age migrants from the north, were the first occupants of the Great Zimbabwe site in the south of the country. Between 500 and 1000AD, the Gokomere (a Bantu group into gold-mining and cattle ranching) enslaved and absorbed San groups in the area. As early as the 11th century, some foundations and stonework were in place at Great Zimbabwe and the settlement, generally regarded as the nascent Shona society, became the trading capital of the wealthiest and most powerful society in southeastern Africa. The hilltop acropolis at Great Zimbabwe came to serve not only as a fortress but as a shrine for the worship of Mwari, the pre-eminent Shona deity. By the 15th century, Great Zimbabwe's influence had begun to decline, due to a heady cocktail of overpopulation, overgrazing, popular uprisings and political fragmentation.

The Shona dynasties fractured into autonomous states, many of which later formed the Rozwi state, which encompassed over half of present-day Zimbabwe well into the 19th century. In 1834, Ndebele raiders invaded from the south, assassinated the Rozwi leader and established a Ndebele state with the capital at Bulawayo. Meanwhile, European gold seekers and ivory hunters from the Cape were moving into Shona and Ndebele territory. The best known of these was Cecil John Rhodes who envisioned a corridor of British-style 'civilisation' stretching all the way from the Cape to Cairo. Sanctioned by Queen Victoria, white settlers swarmed in, led by the heavy-handed Rhodes. By 1895, the new country was being referred to as Rhodesia and a white legislature was set up. By 1911 there were some 24,000 settlers.

Amazingly, the Ndebele and Shona natives weren't overly delighted about the colonists coming in and telling them what was what, even though the Brits were ever so reasonable about everything and had jolly nice safari suits. Jihad-like revolts, raids and razzing in the last years of the 19th century became known as Chimurenga, the War for Liberation, but the fight stalled in 1897 when the crusade leaders were captured and hanged. Conflicts between black and white came into sharp focus during the 1920s and '30s through referenda and legislation which excluded black Africans from ownership of the best farmland and from skilled trades and professions. The effect was to force Africans to work on white farms and in mines and factories. Poor wages and poor conditions led to rebellion and the emergence of African political parties.

Ian Smith became Rhodesia's president in 1964 and began pressing for independence. When he realised that Britain's conditions for cutting the tether wouldn't be accepted by Rhodesia's whites, he made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was declared illegal by Britain, and the UN imposed sanctions (mostly ignored) in 1968. The African parties opted for increasingly fierce guerilla warfare (known as the Second Chimurenga) and whites began to abandon their homes and farms. Smith tried ceasefires, amnesties, secret talks and sneaky assassinations, all of which failed to curb the fighting. Finally, he was forced to call a general non-racial election and hand over leadership to Abel Muzorewa, an African National Congress member.

Internationally, Muzorewa was taken about as seriously as the Spice Girls, and when Margaret Thatcher became British PM in 1979, she applied steely fix-it attention to the situation. A constitution was painfully thrashed out between Smith, Muzorewa, and other high-ranking nationalists such as Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe. In the carefully monitored election of March 1980, Mugabe prevailed by a wide margin and Zimbabwe joined the ranks of Africa's independent nations.

Mugabe, a committed Marxist, has hung on to power ever since. He's survived resurgent rivalry and guerilla activity through a canny combination of dirty government, gerrymander and intimidation. It seems unlikely that Mugabe will ever get his one-party state - especially after the collapse of the USSR, the landslide defeat of Kaunda (a very mixed-up Marxist) in neighbouring Zambia, and the increasingly strident demands by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and aid donors for the introduction of greater democratic measures in return for loan or aid.

Zimbabwe's citizens became increasingly impatient with Mugabe as his large-scale mismanagement filtered down as hip-pocket pinch. In Harare in early 1998, the dissatisfaction spilt over into open hostility, riots and looting.

