Information AboutCape Town |
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Cape Town (, forming part of the Metropolitan Municipality of the City Of Cape Town . Cape Town is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape as well as the Legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its Harbour as well as its natural setting, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point . Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for international Tourists . Cape Town originally developed around its harbour, as a refueling station for Dutch Ship s sailing to Eastern Africa , India , and Asia . Founded in 1652, it was the first permanent European settlement in Sub-Saharan Africa . It quickly outgrew the first European outpost at the Castle Of Good Hope , and remained the largest city in South Africa until outpaced by the new city of Johannesburg following the discovery of Gold and Diamond s in the Transvaal in 1887 . Cape Town is also served by Cape Town International Airport , the second-busiest airport in South Africa , and a major gateway to the city for tourists. According to the 2001 Census , the city has a population of 2.9 million. Cape Town's land area of 2,499 km&2 is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,158/km&2. Cape Town is Twinned with Nice , France . HISTORY See Also: History of Cape Town The first known inhabitants of the Western Cape area arrived around 100,000 BC. The area known today as Cape Town has no written history before it was first mentioned by Portuguese Explorer Bartholomew Diaz in 1486 , the next recorded sighting was by Vasco Da Gama in 1497 . The area fell out of regular contact with Europeans until 1652 , when Jan Van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company were sent to the Cape to establish a halfway station to provide. Simon Van Der Stel , after whom the town of Stellenbosch is named, arrived in 1679 to replace Van Riebeeck as governor. By 1780 , France and England went to war against each other. The Netherlands entered the war on the French side. By 1795 , however, the Netherlands was invaded by France and the VOC was in complete financial ruin. The Prince Of Orange fled to England. British troops had to protect the Cape from France until the war. Eventually the British successfully invaded the Cape in the Battle Of Muizenberg . Under the terms of a Peace Agreement , the Cape was returned to the Dutch in 1802 . Three years later, however, the war resumed and it ended in 1814 with a British victory. The Cape was permanently taken from the Dutch by the British. In 1948 , the National Party stood for election on its policy of racial segregation, later known by the Afrikaans word Apartheid . In 1966 , the once-vibrant District Six area was bulldozed and declared a white-only area. This and many similar declarations under the Group Areas Act resulted in whole communities being uprooted and relocated to the Cape Flats. Under apartheid, the Cape was considered a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of Black Africans . Hours after being released from prison on 11 February , 1990 , Nelson Mandela made his first public speech in decades from the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall , heralding the beginning of a new era for South Africa. The vast majority of Capetonians are still split along racial lines and economic, social, and health problems are widespread. Cape Town is struggling with major problems such as AIDS , Tuberculosis and violent Drug -related Crime in these areas, including one of the highest Homicide rates in the world. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE The centre of Cape Town is located at northern end of the Cape Peninsula . Table Mountain forms a dramatic backdrop to the city bowl with its plateau well over 1 kilometre high surrounded by near-vertical cliffs, and Devil's Peak and Lion's Head on either side. The peninsula consists of a dramatic mountainous spine jutting southwards into the Atlantic Ocean , ending at Cape Point . The city bowl, the Atlantic seaboard and the towns on the False Bay side of the peninsula are built on a steep gradient between the mountains and the sea. Many of the suburbs of Cape Town are on the large plain of the Cape Flats , which joins the peninsula to the mainland. The Cape Peninsula has a Mediterranean Climate with well-defined Season s. In Winter , which lasts from May through August, large Cold Front s come across from the Atlantic Ocean with heavy Precipitation and strong north-westerly winds. The winter months are cool with an average minimum temperature of around 7°C (45°F). Most of the city's annual rainfall occurs in wintertime, but due to the mountainous topography of the city, rainfall amounts for specific areas can vary dramatically. The valleys and coastal plains average 515 Millimetre s (20in) of rain per annum, while mountain areas can average as much as 1500mm (60in) per annum. Summers, which last from November through February, are warm and dry, and the Peninsula gets frequent strong winds from the south-east known locally as the Cape Doctor because it blows away pollution and cleans the air. The south easterly wind is caused by a High-pressure System which sits in the South