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Beautiful Cape Town City South Africa in photos
A city of contrasts
Cape Town, where I am writing this, is a city of contrasts - old and new, rich and poor, and many other contrasts besides.
The area around the city centre is full of interesting images and historical buildings, and also vibrant with culture and colour.
Not far from the Central Business District are the Company's Gardens, founded by first white colonists under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck who, in 1652, started a refreshment station for the ships of the Dutch East India Company. The Gardens have a rich heritage and are surrounded by a wealth of historical buildings, from the stately Parliament buildings to the well-known St George's Cathedral, all of them overshadowed by the brooding hulk of Table Mountain, which is almost always visible from the city centre and the Gardens.
Walking in the different rhythms of the city
Walking in the city is to walk in a vibrant today within touching distance of a time many yesterdays ago. There is the old Slave House, St George's Cathedral opposite it, and the Houses of Parliament next door. As I was walking up the vibrant and colourful St George's Mall, which was St George's Street when I was a young boy, I came across a group of Xhosa drummers and dancers singing a song made famous in the days of the destruction of Sophiatown by the then apartheid government in the late 1950s, a song with a strange, heady, mix of a happy, infectious rhythm and words of biting sarcasm, a song called "Meadowlands", which ironically became quite a hit with whites in those now far-off days.
And then around the corner in Greenmarket Square was a group of Cape Carnival musicians in their colourful outfits playing some of their own wonderful music, usually only heard at the time of the New Year's parades.
The Avenue
At the top of Cape Town's main street, Adderley Street, is the Avenue which divides Parliament and other buildings from the old Company's Gardens. With St George's Cathedral on one corner. the Avenue, more properly known as "Government Avenue", stretches all the way to Orange Street, past the South African National Library, De Tuynhuis, the South African Museum, the Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre and the National Gallery.
Inside the Company's Gardens can be found many interesting plants and beautiful flowers, both indigenous and exotic, as well as some interesting momuments and statues, including one of arch-imperialist Cecil John Rhodes.
- http://hubpages.com/_3a44c2s2bfwln/hub/visit-cape-town-cape-of-good-hope
- Cape Town Table Mountain Cable Car Adventure Tour
Table Mountain Cableway Adventures- Floating Into Cape Town's Lofty Heights For those that wish to go on a South Africa safari, i highly recommend the consider taking a ride on the Table Mountain Cable...
Back to Adderley Street
Coming back down the Avenue one comes to the top of Adderley Street again, where the old Slave Lodge, which is now a Cultural History Museum, stands and also the Mother Church of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa is, the church known as the Grootte Kerk (Big Church).
Nestled next to this church is a small alley with an open-air cafe.
Further down Adderley Street is a large old bank building and some traditional flower sellers, who have plied their trade in that spot for decades, adding a wonderful, elivening scent to the air and vibrant colours to the street.
Copyright notice
The text and all images on this page, unless otherwise indicated, are by Tony McGregor who hereby asserts his copyright on the material. Should you wish to use any of the text or images feel free to do so with proper attribution and, if possible, a link back to this page. Thank you.
© Tony McGregor 2010
Comments
Lovely:)
awesome
Nice
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Peggy - in two day's time I'll be there again, though in a time of some sadness due to mother-in-law's passing. But I will still get around the lovely city with camera in hand again as much as possible.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Love and peace
Tony
Wish I could see this in person someday...but in the meantime so happy to be able to see it through your pictures and descriptions. I agree with Micky Dee in that the last video has such mellow music. Nice! Thanks!
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Kraji - Cape Town is definitely worth a visit, as are the game parks here.
Thanks for stopping by.
Love and peace
Tony
Looks very interesting, hope to visit it some day and national parks in South Africa
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Brotherman Micky - I love you too! Thanks for a great comment and I'm very glad that you enjoyed the vids and the pix!
Love and peace
Tony
I love you Bud! This is another GREAT! I loved those videos. The small child dancing is so wonderful! I went ahead and punched up the "Xhosa Traditional Dance Group" as well! I love the smooth jazz at the end too. Mellow us out! Great hub Tony!
