Soweto

Soweto, an acronym for South-Western Townships, is Johannesburg's Siamese-twin city and a place of marked contrasts. A gripping history, vibrant culture and booming spirit of entrepreneurship are all part of South Africa's largest, richest and most political township.

Thus Soweto tours are, for good reason, the single most popular tourist attraction in the city of Johannesburg. Although the township's historical buildings are visually unimpressive, they afford the visitor historical insights into a way of life far removed from the realities of most Westerners. Visit traditional healers, local bars and shops, markets and tea rooms - it's a well-established industry and much safer than most people suspect; just ask your tour guide about anything that concerns you.

The township of Soweto as a whole could be called multiracial, in the sense that its residents are from all the tribes in South Africa. Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho - among others - can all be heard in the busy streets and markets, and chances are you'll pick up French, Portuguese and Swahili.

The types of housing in Soweto range from shacks to large mansions and there can't be many cities in the world that boast one street where you can find the houses of two Nobel Peace Prize winners; Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It was in Soweto of course that much of the struggle against apartheid was fought. On 16 June 1976 the riots, which spread through the country, started here with black children protesting against Afrikaans being used as a joint instruction medium with English in African schools. As the demonstration increased in size, the police threw a teargas canister into the crowd.

This led to a wave of panic, stone-throwing and shooting into the crowd. A newspaper photographer, Sam Nzima, captured the moment when a fatally wounded 13 year old, Hector Petersen, was carried out of the crowd. His photograph came to symbolise the tragedy of that day and each year 16 June is remembered with a national holiday called Youth Day, or to many, Soweto Day.

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