CAPE TOWN: Information You Didn’t Ask For.

Cape City—South Africa’s Mom Metropolis—is far more than epic views, towering mountains, and irresistibly chilly water (sure, it’s freezing, however we’re obsessed). Ranked amongst one of the best cities on the planet and pulling vacationers all yr spherical (significantly, each season is vacationer season in Cape City), this metropolis’s historical past runs deep. It’s a spot the place oppression gave solution to reconciliation, the place prisons grew to become museums, and the place total neighbourhoods burst into color as an emblem of freedom. Oh, and let’s not neglect the world-famous flat-topped mountain that simply refuses to be pointy!

Jan van Riebeeck, South Africa’s first Dutch settler, didn’t precisely land in Cape City to begin the subsequent large factor. Nope, the town started as a pit cease – a type of drive-thru (or “storage” as South Africans would name it) for ships heading to India. At first, it had the tremendous charming title of “Cape of Storms” as a result of the Atlantic Ocean wasn’t precisely rolling out the welcome mat. The primary voyager to the Cape, Bartholomeu Dias and his crew of voyagers acquired tossed round a lot that they virtually misplaced hope in establishing the route. However as soon as the tough seas had been behind them they usually caught sight of the luxurious land and people jaw-dropping mountains, the temper modified. Out of the blue, it was all about hope and peace, in order that they rebranded it to the Cape of Good Hope.

Listed below are some surprisingly fascinating solutions about Cape City’s prime sights – assured to shock even the locals!

Why is Desk Mountain flat?

Should you thought Desk Mountain was simply one other glorified hill, suppose once more. This mountain towers over the town at 3,558 toes, flaunts a wonderfully flat prime and even rocks a “tablecloth” on cloudy days (as a result of why not put on clouds like a elaborate drape?). Enjoyable truth: what we now name the highest of Desk Mountain was as soon as a seabed, submerged below the waves. Over 450 million years in the past, tectonic actions determined to elevate it up, and erosion took over, carving out its iconic flat form. The mountain was once taller, however wind, water, and ice chipped away on the softer rocks, abandoning the stable sandstone you see at the moment. A real definition of “began from the underside, now we’re right here”. So, why is Desk Mountain flat? Tens of millions of years of abrasion. Cool, proper? Now you recognize. 

The Khoisan, the indigenous individuals of the Cape, could not have had a geology lesson, however they positive nailed it with the title “Huriǂoaxa” (pronounced Hoerikwaggo), which means “the sea-emerging mountain.” They had been onto one thing!

Why are there vibrant homes in Cape City?

Constructed earlier than Instagram aesthetics grew to become a factor, the Bo-Kaap homes are a lot greater than a shocking backdrop of mesmerising color. They’re constructed with tear-stained blocks of historical past and resilience that turned the bizarre into vivid hues of freedom. As soon as a segregated space, Bo-Kaap grew to become dwelling to the free descendants of Cape Malay slaves. Initially, the homes had been painted plain white, however in a daring expression of newfound freedom, residents picked up their brushes and painted the city, fairly actually. As brush bristles kissed concrete partitions, a visible illustration of Mandela’s rainbow nation was birthed.

Past the vivid colors, Bo-Kaap holds its place in historical past as one in every of South Africa’s oldest neighbourhoods, boasting the Auwal Mosque, in-built 1794, the oldest within the nation. Even the Bo-Kaap Museum, housed in a constructing courting again to the 1760s, stands as one in every of South Africa’s oldest surviving buildings. So, visiting Bo-Kaap isn’t nearly admiring a color palette come to life – it’s about diving right into a wealthy tapestry of tradition, historical past, and freedom. 

What’s the historical past of the Midday Gun?

One in all Cape City’s oldest – and loudest – traditions is the well-known midday gun, a blast older than the Eiffel Tower and Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Evening. These black powder Dutch naval cannons, first fired in 1806, had been initially used as a time sign for ships anchored on the bay, serving to them recalibrate their maritime chronometers. Additionally they aided within the metropolis’s defence system, averting potential navy assaults. Whereas they not assist with navigation, they nonetheless pack a punch at midday, sending a thunderous increase throughout the town on daily basis, besides Sundays and public holidays, after all! We wouldn’t wish to smash your well-deserved sleep-in in your break day.

Initially stationed on the Citadel of Good Hope, South Africa’s oldest surviving constructing, these cannons now sit proudly on Sign Hill. Discuss a change, what began as devices of warfare have develop into peaceable timekeepers, marking midday peacefully and ceremonially. Right here’s a enjoyable tidbit: legend has it that the one time the gun fired earlier than midday was in June 1895, when an unwitting 8-legged intruder, a spider, set it off. Whereas different international locations, like Canada, have comparable traditions, Cape City’s midday gun is recognised as the primary of its form, proof that even the loudest bang can have a peaceable objective! 

When was Robben Island constructed?

