Walk to Freedom Tour

The day commences with a look at the picturesque “Bo-Kaap”– a historic area that became home to many Muslims and freed slaves after the abolition of slavery and is a living cultural museum and home to the oldest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere. We discover the unique culture, lifestyle and personality of the Cape Muslim community and their contribution to South Africa’ s development. Here we shall walk through the area and stop at the Bo-Kaap Museum which was established in 1978 as a satellite of the SA Cultural History Museum. It was furnished as a house that depicts the lifestyle of a nineteenth-century Muslim family and the local Islamic culture and heritage.

From here we head east into the central business district of the city precinct and stop at the Slave Lodge. Under the umbrella theme, ‘From human wrongs to human rights', exhibitions on the lower level of this museum explore the long history of slavery in South Africa. Through the changing, temporary exhibitions the museum addresses issues around and raises awareness of human rights.

During the latter part of the morning we examine the area of Zonnebloem, which was District Six and visit the living museum. The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories of the District Six experience and with that of forced removals more generally. With the struggle for the land now taking a different form (of the more banal yet intricate logistics, legalities and bureaucratic mechanisms of RETURN which are no longer pitted against apartheid) the museum is now bound to support the process of 'reinventing' District Six for the present.

Around 12h30 your tour will arrive at the Nelson Mandela Gateway & Museum, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Check in for your ferry trip across the bay to Robben Island for a guided tour of the island as well as a tour of the prison by an ex in-mate. The tour ends upon return at 18h00.

Please note:

A half day Walk to Freedom Tour is available (exludes Nelson Mandela Gateway & Museum and ferry trip to Robben Island):

Monday - Saturday 08h30

Duration: 5 hours

Entrance included
Bo-Kaap Museum, Slave Lodge, District Six Museum