Bujumbura City
Bujumbura City
Bujumbura is a city in Burundi which was formerly known as Usumbura located on the north eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika which is the largest city and former capital city and the main port of Burundi. Bujumbura ships coffee most Burundi’s chief export also tin and cotton. It is now known as the economical capital and center of commerce since it’s no longer the capital city.
In late December 2018 Pierre Nkurunziza the president of Burundi announced the possibility of changing the capital city of Burundi and it was changed on 16th January 2019 after the voting in the parliament of Burundi to Gitega formerly known as kitega.
Gitega is located in the central part of Burundi south east of Bujumbura and in over three years all the branches of government are expected to move from Bujumbura. Gitega used to be the seat of the Kingdom of Burundi until its elimination in 1966
Attractions in Burundi
Central market
The central market in Burundi is located in Bujumbura and it’s the largest market in Burundi which is very organized in different sections. Which is a an interesting place with different things sold like clothes, fresh food stuffs, tiny fish locally known as mukeke among other things.
Saga beach
This is found in 5 kilometers North West of Bujumbura on the shores of Lake Tanganyika with sand that is clean and the waters which used to be known as coconut beach and it gives beautiful scenery and fresh air.
Kibira National Park
It is located in north western Burundi in the mountains of the Congo Nile where it extends to Rwanda neighboring Nyungwe national park. Kibira national park is a home for a number of primates like black and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees among others. It also has birds which include, grey parrot, bar tailed trogon, great blue turaco among others.
Gitenga National Museum
Gitenga national Museum is found in Gitenga and it was established in 1955 with various collections of musical collections witchcraft tools and also weapons. It show cases the photographs of Burundi’s monarchies with their struggles, genocides. There are various Karyenda royal drum sanctuaries in the area as well as the Ibwami which used to be the royal court of the Kingdom of Burundi and It includes the Musee vivant which was founded in 1997 in Bujumbura which comprises of the reptile house , botanical gardens , aquarium, aviary and an open air theater
Gishora drum sanctuary
This is located on top of the hill which is 7 kilometers away from Gitega center 200 meters along Gitega – Ngozi road and it’s known for its most prominent drums in Burundi. These drums were a sign of political power of the monarchy in the past in Burundi and they were only beaten on special ceremonies by the families of Abatimbo clan. The occasions included funerals of the kings, royal enthronement, the sowing festival among other occasions. The drum site was founded by King Mwezi Gisabo after attaining victory over Chief Ntibirangwa who was a rebellious opponent. The site has two ritual drums that were never beaten which include; murimirwa which means the one for whom we cultivate and ruciteme which means the one for whom we clear the forest.
The drums Ruciteme and Murimirwa were named in relation to the farming vacation as well as the fertility and characteristic of the King. There were also normal drums like Batimbo and Ingendayi which played on special occasions of the country. This site is managed by the local community with the descendants of the ancient lineage of Abanyigisaka who were ritualists and had privileges from the court.
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura which is a fresh water lake with large volumes of water and the also very deep. It is shared by other three counties i.e. D.R. Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.
Ruvubu national park
Ruvubu national park is the largest national park in Burundi. The park is known for its unique bird watching experiences, rare species of animals and species of natural flowers that provide a unique view to the park. The park also has River Ruvubu on the eastern coast of Burundi. The bird species include circus macrourus, neotis denhami, ardeola idae and water birds like pelecanus onocratulus and mycteria ibis which can be spotted during the rainy season which is normally from the month of October to May.
Burundi has other attractions like Kagera waterfalls which are located in south eastern Burundi, Rusizi nature reserve north of Bujumbura, royal drummers of Burundi, living stone Stanley monument, unity monument, mountain heha and Regina Mundi cathedral.
Food and beverages
Most of the important cultures in the city of Burundi are the dishes which are very many and different restaurants which are located in various places around the city. A local meal normally consists of beef brochette or fish, fried plantains, fresh salad, chips and the international dishes consist of French, Middle East and Italian cuisines.
Burundi local people usually eat food made from home made vessels used for drinking, storing grain and carrying water. Most food is boiled, stewed or roasted over a wood fire. Staple ingredients include plantains, sweet potatoes, cassava, peas and maize. Stewed beans are traditionally eaten at least once a day, while meat for example chicken and goat is only rarely consumed and they drink beer known as Impeke.
Economy
Burundi is a land locked country which highly relies on agriculture because the large populations are subsistence farmers where their primary exports are coffee and tea though they grow other products like cotton, maize sorghum, bananas and sweet potatoes. They also have cattle which provide milk, beef and hides. Besides agriculture, Burundi has natural resources like nickel, copper, uranium and platinum and its economic growth is relatively okay.
Burundi’s currency is Burundian franc and its monetary policy is controlled by the Bank of the republic of Burundi which is the central bank
Transportation means
Bujumbura has Bujumbura international airport which was renamed as Melchior Ndadaye international airport on July 1st 2019in memory of the first elected president of Burundi who was murdered three months after being president in 1993
Burundi had another airport in Gitega Known as Gitega airport which is no longer operating but it has many roads connecting to Bujumbura
The public means in Bujumbura are mini buses and taxis which are abundant all over the city and they are preferred by the locals to travel across Burundi and other longer distances where the Bujumbura bus terminal is located by the central market. There are also motorcycle taxis and bicycle taxis which are not in some parts of the city which are commonly used for short distances
Religion
Bujumbura has a large number of people and who believe in different religions where among their places of worship are predominantly Christian churches and temples. The largest numbers of people in Burundi are Christians, then the indigenous beliefs and the Muslims
Language
The official languages of the people of Burundi are Kirundi and French though in Bujumbura there are Swahili speakers who are fluent.
