South African history

Apartheids museum

This is the first museum of its kind in South Africa. This apartheid museum has since 2001 provided everyone a fascinating insight into the rise and fall of apartheid. Inside the museum you can explore 22 individual exhibits allowing you the opportunity to experience and understand what apartheid was like in the old times.

The staff working at the museum are always very attentative and helpful. The information that they provide during the tour is definitely of the highest quality and the our itself fitted in perfectly with a full day tour combining Soweto, Johannesburg and gold Reef city however the museum being closed on a Monday can be a bit irritating. When leaving the museum you will definitely get a feeling that you got value for your money.

Soweto

The name Soweto is an acronym for South Western Townships. It is a sprawling township, or more accurately, a cluster of townships on the south-western flank of Johannesburg. Soweto was created in the 1930s, with Orlando the first township being established. In the 1950s, more black people were relocated there from black spots in the inner city - black neighborhoods which the apartheid government had reserved for whites. Soweto's growth was phenomenal - but unplanned. Despite government attempts to stop the influx of black workers to the cities, waves of migrant workers moved from the countryside and neighboring countries to look for employment in the city of gold.

With a population of over 2 million, the township is the biggest black urban settlement in Africa with a rich political history. Soweto was the centre of political campaigns aimed at the overthrow of the apartheid state. The 1976 student uprising, also known as the Soweto uprising, started in Soweto and spread to the rest of the country. Many of the sights on the heritage route therefore have political significance.

Visiting Soweto you will get an opportunity to gain a new perspective and personal insight into the largest black city in Africa. Shrouded in myth and controversy, vibrant Soweto is a city of surprise and contrast of starting enterprises and vigorous cultural interaction. Go and stand on the Vilakazi Street in Orlando West, which boasts two well-known Nobel's Prizewinners - President Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Come lunch time go and enjoy a delicious traditional dish at a Shabeen - a shabeen in the old days was an unlicensed liqueur shop. And then of course you need to experience Soweto at night. It is black, warm and exciting.