Atlantic to the west of Cape Town. Summer temperatures are mild with an average maximum of 26°C (79°F). GOVERNMENT .]] See Also: City of Cape Town Cape Town's local government is the City Of Cape Town , a Metropolitan Municipality . Cape Town is governed by a 210-member City Council , who answer to a 28-member executive council. This in turn is presided over by a city manager and an executive mayor. The city is divided into 105 electoral wards; each ward directly elects one member of the council. The other 105 councillors are elected by a system of Party-list Proportional Representation . The Mayor is chosen by the city council. The mayor is Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance . In the most recent 2006 Local Government Election , the Democratic Alliance was the largest single party with 90 of the 210 seats on the council, ahead of the African National Congress 's 81 seats, but with no party holding a majority. Before the unification of Cape Town's local government into the so-called "Unicity", it was divided into six regional "Administrations"; many functions of the Unicity are still divided according to the old Administrations. The administrations were Cape Town, which included the City Bowl , the Atlantic seaboard, the southern suburbs, Pinelands , Langa , and Mitchell's Plain . South Peninsula included Hout Bay , Wynberg , Constantia , Fish Hoek , Kommetjie , Noordhoek , and Simon's Town . Blaauwberg included Milnerton , Tableview , and Bloubergstrand . Tygerberg included Tygerberg , Durbanville , Bellville , Khayelitsha . Oostenberg included Kraaifontein , Brackenfell , Kuilsrivier , Blue Downs , and Eerste River . The last administration, Helderberg, included Somerset West , Strand , and Gordon's Bay . DEMOGRAPHICS According to the South African National Census Of 2001 , the population of Cape Town is 2,893,251 people, who live in 759,767 formal households, of which 87.4% have a flush or chemical Toilet , and 94.4% have Refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week. 80.1% of households use Electricity as the main source of energy. 16.1% of households are headed by one person. Coloured s account for 48.13% of the population, followed by Black African s at 31%, Whites at 18.75%, and 1.43% Asian . 46.6% of the population is under the age of 24, while 5% are over the age of 65. The median age in the city is 26 years old, and for every 100 females, there are 92.4 males. 19.4% of city residents are Unemployed . 58.3% of the unemployed are black, 38.1% are Coloured, 3.1% are White, and 0.5% are Asian. 41.4% of Cape Town residents speak Afrikaans at home, 27.9% speak English , 28.7% speak Xhosa , 0.3% speak Zulu , 0.7% speak Sesotho , and 0.1% speak Setswana , 0.7% of the population speaks a non-official language at home. 76.6% of residents are Christian , 10.7% have no religion, 9.7% are Muslim , 0.5% are Jewish , and 0.2% are Hindu . 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs. 4.2% of residents aged 20 and over have received no Schooling , 11.8% have had some Primary School , 7.1% have completed only primary school, 38.9% have had some High School education, 25.4% have finished only high school, and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 38.0% of residents have completed high school. The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is R 25,774. Males have a median annual income of R28,406 versus R 22,265 for females. ECONOMY Cape Town is the economic centre of the Western Cape and thus serves as the regional manufacturing centre as well as the port by which most goods made in the interior of the province are shipped elsewhere. Cape Town's economy is also partially based on Tourism , as it receives the most international visitors of any city in South Africa. The large government presence in the city, both as the capital of the Western Cape and the seat of Parliament , has increased revenue for the city as well as growth in industries that serve the government. Cape Town also hosts many Conference s, particularly in the new International Convention Centre , which opened in June 2003 . The city is also currently undergoing a Real Estate and Construction boom. High school attendance rates and a superior higher education infrastructure has also helped Cape Town to compete globally when compared to other cities in South Africa that have less developed infrastructure and education. The Western Cape also generates a quarter of the South African agricultural sector's total gross income and more than half of South Africa's exports overseas, which benefits Cape Town as much of the Produce is either shipped from the Port Of Cape Town or Cape Town International Airport . The Western Cape is an important tourist region in South Africa. The tourism industry alone accounts for 9.8% of the GDP of the province and employs 9.6% of the province's workforce. In 2002 , over one million overseas tourists visited Cape Town. The Province is also a centre of energy development for the country, especially now that Oil and Natural Gas have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean off of the coast. Almost all major ship-building companies have offices and manufacturing locations in Cape Town, who manufacture many ships that are then exported overseas. The city is currently undergoing a massive expansion in construction and real estate, as many people are buying summer homes in the city as well as relocating there permanently. TOURISM with characteristic tablecloth.]] .]] Bo-Kaap is one of the most visited areas in Cape Town.]] Cape Town's warm climate, dramatic scenic beauty, outdoor sports and cultural variety make it one of South Africa's most popular tourist destinations, particularly in the summer from October to March. Some of the main tourist attractions are:
