Uganda #2 - Thursday, June 13, 2013 We all wandered down for breakfast around eight so that we could catch the nine o’clock city bus tour. The nine o’clock trip didn’t leave until after nine fifteen. Getting fourteen people onto a bus first thing in the morning can be a challenge. As we headed out our guide gave us some information on Kampala: Kampala has a population of around 1.5 million; Uganda 35 million and they received their independence from Britain in 1962. Our first stop was at the Mandela Soccer (football) Stadium; it has a capacity of 40,000 and they claimed they always win home games – but when challenged they admitted that Kenya was a good team and could sometimes tie them. The next stop was the Martyrdom of Namcongo. In the 1870’s the king invited British Missionaries to Uganda to educate the people about Christianity. The king died shortly after and his 18-year-old son ascended to the throne. The young king felt threatened by the biblical proclamation that a new king in the form of Jesus was to return and take his place. As a result he asked his subjects to choose between Christianity and him. Those that chose Christianity were tortured and burned alive. This place has become a shrine for Catholics and an annual pilgrimage is held each year with people walking from many parts of Africa. There is a lake on the site that is considered holy; that is the place the executioners would wash to cleanse themselves after the killings. Interestingly, the same king that ordered the executions eventually became a Christian. We traveled from the Catholic Martyrdom Site to the Anglican Seminary where similar executions took place. From there we visited the Bahia Temple; one of only eight in the world. It was a long steep climb up to the Temple but it afforded a beautiful view of the city. The temple itself was very simple but a very spiritual place. We had had lunch at nice restaurant; the buffet offered a variety of African dishes – we tried most of them. From there we visited the Uganda Museum and a craft shop both of which were within walking distance of the restaurant. Our last stop was the Kasuli Tombs: the tombs of the kings. This UNESCO heritage site is where the kings of Uganda are buried. The first two kings each had 75 or more wives and over 100 children each. The first king, King_Kintu, chose a wife from each tribe. Today, direct descendants of wives of this first king, occupy tribal huts on the sacred ground. They live there with their children but their husbands are not allowed to join them. They must leave the compound to visit their husbands. Terrorists tragically burned this site in 2010. Preparation for rebuilding of the site has been going on for the past three years and construction is now underway. They expect it to take 18 months to complete. We returned to the Fairway Hotel for a welcoming banquet complete with entertainment and music. The dance troupe that entertained us was made up of orphaned children who perform internationally: they have just returned from Malaysia. It was a beautiful even with the Ugandans wearing their traditional dress. From there we all parted for our home hosts and home hosting.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:08:26 +0000
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