A Walk Through Jeppestown with Ancient Secrets

After our first outing with Ishvara of Ancient Secrets for his Troyeville Walk, we needed no further convincing to sign up for the next scheduled visit to Jeppestown. Jeppestown is said to be Johannesburg’s oldest suburb, having been established around 1889 by Julius Jeppe. The neighborhood lies just to the east of the CBD (Central Business District) and is a fascinating historical and cultural blend.

Our walk commenced at the House of Baobab restaurant in the Maboneng Precinct with coffee and a sweet Tanzanian doughnut-like treat called Mandazi. The group then headed off into the heart of Jeppestown for the next 3+ hours lead by the captivating Ishvara Dhyan. Ishvara’s knowledge of the area is extraordinary and it would be impossible for me to share all the details here so for this blog post I am mainly going to focus on some photos with the hope that they may inspire you to take one of these tours yourself.

Mentis BuildingsMentis Buildings-Art Nouveau. Currently being used as private residences.

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Soweto by Bike

As you may or may not know, Soweto is a township in Johannesburg and is an acronym for SOuth WEstern TOwnships. During apartheid non-whites were forcefully removed from whites-only areas and townships were created in order to house those who had been evicted. Even though apartheid was abolished more than 20 years ago, the townships live on. In many cases, townships aren’t really places that most non-residents will venture into, however Soweto is one very notable exception. For the past several years, Soweto has been a stop on the typical sightseeing tours of Joburg due to its many historical attractions.

Lebo's BackpackersLebo’s Backpackers

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Troyeville Walk With Ancient Secrets

We recently joined Ishvara Dhyan of Ancient Secrets for his guided walk of Troyeville. I had been wanting to do one of these walks for some time as Ishvara’s focus is on cultural and historical aspects of various inner-city neighborhoods in Johannesburg. As a relative newcomer to Joburg, I know very little about most of these places but the more I read, the more fascinated I become with the diversity found here.

Troyeville HotelTroyeville Hotel

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A Bit of Gemütlichkeit In Jozi

Gemütlichkeit is a German word that can be a bit difficult to translate. It is often described as a feeling of friendliness, comfort and coziness and we recently got to experience this right here in Jozi.

On May 24, 2014, the German International School in Joburg held its 107th annual Schulbasar (School basar) and we were lucky to be invited to tag along with some German friends of ours.

SchulbasarSchulbasar Entrance

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Restaurant Review: Arirang Korean Restaurant (or the Kimchi that Kicked my Butt)

A couple of Saturdays ago we were searching for a lunch venue and wanted to try something a bit different than our usual salad/sandwich fare and we came across Arirang Korean Restaurant. It had been a really long time since we had Korean food so we jumped in the Jeep and off we headed to Rivonia.

Arirang Korean RestaurantArirang Korean Restaurant

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