Pretoria - Retrace the footsteps of Nelson Mandela in the capital city by taking a tour to places that featured in the former president’s life.
Friday would have been Tata Madiba’s 96th birthday and across the world people are devoting 67 minutes of their time to helping others.
As part of its Mandela legacy project, the City of Tshwane is launching a tour called Relive the memory of President Nelson Mandela, aimed at mapping Madiba’s footsteps in the city.
“This tourist route will take you to the significant and historic places in the capital that featured in the life and experience of South Africa’s beloved Nelson Mandela,” said mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale.
The tour begins at Fort Klapperkop, which, although there is no direct association with Mandela, offers a view of the city.
“The view from this site embodies his vision for a unified nation at peace with itself,” Manale said.
The second stop is Unisa, the world’s largest distance learning institution, through which Mandela obtained his law degree.
Next, visitors are taken to the Voortrekker Monument.
“Although it is sometimes associated with the values of the old South Africa that Mandela fought against, it is also a symbol for his support of the fair and equal treatment of all people,” Manale said.
From there the tour moves on to Reconciliation Road – the road between the Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park.
“This road is a symbol of forgiveness, reconciliation and nation building,” Manale said.
The road will lead visitors to Freedom Park, considered to be “a new symbol to resolve past conflicts”.
The next stop is the Gallows at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison. “During all his trials Mandela spent time in Pretoria Central Prison. The cells where he was held are no longer standing,” Manale said.
The seventh stop on the tour is the Palace of Justice on Church Square where the famous Rivonia Trial took place in 1964.
Next visitors will visit the Old Synagogue in Paul Kruger Street where Mandela and his co-accused appeared on charges of treason between 1958 and 1961.
The final stop on the tour is the Union Buildings where Mandela was inaugurated as the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994.
An optional additional stop on the tour takes visitors to the National Archives which houses the transcripts of the Rivonia Trial as well as the original manuscript of Mandela’s autobiography The Long Walk to Freedom.
Pretoria News