Category Capital Cities

         Harare is a modern city and the capital of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1890 by the British South Africa Company. The city was named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. However, after Zimbabwe declared independence from the British, the city was renamed Harare.

         The city has a distinctive colonial past; and therefore, in its architecture and urban layout, the city shows British influence. In the city, there are several Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, a Dutch Reformed church, the Queen Victoria Memorial Library and Museum, the National Archives, the University of Zimbabwe and the Rhodes National Gallery.

         The city has a National Gallery that contains the national treasures of Zimbabwe. The gallery displays some of the most interesting Shona carvings in soft stone. Harare also hosts an international exhibition for tourists and foreigners. The city’s National Botanical Garden contains over 900 varieties of fauna from different parts of Africa. The economy of the city depends heavily on the production of tobacco, corn, cotton and citrus fruits.

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         Kampala is the capital of Uganda, a country in Africa. The city is located in the country’s most prosperous agricultural section. Kampala exports coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, and sugar. The city also manufactures processed foods, beverages, furniture, and machine parts. The city presents itself as the market for the Lake Victoria region.

         There is an interesting story behind the name of the city. According to legend, Kampala was the hunting ground for the Kabaka of Buganda, the King of the Kingdom of Buganda. The place was home to many species of antelope, especially impala. When the British occupied the region, they called it ‘Hills of the impala’, and the single word for that was Kampala.

         An important place of tourist attraction, the Tombs of the Buganda Kings at Kasubi is a World Heritage Site occupying 30 hectares of hillside in Kampala. The city houses the Uganda Museum, several Hindu temples and mosques and the Namirembe Anglican Cathedral. The Ugandan National Theatre and the St. Balikuddembe Market too are major landmarks in the city.

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         The Republic of Tunisia is a small country in Northwest Africa. The capital city of the country is Tunis, the largest city of the country. The city is located on a Mediterranean Sea gulf, known as the Gulf of Tunis. It sits on a hillside, near the lake of Tunis. The historical centre of the city is the Medina, built on a hill slope on the way down to the Tunis Lake, and is home to many monuments, including the Dar Ben Abdallah and Dar Hussein palaces.

         The primary industry in the city is agriculture; however, it is alive only in specialized agricultural areas on the suburbs, particularly in the wine and olive oil industries. There are some important places in the city such as some notable mosques, the University of Tunis, and a national museum. The ruins of Carthage, an ancient city, are found at the northeastern part of the city. The largest park, Belvedere Park, was founded in 1892 and overlooks Lake Tunis. It is the oldest public park in the country and is built in the landscape style of France.

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         Dodoma is the capital city of the United Republic Tanzania. Dodoma means ‘It has sunk’ in the Gogo language, the language spoken throughout the region of Dodoma. The region is located at the heart of Tanzania in the eastern-central part of the country. Dodoma has three main tribes inhabiting the region. They are the Gogo, the Warangi, and the Wasandawi.

         The economy of the region is dependent on trade. The city produces beans, seeds, grain, tea, and tobacco. Raising and marketing cattle is also an important source of income for the locals. Coffee and peanut are two important crops of the region. These locally grown produces are sold at the marketplace in Dodoma. However, the city has a limited industrial base.

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          Have you heard of a country called Seychelles? The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago country in the Indian Ocean. Victoria is the capital of the Seychelles and is the only city in the entire country. Although the French colonists built the city in 1778, the name Victoria was given to the city only when the British acquired it by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of 1814.

          Victoria has its harbour at eastern edge. The city’s Sainte Anne Marine National Park is located here. The port is the trading centre of the city. The economy of the city heavily depends on its exports, which includes spices, vanilla, coconuts, coconut oil, soap, tuna, and cinnamon bark. An International Airport, the Botanical Gardens, a university, museums, places of worship, offices belonging to tourism companies, airlines, and banks, and a cinema and shops are some of the amenities of the city. Victoria centres around two landmarks: the Clock Tower and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market. The former is a replica of the clock tower at Vauxhall Bridge in London and a symbol of the Seychelles that lies in the middle of the northern roundabout and the latter, the main fruit and fish market in Victoria.

          While most cities have long and rich histories, some cities are planned and executed. Abuja, the capital of Nigeria is a planned city which was built in the 1980s. It was envisaged as a beautiful city. The city is surrounded by beautiful hills, highlands, Savannah grassland and tropical rainforests. However, the planning backfired and the city was filled with slums and squatters, settlements in the midst of modern buildings and wealthy houses.  

          An important geographical peculiarity of Abuja is two renowned rock formations called the Zuma Rock and the Aso Rock. The federal capital territory begins at the base of the Zuma Rock and is known as the ‘gateway to Abuja’. The Aso Rock, on the other hand, is a 400-metre monolith formed by water erosion. This rock sits at the head of Abuja city, which extends southward from the rock.

           Another hotspot in the city is the Millennium Tower and Cultural Centre project, which is still under construction. A hundred and seventy metres tall, the tower is designed to be the tallest artificial structure in the city.

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