Joburg, South Africa's biggest city and capital of its inland Gauteng province, began as a 19th-century gold-mining settlement. 150 years ago, there was nothing here.

The Apartheid museum was beautifully organized. It took me over 3 hours to see it all.

Mandela exhibit.

I took a bus tour through Johannesburg.

Soccer City. This is where the opening and closing games of the 2010 World Cup were played. Shakira did her thing here.

Downtown Johannesburg.

Joburg is the largest city in the world not near a body of water or near a coastline.

Joburg has its shady parts and nice parts, just like any other city. This area is up and coming.

Nelson Mandela bridge.

Hillbrow Tower. The neighborhood of Hillbrow has a lot of crime. Not for tourists!

Some of the buildings in Joburg are still in shambles. This building needs new windows immediately!

Gandhi Square. Gandhi lived in South Africa for 21 years before his political activism.

Carlton Centre, the tallest building in Africa. It's 50 stories high.

A view from the Carlton Centre observatory.

Those mounds of dirt were man made. They were created during the gold rush, and intentionally placed there, so that white Johannesburg couldn’t see black Soweto (behind it). They will be coming down soon.

Final sunset in Africa from the airport. Goodbye Johannesburg. Goodbye Africa. I hope to return one day!

All photos are © Arthur Erberber.
Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
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