Apartheid Museum

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

This morning we packed our suitcases and prepared for our departure to Botswana in the afternoon. Since our bus would not be leaving until 2:30, we had some time to kill. We decided to check out the Apartheid Museum, something that many people have recommended. The museum did not open until 10:00, but we decided to go a little early and eat breakfast at the Gold Reef City Casino and Hotel, which was just across the street from the museum. The hotel reminded us of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, except with African animal statues instead of Caesar.

The taxi driver who brought us there from the hostel said that he would also pick us up from the museum between 12:30 and 1:00 to take us home. This was a relief, again because we did not want to try to find a taxi on our own.

The museum was very similar to a Holocaust or Tolerance Museum, focusing just on the topic of racism in South Africa during the Apartheid Era (1950-1990). There was also a temporary exhibit dedicated to Nelson Mandela, which was probably the most interesting part, especially for Doug because he is currently reading Mandela's autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom"--highly recommended. The rest of the museum focused on other important people who played key roles in the fight for equal rights in South Africa. Many of the exhibits in the museum were directly related to things we had seen on the Soweto tour, and we were glad to have had a little bit of background knowledge going into it.