A Royal Visit

Yesterday, we made a spontaneous visit to one of the palace's of the King of Buganda. We went with our friends, the Showalter's for an Ugandan cultural experience. It was also a wonderful opportunity for a field trip! It is not everyday you can just walk up and go to the palace in Uganda. Now, the king does not actually live at this palace so we didn't get to meet him and we didn't get to go inside, but we still learned somethings. There is a primary and secondary school that are in the compound of the palace and I think it would be pretty cool to say you went to school at the palace.

Looking out at the city of Kampala

The palace is located on one of the seven hills around Kampala. The modern palace was built in style of British architecture. From the palace there is a straight road which leads to the parliament building. This road is lined with fifty-two trees that represent the fifty-two clans of Uganda. Each clan is represented by an animal. When you are born you take the clan of your father, but if you are a child of a king you take your mother's clan.

Part of our tour told of Idi Amin and how he took the presidency of Uganda by force from the king and president in the 1970's. He took the palace by force while the king was away. He bombed the palace and 10 Rolls Royce and Bentleys that the British had given as a gift the the king. They have left the cars shells as a reminder of that time. We were lead to a dungeon of torture, which was built built into the hill by Amin. It was very sad to hear about what happened there and what it was like for the prisoners. No one who entered came out alive. It was a very dark time in Uganda's history, but by God's grace, the people of Uganda are moving forward, seeking and turning there heart's to Him.

Rolls Royce

Dungeon

Our tour ended in a museum with pictures of the current king from childhood till present. I had an opportunity to try on some Ugandan artifacts. Ben says he is not sure if I look Ugandan or redneck. I'll let you decide. We have been very blessed during our adventure to learn more about the world and people God has created. So very thankful for these opportunities to open the eyes of our children to new and different things. I pray we never take for granted the blessings He has given us.

Traditional Ugandan Shoes