tour of Johannesburg, SA

We had an all day bus tour of Johannesburg today.  Our first stop was to the Apartheid Museum which recounts the political upheavals from the 18^th century thru current times.  There is also a temporary memorial section on the life of Nelson Mandela. The museum is award winning internationally. We had 3 hrs. for a self-guided tour and I barely scratched the surface.  It was well done and very interesting and informative.

We next visited the Hector Peterson Museum located where the 12 yr. old was killed on June 16, 1976 and he became the symbol of the brutality of Apartheid.   That day the school children started a peaceful protest over a law that all black children be taught in the schools only in Afrikaans irregardless of their local spoken language and not to be taught English as a way to keep them ignorant.

We then traveled to the suburb of Soweto, a town of over 2 million people with extravagant homes and makeshift shacks.  It was the home of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela and where the “freedom charter” was drawn up.

  We had lunch there as well as local entertainment.

  Then we visited the restored home of Nelson Mandela.

Lastly we visited the large Regina Mundi Catholic Church where Mandela and his friends would meet to discuss strategies.  There are still many bullet holes in the church from those rough days. It has a black blessed Mary and Christ child portrait.

 It was a very interesting and informative day.