Outdoor activities The mountainous geography of the Cape Peninsula means that Cape Town has a wide variety of white sand beaches. Blouberg beach has the classic view of Table Mountain and is a world class spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing between September and February. Boulders Beach is famous for its colony of Penguins . Scenic boat trips can be undertaken from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront , Hout Bay and Simon's Town . Tours to Robben Island are popular, and other cruises take tourists close to the population of thousands of Cape Fur Seals on Seal Island and Duiker Island. The Cape Peninsula and the region around Cape Town offer many walking and hiking routes, with Table Mountain , Lion's Head and Devil's Peak ) set in the centre of the city, and the surrounding mountain ranges offering further opportunities. Other water sports and outdoor activities include surfing, diving, kite-surfing, sailing, angling, scenic drives, mountaineering, hiking, mountain-biking, kite-flying, hang-gliding and parasailing, boat trips, bird watching and whale watching. Whale Watching is popular, with Southern Right Whale s found off the coast during the breeding season (August to November), and Bryde's Whale occurring year-round. The nearby town of Hermanus is renowned for whales, as they often come within 100m of the shore, but they can also be seen in False Bay. Heaviside's Dolphin is endemic to the area and can be seen from the coast north of Cape Town. Dusky Dolphin occur along the same coast, and may be seen from the ferry to Robben Island. August and September are the best time to visit the Namaqualand region on the west coast of South Africa. After the winter rains, the desert comes to life and wild flowers bloom in profusion. Cultural tourism Local jazz music, Wine Tasting , township tours, and visits to historic Cape Dutch buildings, add a wide cultural variety to the city's tourism. The annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival or Kaapse Klopse is a minstrel festival held annually on 2 January or 'Tweede Nuwe Jaar'. Competing teams of minstrels parade in brightly coloured costumes, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. Artscape Theatre Centre is the main performing arts venue in Cape Town. COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA Several newspapers and magazines have their offices in the city, as it is the transportation hub for the south western region of South Africa. Independent News And Media , publishes the major English Language papers in the city, the '' Cape Argus '' and the '' Cape Times ''. Naspers , the largest media conglomerate in South Africa publishes '' Die Burger '', the major Afrikaans language paper. The University Of Cape Town also publishes its own student newspaper, '' Varsity ''. Cape Town has a vibrant collection of community newspapers. Almost every suburb or region of the city has its own newspaper which publishes local as well as national news. Some of the largest community newspapers in English are the '' Athlone News '' from Athlone , the '' Atlantic Sun '', the '' Constantiaberg Bulletin '' from Constantiaberg , the '' City Vision '' from Bellville , the '' False Bay Echo '' from False Bay , the '' Helderberg Sun '' from Helderberg , the '' Plainsman '', the '' Sentinel News '', the '' Southern Mail '', the '' Southern Suburbs Tatler '' from the Southern Suburbs , '' Table Talk '' and '' Tygertalk ''. Afrikaans language community newspapers include the '' Landbou-Burger '' and the '' Tygerburger ''. '' Vukani '', based in the Cape Flats , is published in Xhosa . Cape Town is also a centre for broadcast media, and has several Radio Station s that only broadcast within the city. Good Hope FM and KFM 94.5 Fm mostly play Pop Music . The Voice Of The Cape 95.8 Fm and Cape Talk 567 Mw are the major Talk Radio Stations for the city. The University of Cape Town has its own station, UCT Radio 104.5 Fm which plays a diverse selection of music. Cape Town is also the location of regional offices of the South African Broadcasting Corporation and M-Net . SUBURBS : ''See List Of Cape Town Suburbs SPORTS TEAMS AND STADIUMS Cape Town's most popular sports by participation are Cricket , Football , Swimming , and Rugby . The Stormers represent Cape Town and Boland in the Southern Hemisphere s Super 14 Rugby Competition, which includes teams from South Africa , Australia , and New Zealand . Cape Town is also the home of the Western Province , who play at Newlands Stadium and compete in the Currie Cup . Football is a very popular sport in Cape Town. Clubs from Cape Town play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL). In the PSL, the