Accommodation South Africa Soweto

Soweto has become synomynous with the heartbeat of the nation. It is rich in cultural heritage and is infused with the history of the struggle against apartheid. Today Soweto is buzzing with the energy of the city of gold.

Soweto is a must-see for tourists who are looking for more than the usual sun, sea and the big five that South Africa has to offer. Rich in heritage sites, restaurants, shebeens and budget accommodation, Soweto is well worth visiting. Various tourist options are available, ranging from the quick day tour or a longer period for those tourists who whish to experience the real Soweto, a place of friendship, vibrancy and contrasts.

Soweto is the most dense populated black urban residential area in South Africa, with a population at close to 2 million. Its close proximity to the economic hub of the country, Johannesburg, it is also the most metropolitan township in the country. Soweto is well known to set trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language.

The name "Soweto" is actually not a African name, but the word was originally an acronym for "South Western Townships", consisting of a cluster of townships sprawling across a vast area 20 kilometres south-west of Johannesburg. Klipspruit, the oldest of a cluster of townships that constitute present day Soweto, was established in 1904.

The township of Soweto was created to house mainly black mineworkers and in the 1950s, more black people were relocated to Soweto from black neighbourhoods in the centre of Johannesburg which were reserved for whites.

It was not until 1963 that the acronym "Soweto" was adopted, following a four-year public competition on an appropriate name for the sprawling township. Soweto's unplanned growth was phenomenal, despite the government attempts to control the influx of black workers to the cities.

The perennial problems of Soweto have, since its inception, included poor housing, overcrowding, high unemployment and poor infrastructure. This has seen settlements of shacks made of corrugated iron sheets becoming part of the Soweto landscape. Apartheid planning did not provide much in terms of infrastructure, and it is only in recent years that the democratic government has spearheaded moves to plant trees, develop parks, and provide electricity and running water to the township.

Soweto is a melting pot of South African cultures and has developed its own sub-cultures, especially for the young. Afro-American influence runs deep, but is adapted to local conditions. In their speech, dress and gait, Sowetans exude a sense of cosmopolitan sophistication.

Soweto came to the world's attention on June 16, 1976 with the Soweto Uprising, when mass protests erupted over the government's policy to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than English. Police opened fire in Orlando West on 10,000 students marching from Naledi High School to Orlando Stadium, eventually killing some 566 people. The impact of the Soweto protests reverberated through the country and across the world. In their aftermath, economic and cultural sanctions were introduced from abroad. Political activists left the country to train for guerilla resistance. Soweto and other townships became the stage for violent state repression.

Many parts of Soweto rank among the poorest in Johannesburg, although individual townships tend to have a mix of wealthier and poorer residents. In general, households in the outlying areas to the northwest and southeast have lower incomes, while those in southwestern areas tend to have higher incomes. In 1994 Sowetans earned on average almost six and a half times less than their counterparts in wealthier areas of Johannesburg. Sowetans contribute less than 2% to Johannesburg's rates. Some Sowetans remain impoverished and others live in shanty towns with little or no services. About 85% of Kliptown comprises informal housing.

FAMOUS SOWETANS

Soweto was the birthplace of:

Richard Maponya - businessman, anti-apartheid activist

Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952) - lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman

Tokyo Sexwale (born 1953) - businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner

Irvin Khoza (born January 27, 1948) - South African soccer administrator and Chairman of Orlando Pirates.

Kaizer Motaung (born October 16, 1944) - founder and Chairman of Kaizer Chiefs Football Club.

Jomo Sono (born 1955) - South African soccer club owner and coach and also a former star soccer player

Doctor Khumalo (born 1967) - soccer player

Lucas Radebe (born 1969) - former soccer player and national team captain

Mandoza (born 1978) - kwaito musician

Bonginkosi Dlamini, aka. Zola - poet, actor, and musician

Frank Chikane (born 1951) - anti-apartheid activist and life-long resident.

FAMOUS LANDMARKS

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Diepkloof

Cooling Towers, Orlando Electricity Plant

Credo Mutwa village, Central Western Jabavu

Freedom Square, Kliptown

Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum, Orlando West

Mandela Family Museum, Orlando West

Regina Mundi Catholic Church, Rockville

PLACES TO VISIT

African Institute of Art & Funda Community Centre:

Formed in 1984 as a response to a need for an alternative art education programme that could enable ordinary people to access education in the visual arts.

Avalon Cemetery:

In Avalon Cemetery in Soweto there are thousands of cots demarcating graves. The custom comes from Mpumalanga where traditionally, rocky soil meant that graves could not be dug very deep, and rocks were placed over them to prevent animals from digging up the bodies. To reinforce this effort, metal rectangular cots were positioned over the graves.

EKhaya Soweto Neighbourhood Museum:

Local arts and crafts on display, many made from recycled materials; the exhibits change as the centre undergoes continuous renewal.

Hector Petersen Square:

Named after one the first students to be killed in 1976 rebellion, a moment movingly captured by the camera. There is a monument to Petersen and his fellow friends in the square.

Nelson Mandela's House:

The modest bungalow where Mandela and his wife Winnie lived in the 1950s and early 1960s, before he went to prison and she into exile in the Free State. In 1990 with the return of Mandela he find it to small and Winnie later transformed it into a museum. It's in Vilakazi Street, where Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu also had a home.

Regina Mundi Church:

Soweto's largest Roman Catholic place of worship; more notable perhaps for its place in history (it served as a gathering place during the years of struggle) than its architecture. It also houses an art gallery. Both before and after the dramas of the Soweto uprisings, Regina Mundi - whose name in Latin means Queen of the World - has quietly offered its protection to those struggling for liberation. When political meetings were banned, people sought the safety of Regina Mundi - if not Queen of the World, then surely Queen of Soweto - to form their political strategies. What started out as 'church services' often ended up as political rallies. Funerals, points out Father Vusi Mazibuko, who has been pastor at the church for the past four years, were often political affairs. They started off at Regina Mundi and ended up at Avalon Cemetery.

The "Queen of Soweto" has come a long way since her humble beginnings. Today an impressive park built by the City of Johannesburg, with a fountain, benches and green lawns, is in front of the Church. Memorial stones, including a "peace pole" donated by Japanese Christians, and a plaque documenting the Church's history are in evidence outside. Upstairs is an art gallery featuring photographic and art works, documenting the history of the church and the broader subjects of Soweto and Johannesburg.

Freedom Square

It is the place where the Freedom Charter was adopted as the guiding document of a broad alliance of various political and cultural formations to map a way forward in the repressive climate of the 1950s.

The Apartheid Museum

This extraordinarily powerful museum has already become the city's leading tourist attraction, an obligatory stop for visitors and residents alike. The Museum, with its large blown-up photographs, metal cages and numerous monitors recording continuous replays of apartheid scenes set in a double volume ceiling, concrete and red brick walls and grey concrete floor, is next to the Gold Reef City Casino, five kilometres south of the city centre.

The Museum occupies approximately 6 000 square metres on a seven-hectare site which consists of natural recreated veld and indigenous bush habitat containing a lake and paths, alongside its stark but stunning building.

After a few hours at the Apartheid Museum you will feel that you were in the townships in the 70s and 80s, dodging police bullets or teargas canisters, or marching and toy-toying with thousands of school children, or carrying the body of a comrade into a nearby house

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