More city touring today. We also visited a couple of Mandela’s home. We drove by his last home that had been gifted to him by the country. It is now empty and unused. Sad.
We also stopped to tour his first home as a young lawyer. It was located in Soweto, one of the segregated townships.
And we did some driving through Soweto. Some people are able to get a good education and well-paying jobs and decide to build nicer homes in Soweto. This one was built by a engineer.
But many still live in difficult situations with no running water, just a community well, and minimal or no electricity.
We had lunch in a delicious restaurant in Soweto. Buffet style with many local foods.
Nearby was a house surrounded by a tall fence. On the fence was a medallion indicating that this was the home of Desmond Tutu, another fighter for rights in South Africa.
We made a stop in a small market area in Soweto where they still had some signs posted from the apartheid era.
We also stopped at an herbalist shop that had lots of African herbs…
a small “hut” with more herbs and a roof of animal horns,
and noisemakers made of recycled items. The noisemakers are tied to the legs of dancers when they are doing tribal dances.
And there were plenty of other interesting items.
The drive took us by the Shah of Iran’s home where he lived after being driven out of Iran.
And a trainyard with lots of abandoned trains (wonder if there would be a way to convert them to housing)…
and a nearby abandoned Victorian train station.
The main stop of the day was the Apartheid Museum.
Our guide shuffled our tickets face down and then dealt them to us. Some were for non-whites and others for whites. There were separate entrances for the two categories. Whites could use ramps, but non-whites had to use stairs. And there were other differences to help bring home to point about the unfairness of apartheid.
And they had copies of the identification card that everyone was required to carry. And if a non-white was found to be out with out their card they would be in real trouble.
The museum was extensive, detailed and disturbing. It is hard to understand how people could treat other humans the way non-whites were treated under apartheid. We all found it a bit difficult.
One area posted many quotes from Nelson Mandela that were thought provoking and inspirational.
This is a size representation of the cell that Mandela was incarcerated in for many years.
Many were placed in solitary confinement...
and many others died by "suicide'" by hanging (booking on the deaths was probably wrong).
We also stopped at a square where a student uprising and massacre occurred.
Nearby was a small market where we all did some shopping.
More photos from our city tour.
The drive back to the hotel took us by a massive and beautiful soccer stadium.
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More Johannesburg
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