Johannesburg

Softown Urban Experience Tour

Jan 20 - Dec 14 2018    
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During the 1940s and 1950s multi-racial Sophiatown was one of Joburg's most vibrant neighbourhoods, famed for its colourful jazz and literary scene. In 1955 the apartheid government sent in its bulldozers to destroy the multi-racial neighbourhood, forcibly removing non-white residents from their homes and sending them to live in new distant townships while their properties in Sophiatown were razed to the ground.

The Sof’town Urban Experience Tour run by the Sophiatown The Mix museum and heritage centre offers an in-depth and personal introduction to the unique history of Sophiatown. The tour starts at the former home of Dr AB Xuma, one of the few homes to survive the destruction. The building is now a museum and filled with exhibits that detail life in old Sophiatown and the cruelty of the forced removals. The tour then moves on through Sophiatown's streets stopping at the few other buildings that remain from pre-1955 such as the Christ the King Church, and the St Joseph’s Children’s Home located on the slopes of the Melville Koppies from where there are great views over the city.

The tour also includes an opportunity to meet residents of old Sophiatown, who returned to live in the neighbourhood in 1994 following the end of apartheid and ends with a chance to dress up and get photos taken in the Sof’town photo booth.

Tours are by prior arrangement only. Call +27 83 550 7130 or +27 11 673 1271 or email ekse@sophiatownthemix.com to arrange a tour.

Date

Jan 20 2018 - Dec 14 2018

Price/Additional Info

Tours costs R180 per person

Website

sophiatownthemix.com www.facebook.com/Sophiatown-the-Mix-951995104872341/
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