Simply 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) off Cape City’s west coast lies Robben Island, a spot that’s develop into world-famous however carries a relatively notorious backstory. This wasn’t at all times South Africa’s hottest most safety jail; the truth is, because the Seventeenth century, it’s served as a go-to location for banishment and seclusion lengthy earlier than it grew to become an emblem of apartheid-era incarceration. So, don’t simply anticipate dim-lit cells; the island has worn many hats through the years, from leper colony to psychological asylum and even a WWII navy base.

The jail itself was constructed within the Nineteen Sixties, designed to carry political prisoners deemed too harmful for the apartheid authorities. The title “Robben Island” comes from the Dutch phrase for seals; as a result of, imagine it or not, these cute-eyed creatures had been as soon as the principle attraction within the surrounding waters. 

Whereas it’s famously often called the place the place Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail, he wasn’t the one one to expertise the island’s ‘hospitality’. Different political prisoners, like Robert Sobukwe and former presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma, additionally had their justifiable share of Robben Island woes. 

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Web site in 1999, the island now operates as a museum, showcasing its wealthy and sophisticated historical past as an emblem of resilience and the battle in opposition to segregation. So, while you go to, bear in mind: it’s not only a jail; it’s a monument to the battle for freedom, with a couple of sudden twists alongside the way in which!

How lengthy is Lengthy Avenue?

Image this: an explosion of Seventeenth-century allure crashes into the colourful activism of the Eighties, and voilà, Lengthy Avenue emerges. With an eclectic bohemian vibe and Victorian buildings to match, this 3 km avenue has claimed fame worldwide as being the get together epicentre of Cape City. However past the disco lights and amapiano dances, the road has deep sonic waves of historical past revealing its previous as a hub of financial exercise, a melting pot of variety that defiantly resisted oppressive governance and the road main as much as the best mountain on the southern tip of Africa. Embellished with upbeat nightclubs, artwork galleries, eating places, theatres, cute espresso retailers and memento stands this avenue affords a wide range of actions any time of day or night time.

Initially constructed within the Seventeenth century as a handy route connecting the town centre to the encompassing villages, Lengthy Avenue shortly grew to become a bustling artery of enterprise and residence. As Cape City grew and attracted extra guests, the variety on Lengthy Avenue blossomed. 

Recognized for its combination of cultures, one would have thought the emergence of the apartheid authorities would deter the Lengthy Avenue neighborhood however defying the powers that be, the road remained combined and inclusive until the power of the federal government might not be ignored. Though adhering to the legal guidelines at face worth, the resistance was nonetheless very a lot alive on this avenue. It grew to become a spot for political gatherings and thru creative expression individuals protested the ruling authorities of the time. A number of performs and music would have themes that opposed the federal government and day-to-day individuals nonetheless discovered a solution to make humanity overcome hate. 

There’s life within the Victorian partitions of Lengthy Avenue that echoes past the nightlife for which the road is understood

What’s the Citadel of Good Hope?

Designed after the 5-point star fort model, Europe’s go-to fortress design of the Seventeenth century; the Citadel of Good Hope is the oldest surviving constructing in South Africa and fairly the historic heavyweight. Development kicked off in 1666 and wrapped up in 1679, below the fee of the Dutch East India Firm, this was a reconstruction from the smaller construction constructed by Jan Van Riebeeck a couple of years earlier. This spectacular construction was constructed to fend off any would-be invaders, and someway, 345 years later, it’s nonetheless standing tall and proud. 

Holding secrets and techniques darker than its stone partitions, it was as soon as the legislative hub of colonial rule, it housed slave dungeons and served as a backdrop for the imprisonment and torture of indigenous tribes (speak about a grim previous). Being the judicial centre of Cape City, it grew to become  a hotbed of drama as Dutch and English settlers clashed for its management. After a variety of again and forths, the English received it after the battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. 

Now, the fortress has traded its navy previous for museum standing, serving as a monument to the nation’s tumultuous historical past and the victories that adopted. Strolling by means of its 300-year-old partitions is each humbling and awe-inspiring, a reminder of how far the nation has come within the quest for peace, all whereas marvelling at some significantly spectacular structure! Simply watch out to not stumble upon any ghosts of colonial governors or enslaved individuals. They may have a couple of issues to say about the entire ‘peace and concord’ factor. Simply kidding, Ghosts aren’t actual.

It’s extra than simply views!

Cape City is a wonderfully combined cocktail of enthralling views and humbling historical past. Because the South African nationwide anthem eloquently places it, ‘From our blue heavens to the depths of our sea over our eternal mountains’, the town is a mashup of tales that scream “We survived!”. Which you may be shouting while you hike up Desk Mountain with these sizzling journey offers. Simply ensure you haven’t been skipping your leg day earlier than you try the summit. In case you are on the lookout for a culturally wealthy expertise with excellent views plus a touch of limitless actions, then Cape City is the town for you.