Cape Town offers a true sense of Madiba
NELSON Mandela’s face greets you with a wide smile wherever you go in Cape Town.
He’s beaming down from a frayed poster tacked next to the drinks hatch of Fanie’s Place tavern in the township of Langa.
In Nobel Square, his statue gazes benevolently at iPhone-clutching tourists. There’s even Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel & Spa, which celebrates “Mandela’s life in 14 stages” with a series of portraits stretching from the gleaming foyer onwards.
Four years after the statesman’s death, there is no sign of his popularity diminishing.
As the country celebrates Mandela Month – the nation is even more focused on marking the great man’s life and achievements.
But despite all the memorials and fervour, it has until now been hard for travellers to get a true sense of the man whose personal journey of rebellion, incarceration, reconciliation and forgiveness parallels the country’s long walk from apartheid to freedom.
As any previous visitor to Cape Town will tell you, and educational space.
Elvin was also instrumental in bringing the “black plaque” scheme to Langa, a terracotta twist on the blue heritage plaques that adorn London doorways. Nombulelo’s home bears one, being the former abode of the musician Victor Ntoni.
During the rest of my week in Cape Town, the stories come thick and fast over a braai at the home of food writers Nikki Werner and Brandon de Kock. Subjects range from Mandela and apartheid to the challenges facing the country. On a Stellenbosch wine tour with local David Geary, he tells me how he met Mandela through Winnie, the statesman’s wife for 38 years. He recounts how Mandela dropped in on his daughter’s graduation party to wish her the best in her career as a lawyer. Often, it is smaller stories like this that are the richer ones.
This award-winning museum brings to life the chapter of South African history when the ruling government declared this area “whites only”. More than 60 000 residents were forcibly taken from their homes and shipped out to the Cape Flats, and their homes were then demolished. Mandela spent a lifetime opposing such injustices. Visit districtsix.co.za
On February 11 1990, just hours after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech from the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall. Built in 1905, this grandiose building is located on the Grand Parade.
As South African leader between 1994 and 1999, Mandela hammered out the details of the 1996 constitution and laws cementing the country’s democracy were passed. Tours are free; booking ahead essential. Visit parliament. gov.za — The Sunday Telegraph