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all parks - I'll be there in December and will do my best to visit as many of the parks as possible.
Thanks for stopping by.
Love and peace
Tony
please show the all park in cape town.
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It sure is, Wrenfrost, it sure is! I'll be back there in December so look out for more! Intend to go up the mountain in the new cableway this time. That should provide many photo ops!
Love and peace
Tony
Great images tony, I really enjoyed your descriptions and detail. The bright colours, the sounds, the snippets of history, the new mixed with the old, cape town sure seems like an interesting place. :)
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Greensnob - I think there is a definite similarity, though I've never been to New Orleans.
Marijana - Cape Town is by far my favourite place in the world also. Don't tell anyone, but I think it really is the centre of the universe!
Thanks to you both for the visit, the read and the comments, all of which are truly and deeply appreciated.
Love and peace
Tony
What superb writing and exquisite photographs. You transported me back to my favorite city, Cape Town, truly a stunning place, with your moving writing. Can't wait to read your other hubs.
Mr. Tony, I love this hub! Cape Town as you have showed it, has a similar feel to New Orleans, the feel, the music in the streets, vendors and remnants of a past that has made our present so vibrant. South Africa and America have this in common. New Orlean's past is its present. I share your sentiments about equality and the peace it brings.
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SXP, Dim, Maita and Flurish - thanks so much for visiting and commenting. I appreciate it very much.
Yes Cape Town is a wonderful city and well worth a visit. There is so much to see and do there!
Love and peace
Tony
Wow! such a wonderful place.
I wish to visit at least once. :)
very nice share of what to see in the place, love all the pics and the flowers, white, beautiful,Thnaks tonymac, Maita
I've never been to South Africa, but you sure make it sound fascinating. The pics were beautiful. Thanks for such and interesting hub
Capetown does seem a lot better looking than some other South African cities and towns. Maybe it is because the locals know that this is critical in order to make sure tourists keep visiting. It's just such a pity that these photo's only show the good side of Capetown and not the rarely seen bad areas as well. Still, I loved seeing these buildings again.
VERY NICE PHOTO AND I LIKE VERY MUCH.
NICE PICTURES
WELL FOR ANY HELP CONTACT
AFRICAS TRADITINAL HERBALIST
HEALER AT
ntambin@yahoo.com
well Nice pics
Do they still have those amazing jazz concerts at Kirstenbosch gardens? I really miss those!
Hey Tony
A really cool hub; very Lekker!
Wow..amazing!Thanks for sharing!:)
Oh, I had a wonderful tour with this hub, thanks a lot.
Wow, I speechless. Great Hub! I love the pictures. I hope to visit someday. Wow!
I like all photos
Beautiful.
Such rich culture and history
Good one Tony. Lovely pix, Cape Town truly is a beautiful city seeped in the later history of S A.
I like it. Especially the slave lodge picture. It's like going to formally, (or currently) communist countries and running into propaganda and other reminders of pasts that were completely different from presents that we know, or maybe remember. It's horrible, but fascinating.
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Thanks to you all for your comments. This city is wonderful and, except that I miss my family, I would love to stay here longer, but got to get back to Pretoria on Friday!
Teresa - I would love to see the photos you aunt left you.
Thanks again to you all
Love and peace
Tony
It is a beautiful city, Tony. Thank's for letting us see it as you do.
These are beautiful photos I enjoyed the visit to Cape Town.
What a lovely, clean city! Thank you for sharing your photos! :D
Wow -- one of the things my aunt left me when she died was a shoe box with her photos and diaries of her visit to South Africa. I'll have to dig it out of storage, and I'll be able to use the great photos here to illustrate her adventures. Great tour, thanks!
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We are truly blessed!
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.
Love and peace,
Tony
Beautiful.
Such rich culture and history, well preserved and CLEAN too!
Makes me wish I could visit.
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