top Cape Town teams, the Seven Stars and the Cape Town Spurs amalgamated in 1999 to form Ajax Cape Town . The Santos also represent Cape Town in the PSL. In cricket, the Cape Cobras represent Cape Town at the Newlands Cricket Ground . The team is the result of an amalgamation of the Western Province Cricket and Boland Cricket teams. They take part in the Supersport and Standard Bank Cup Series . Cape Town will also be the location of several of the matches of the FIFA 2010 World Cup , which is to be held in South Africa. The region's good weather allows for open air sports to be played almost all year long. Apart from Team Sport s, Golf and Tennis are very popular and facilities exist allover the city. Swimming in Pool s or in the ocean is very popular, as is Surfing . TRANSPORT ;Air Cape Town is served by Cape Town International Airport for both domestic and international flights. It is the second biggest airport in South Africa and a major gateway for travellers to the Cape region. It offers a number of international flights to destinations in Africa , Europe , the Middle East and North and South America . Nearly all commercial airports in South Africa are served from here. ;Sea The city has a large port located in Table Bay directly to the north of the city centre and is a hub of the shipping routes in the Southern Hemisphere. Cape Town is South Africa's second port after Durban; in 2004 it handled 3161 ships and 9.2 million tonnes of cargo. The harbour at Simon's Town , south of the city, is the main base for the South African Navy . ;Rail via Kimberley and Johannesburg ; and a weekly service to and from Durban via Kimberley , Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg . These trains terminate at Cape Town Railway Station , as well as making a brief stop at Bellville . Cape Town is also one terminus of the famous Blue Train . Metrorail operates a Commuter Rail service in Cape Town and the surrounding towns. The Metrorail network consists of 96 stations throughout the suburbs and exurbs of Cape Town. ;Roads on the way into Cape Town. Devil's Peak and Athlone Power Station in the background.]] Three which links Cape Town with Bloemfontein , Johannesburg , Pretoria and Zimbabwe ; the N2 which links Cape Town with Port Elizabeth , East London and Durban ; and the N7 which links Cape Town with the Northern Cape Province and Namibia . The N1 and N2 both start at the northern end of Buitengracht Street and become an elevated highway through the Central Business District. The N1 and N2 split to the east of the CBD, with the N1 continuing to the north east out of the city, and the N2 heading south east past Cape Town International Airport . The N7 starts in Mitchells Plain and runs north, intersecting with the N1 and the N2 before leaving the city. Cape Town also has a system of Freeway and Dual Carriageway M-roads, which connect different parts of the city. The M3 splits from the N2 and runs to the south along the eastern slopes of Table Mountain , connecting the City Bowl with Muizenberg . The M5 splits from the N1 further east than the M3, and links the Cape Flats to the CBD. The R300 , which is also known as the Cape Flats Freeway, links Mitchells Plain with Bellville , the N1 and the N2. ;Buses Golden Arrow Bus Services operates scheduled bus services throughout the Cape Town metropolitan area. Several companies run long-distance bus services from Cape Town to the other cities in South Africa. ;Taxis Cape Town has two kinds of taxis, Metered Taxi s and Minibus Taxi s. Unlike many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city looking for passengers and instead must be called and ordered to a destination. Metered taxis are rare, in comparison to many other cities. The minibus "taxis" are the de facto standard and essential form of transport for the majority of the population. Although essential, these taxis are often of a poor standard in not only road-worthiness, but also in terms of driver quality with a majority of taxi drivers breaking traffic laws regularly (such as driving in the emergency lane while speeding on a highway). With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often over-filled with passengers causing yet another hazard for road users. However, without subsidies from Government and a lack of other feasible public transport, minibus taxis will remain an essential form of transport for many of Cape Town's working class. UNIVERSITIES IN CAPE TOWN Cape Town has a well-developed and the University Of The Western Cape . Stellenbosch University , while not in the city itself, is 50 kilometres from the City Bowl and many students choose to live in Cape Town and commute. The Cape Peninsula University Of Technology was formed on 1 January 2005 when two separate universities and campuses — Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon — were merged together. The new university offers education primarily in English , although courses may be taken in any of South Africa's official languages. The institution mostly grants National Diploma s. The University of Cape Town is one of the leading universities in South Africa, and is famous as a centre of resistance to Apartheid . FOOTNOTES |
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