Castle Of Good Hope

The Castle of Good Hope – the oldest building in South Africa – was once a fort, but today functions as a showcase of the Cape’s early days.

The famous Dutch architect, Menno van Coehoorn in 1697, built the Castle of Good Hope and the purpose was to protect the passage to India of the Dutch East India Company around the southern tip of Africa (at that point in time known as the Cape of Good Hope).

The Castle lends itself to many present day activities, such as open-air concerts with Table Mountain as a backdrop, film and fashion shoots as well as a variety of venues for corporate functions and conferences. Inside the walls of the Castle are amongst others, a church, bakery, living quarters, offices, cells and numerous other facilities. The yellow paint on the walls was chosen to reduce the glare from the sunlight and also because it reflects the heat.

The Castle is the best preserved of the entire Duct East India Company’s castles and it was declared a National Monument in 1936.

Guided tours are conducted by Castle guides from Monday to Saturday at 11:00, 12:00 and 14:00. Traditional ceremonies take place during weekdays. The Key Ceremony was performed in the Castle from its earliest days and depicts the unlocking of the Castle of Good Hope. This ceremony takes place at 10:00 and 12:00 during weekdays. The firing of the signal cannon directly after the Key Ceremony is symbolic to indicate the significance of cannons at the Castle of Good Hope. The Castle Guard performs both these ceremonies.

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The Post Office Tree

The first post office in South Africa was nothing more than a tree!

The Old Post Office Tree is so named because it acted as a mail system for seagoing men in the 1500’s. It is an old milk-wood tree and one of the Commanders of Cabral ships, Pedro De Ataide, left a letter of importance in an iron pot shoe under this large tree on his return journey from the East. This letter was found by the Commander of the third East India Fleet, Joao De Nova in 1501 when he was on his way to India. 

This is how the post office system started in South Africa. This is a National Monument and is generally known as Post Office tree.

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The Cullinan Diamond

South Africa is one of the world’s top diamond producers. It is therefore significant that the largest diamond in the world was discovered in South Africa.

Percival Tracey and Thomas Cullinan established the Premier Mine near Pretoria in 1903. It was established on a large kimberlite pipe, which is estimated to be 1 200 million years old. Two years later, on 25 June 1905, the world’s largest diamond was found in this kimberlite pipe. It was appropriately named the Cullinan Diamond after Thomas Cullinan.

The diamond was bought by the Transvaal Government and presented to the British King. It was cut into 9 large stones and 96 smaller stones. The largest stone, known as the Star of Africa was set in the Royal Sceptre and the second largest stone, named the Lesser Star of Africa became part of the Imperial Crown.

The uncut Cullinan diamond weighed more than 500 g (1.1 lbs.) before it was cut up.

Indeed something that makes all South Africans proud!

The Rainbow Nation

South Africa is a nation of diversity, with 50.59-million people and a variety of cultures, languages, and religious beliefs. Some 62% of the population is urbanized.

The 11 official languages are Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho saLeboa, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

Some 79.8% of South Africans are Christian, 15% have no religion, and 1.4% are undecided. Islam is the religion of 1.5% of South Africans, Hinduism that of 1.2%, African traditional belief 0.3%, Judaism 0.2% and other beliefs 0.6%.

South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa with the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent; a thriving democracy; and infrastructure to match any first world country.

It has an abundance of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; and the 26th largest GDP in the world.

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Recipe for a Spicy Potato Dish

In South Africa potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables because they are nutritious, easy to prepare, and very versatile. They are rich in complex carbohydrates that can supply energy, but not all that high in calories because they are low in fat and protein. For many households it is even a staple food.

According to legend, the first potatoes for planting purposes in South Africa came from Holland to provide food for mariners visiting the Cape. Since then the potato industry has grown to become one of the important food providers in South Africa.

Within the South African context, the gross value of potato production accounts for about 43 % of major vegetables, 15 % of horticultural products and 4 % of total agricultural production.

On average domestic potato farmers harvest about R1,6 billion’s worth of potatoes per year. The latter comprise about 1 700 potato farmers (including approximately 400 seed growers) and 66 600 farm-workers.

Here is a recipe for a typical South African potato dish:

·         You will need 4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

·         2 Tbsp. cooking oil

·         2 tsp. ground coriander

·         2 tsp. ground cumin

·         1 Tbsp. curry powder

·         1 tsp. turmeric

·         1 tsp. ground ginger

·         1 tsp. ground cloves

·         One onion peeled and chopped

·         2 Tbsp. lemon juice

·         100 ml warm water

Here is what you do:

·         Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft

·         Heat the cooking oil in a heavy based pan, add the spices and 1 tsp. salt, and fry it for about one minute.

·         Add the potatoes, onion, and fry for another minute.

·         Add the lemon juice and water and cook for about 5 minutes

Serve with your favourite meat dish and other side-vegetables.

We as South Africans love spicy and rich food.

Enjoy. 

Beautiful South African Wedding Tradition

Worldwide weddings are full off beautiful traditions. In South Africa such traditions are also followed and is part of our own unique traditions, and one of them is the bridal bouquet and the ceremony to throw it away.

The tradition behind this is that anything worn by the bride was and is considered good luck. The bouquet is considered a sign of happiness. Another reason to throw the bouquet into the crowd by bride is to distract the crowd so that she could escape.

Watch this video taken at my daughter’s wedding on 3 March 2012.

Enjoy!

Fact File on Rooibos Tea

Rooibos tea is indigenous to South Africa. The plant from which rooibos tea is harvested is a leguminous shrub with needle-like leaves; native to the mountain slopes of the Western Cape.

Marketing of rooibos tea on a small scale started in about 1900. Seed selection and improved cultivation and processing began in the 1920’s and about 30 years later the industry was exporting to Australia, New Zeeland, Europe, the UK, Canada and the USA.

Rooibos tea is caffeine-free and contains some ascorbic acid and some minerals. In addition, it contains sufficient fluoride to have some value in combatting tooth decay. The low-tannin content of rooibos tea makes the addition of milk unnecessary. The tea also does not inhibit iron absorption as conventional tea does.

How to brew your tea

When brewing rooibos tea, only use boiling water. Try to maintain this temperature (boiling) until the tea is ready to be served. Ideally you should have a teapot which absorbs and radiates very little heat – a glass teapot is the most suitable for this purpose. Rinse the pot with boiling water before you add the tea bags or leaves. Pour the boiling water on to the bag or leaves and leave it on the stove to keep hot while steeping.

Rooibos tea can be enjoyed anytime with or without sugar, hot milk or lemon.

You can even marinate meat with it!

Although rooibos tea is traditionally consumed as a hot drink it can be just as refreshing and appetising served cold.

Try it yourself!

By Daniel de Villiers