Chapman’s Peak Drive is a breathtaking experience, whether in awe of its beauty, or holding one’s breath for an entirely different reason. Did you know that there is about 100 million years of time missing in the mountain’s geological record?
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know your city
This week we spend some time in the city, travel down the M3 expressway and pop across the Atlantic to find out what Pennsylvania in the U.S. has in common with the Southern Suburbs.
know your city
We mentioned a few weeks backthat Bantry Bay and Camps Bay have not always been so named. Clifton, too, has a history behind its name.
know your city
Do you know when Maynardville Open-air Theatre opened and which Shakespeare play was performed? How about how long the African Penguin colony has been making its home at Boulder’s Beach in Simon’s Town?
know your city - what’s in a name?
A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Mowbray was previously known as Driekoppen. It is not the only Cape Town suburb to have undergone a name change, however; we share four more, as well as some interesting facts about each.
know your city - Two Oceans Marathon
Best wishes to all competitors in this Saturday’s Two Oceans Marathon. Said to be one of the most beautiful marathons in the world, the Two Oceans was originally intended as nothing more than a training run for the Comrades.
know your city
We’re hopping all over town this week with a selection of facts that includes the Cape Town suburb (and later a UCT residence) named after the three slaves who were executed and whose heads were impaled on stakes and displayed in public to act as a deterrent.
know your city - Groote Kerk, Adderley Street
More than 200 people - several of whom were governors - are buried beneath the soapstone floors of the Groote Kerk, the oldest church in South Africa.
know your city - lion’s head & signal hill
During the 17th Century, Lion’s Head was known as Leeuwen’s Kop by the Dutch while the English referred to it as Sugar Loaf.
know your city - Green Point lighthouse
The first solid lighthouse structure in South Africa, lit for the first time in 1824, was built in Green Point by Herman Schutte at a cost of around £6420.
know your city - St. George’s Cathedral
St. George’s Cathedral has a history dating back to a visit by the Bishop of Calcutta in October 1827, but to this day remains uncompleted.
Know Your City - Mount Nelson Hotel
Do you know when and why the Mount Nelson hotel was painted pink? It’s definitely not because of Valentine’s Day. This iconic hotel has been a part of Cape Town since 1899 and is regarded as one of the finest hotels in the world. The Mount Nelson has played host to royalty, politicians, authors and entertainers, including a war correspondent who went on to become a Prime Minister.
know your city - robben island
We move offshore this week. While Robben Island has been used largely as a prison since the arrival of the Dutch in the mid-1600s there is so much more to this fascinating place than one would imagine. For instance, did you know that there were people living on the island many thousands of years ago? The sea channel between the Island and the Cape mainland was not always covered with water.
Know Your City - Company’s Gardens
Buying a packet of nuts, waiting patiently and quietly with hand outstretched for one of the city’s most beloved inhabitants to get close enough to enjoy the proffered feast, then watching in wonder as they do so, is the highlight of a trip to the Company’s Gardens for millions of children (and their parents) over many, many years. We have Cecil John Rhodes to thank for this pleasure.
know your city
Do you know what a spider has to do with Cape Town’s historic Noon Gun? What does Cape Town, South Africa and St. John’s, Newfoundland have in common? Welcome to B>guided’s new feature, Know your City. Every week we’ll share interesting, unusual and sometimes little known facts about our beloved Mother City - and perhaps even debunk an incorrect ‘fact’ or two.
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