Chicago Africa Study Group
On the steps of the Capetown Parliament
Visiting the New South Africa
August 3-14, 1995
Most of the persons in the Chicago Africa Study Group were retirees who had been educators and others had various other professional backgrounds. Some had lived in Chicago and came back to join the persons who still lived there for this special trip to South Africa.
Because of the election of Nelson Mandela as President of the "New
South Africa", these persons wished to visit the country, interact with
the people and tour its lands. They went during August 1995, which is
winter time in South Africa. The weather was sunny and beautiful most
of the time, but they did experience some cold days and had to wear coats
and saw snow on the mountains around Cape Town.
The itinerary took the group first to Cape Town, which is a beautiful city at
the base of a series of mountains.
The first tour began with a drive to Signal Hill and then a ride to the top of Table Mountain to enjoy the magnificient panoramic view. They drove through the centuries old Malay Quarter: the Cape Malays are mostly the descendants of slaves brought in from Asia in the second half of the 17th century. They are Muslims and live in a separate neighborhood close to the business district.
The tour also visited the South African Museum. This museum is famous for its "Africa Room" which depicts scenes of African tribal life. It is the oldest such institution in the country. Next, the group visited the Cathedral of the Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, the first black to hold the post of Archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel Peace Laureate.
From Cape Town the group went to Cape Peninsula and back to Cape Town and then journed to Paarl (a suburban settlement one hour north of Cape Town) and visited a township called Silvertown. Another side trip was a boat ride to Robben Island Prison. Durban was the next stop on the trip followed by Johannesburg and Pretoria. To see all the sites that we visited, click on the links at the very top of the page. |
