So you have planned to spend your vacation in Cape Town. Everything has been well taken care of – your accommodations, tickets and your luggage, but you forgot to plan your activities during your stay. With all the historic sites and beautiful scenery, I’m quite certain that you will find lots of things to do. However, you may want to start off by reliving the life of Nelson Mandela.
Having reached the incredible age of 93 only last Monday, 18th July 2011, this living legend amazes us with his life’s history. He was born 1918 in Transkei, Eastern Cape Town where in his early childhood he was called Rohilalah. It was a name the tribe gave him which literally means "troublemaker." He was later given the name Nelson, an English name, by his teacher when he finally went to school.
People say what made Nelson Mandela become the great leader that he is today are genes and the long period of incarceration he endured in Robben Island, more or less seven miles off the coast of Cape Town.
Mandela spent 18 years in prison. His cell was only 5 square meters and what made things worse is the inadequate clothing and horrible sleeping condition – he slept on a thin straw mat laid on the floor.
In the early 1970’s however, things changed a bit for the better – prisoners were given the opportunity to study. Without second thought, Nelson Mandela took that opportunity not only for the purpose of learning but also to combat the feeling of being isolated away from family and the hard life he had to experience in prison. While in there however he demonstrated his leadership skills by exerting great effort in bridging the gap between jailers and prisoners.
You can go to Robben Island by riding a ferry at the Nelson Mandela Gateway located at the V&A Waterfront right in front of the Clocktower. It will be a wonderful blast-from-the-past experience for you crossing Table Bay and enjoying an emotionally heart-felt tour given by ex-political prisoners.
Surely, it is popular knowledge that Nelson Mandela became the first South African president elected in a democratic election. However, not quite as popular is how it all happened and the events that lead to that success. Strolling through Cape Town’s historic streets will give you the chance to learn the city’s early history from the Dutch and British settlers to the flowering of slavery and to the rise and fall of the apartheid era.
In 2010, the United Nations created the Mandela Day, which was celebrated once again last Monday during his 93rd birthday. South Africans all over the world embraced the day with much enthusiasm, taking the time to commemorate Mandela’s extraordinary work since 1994.
The festivities began the previous weekend in Cape Town where an auction of a special piece of artwork was held. This artwork is made out handprints and autographs of 67 international celebrities. These handprints and photographs were creatively woven together to form the pattern and colours of the South African flag.
Nelson Mandela has spent 67 years serving not only his country and his community but also the world at large. And to commemorate this, at exactly 8:05 on Monday, July 18, South African were requested to participate in the singing of the Happy Birthday song and to dedicate 67 minutes of their time in doing something good for their community.