The spirit of anarchy escalated during wide-scale seizures of white-owned farmland by squatters in 2000, followed in 2002 by a goverment imposed land-acquisition law that dispossed a further 3000 white farmers of their land. The resultant production shortfalls led to desperate food shortages, famine and an economy left shattered.

In 2002, with elections pending, the European Union (EU) appointed election observers to oversee the process. With negative coverage by the media, parliament passed a law restricting media liberties. Shortly after, the EU team leader was sent home and the EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, joining the World Bank and IMF in their concerns over the disintegrating conditions. Despite this, Mugabe was re-elected, but the election was controversial and marred by scandal. International condemnation was widespread and Zimbabwe were suspended from the Commonwealth. When the suspension was carried over in 2003, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth altogether, further alienating the country.

The rival Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) united with other civic organisations in continuing protests for a new constitution and against Mugabe's dictatorial tactics. Mugabe responded by accusing his rivals of treason and jailing the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Some of the attractions:

Zimbabwe is a beautiful and usually safe country to visit. It boasts the majestic Victoria Falls, magnificent wildlife preserves and the medieval ruins of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the bustling city of Harare. Some of the attractions are described in more detail below:

Harare

Harare, with a population of over 1.6 million, is the heart of the nation in nearly every respect. It has a distinctly European flavour, and it continues to be Zimbabwe's showpiece city and centre of commerce, with high-rise buildings, jostling traffic and all their attendant bustle.

For the final word on African art and material culture, explore the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Harare Gardens, the city's largest park, has music at the bandstand on weekends, and an island-like stand of rainforest that contains a miniature model of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi Gorges.

Great Zimbabwe National Monument

This intriguing archaeological site is where the capital of a wealthy Shona society once stood before being abandoned in the 15th century. Today all that remains are old stone ruins and winding corridors. The ancient stone structures, also known as Great Zimbabwe Ruins or simply Great Zimbabwe, are the largest in Africa south of the Egyptian pyramids.

Great Zimbabwe, the greatest medieval city in sub-Saharan Africa, provides evidence that ancient Africa reached a level of civilisation not suspected by early scholars. As a religious and secular capital, this city of 10,000 to 20,000 people dominated a realm that stretched across eastern Zimbabwe and into Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa between the 13th and 15th centuries.

The structure best identified with the site is the elliptical Great Enclosure. Nearly 100m (330ft) across and 255m (840ft) in circumference, it's the largest ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa. The mortarless walls rise 11m (36ft) and, are 5m (16ft) thick in places. The most accepted theory is that it was used as a royal compound.

The greatest source of speculation is the 10m (33ft) Conical Tower, a solid and apparently ceremonial structure that probably has phallic significance.

Hwange National Park

During the 19th century, the area now known as Hwange National Park served as a hunting reserve for the Ndebele kings. When Europeans arrived on the scene, they realised the area's richness in wildlife and set about overhunting it. Hwange was accorded national park status in 1929.

After opening for tourist business, settlers created artificial water holes fed by underground water and, by the 1970s, Hwange had one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Animals you can expect to see include elephant, monkey, baboon, impala, lion, giraffe and zebra.

Matobo National Park

You need not be a woman who runs with the wolves to sense that the Matobo Hills are one of the world's power places. Dotted around the park are a wealth of ancient San paintings and old grain bins, where warriors once stored their provisions.

Some hidden niches still shelter clay ovens that were used as iron smelters to make spears used against the colonial hordes. Some peaks, such as Shumba, Shaba and Shumba Sham, are considered sacred and locals believe that even to point at them will bring misfortune.

Victoria Falls

World-famous Victoria Falls is Zimbabwe's contribution to the world's great attractions, and year in, year out, the sound of cameras clicking is deafening here. The falls measure a whopping 1.7km (1mi) wide and drop between 90m and 107m (300-350ft) into the Zambezi Gorge.

An average of 550,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the edge every minute, but during the flood stage from March to May, up to 5 million cubic metres per minute pass over the falls. Victoria Falls town was built on tourism and has now developed into an archetypal tourist trap.