Tanzania inaugurates modern museum to woo tourists

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-04 02:55:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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ARUSHA, Tanzania, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday inaugurated a long-awaited ultra-modern museum at the Olduvai Gorge, an area that holds the earliest known evidence of human existence.

The new facility built within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in the northern part of the East African nation is aimed at promoting archaeological sites for tourists and researchers from across the globe.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the vice president directed local authorities in the country to protect tourist attractions found in their areas.

The VP said the task of promoting the attractions should not only be done by conservation agencies and national parks authorities alone, insisting that local councils also had a stake in the county's resources.

She also challenged regional commissioners and district councils to hold to account those responsible for destroying the attractions.

"District councils should also be on the forefront in preserving name promoting the destinations we are endowed with, we should not wait for Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) or Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA)," said the VP.

She further challenged the authority to digitize the museum, urging them to borrow a leaf from Dubai.

The EU provided 80 percent of funds to construct the museum while the government of Tanzania footed the remaining 20 percent.

The museum will among other things house artifacts that were initially collected at the two places but preserved at the Dar es Salaam Museum.

It will also exhibit the early stone ages that the early man passed through as well as the cultures of the Datoga, Hadzabe and the Maasais found within the NCA.

The construction of the museum adds to the list of historical sites found in the country which also include the Museum in Dar, Kalenga and the Mwalimu Nyerere mausoleums, Majimaji War Museum and the Bujora Museum in Mwanza.

In 1978, Mary Leakey discovered hominin fossils that were more than 3.75 million years at Laetoli area.

She is also remembered for having discovered the robust Zinjanthropus skull at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

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