Sightseeing in Johannesburg

A Different Type of Sightseeing

As the center of much of the apartheid struggle, many of Johannesburg’s attractions are emotionally charged.  There are memorials to fallen school children and museums that trace some of the darkest chapter in the country's history. Although there are plenty of restaurants and shopping complex to boost your spirits, be sure to schedule sufficient time in your medical tourism itinerary to pay homage to South Africa's struggle from freedom and democracy.

Apartheid Museum

For those who wonder what life was like in a country where 75% of the population was relegated to second-class citizen status, a visit to the Apartheid Museum is a must.  According to tourist literature, the museum chronicles the rise and fall of apartheid, but as you clutch your “whites “and ”non whites” passes and make your way through the museum, you’ll see that it truly is a history of South Africa itself.  Photographs, video recordings, and gut-wrenching exhibits, including a hangman’s noose, make for an unforgettable journey into South Africa’s dark past – a must for every medical tourism visitor.

Hector Pieterson’s Memorial

The defining moment in the anti-apartheid struggle came on Jun 16, 1976 when a group of Soweto school children peacefully protesting the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools, were shot at.  Among the reported 59 dead was 12-year-old Hector Pieterson.  A photograph of him being carried by another man, his wailing sister running alongside, made front page news across the world, and South Africa was never the same again.  Two blocks from where he was shot stands a museum named after him, containing numerous photographs and video footage of the conflict. 

Constitution Hill

Make time on your medical tourism trip to Johannesburg to visit this former 19^th century prison, the city’s answer to Robbens Island.  It was home to Mandela and Gandhi who were both detained here, and it currently houses the Constitutional Court.  Its Number 4 block, earlier the venue of much torture and abuse, is now the venue of an exhibition on criminality.

The Cradle of Humankind

In 1947, Dr Robert Brook discovered humanoid remains in the Sterkfontein Valley that were estimated to be at last 2.5 million years old.  Since then, explorations have unearthed more remains, including one that’s estimated to be more than 4 million years old.  The collection of stalactite caves has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, although many portions of the caves have not yet been fully explored.

Mandela Family Museum

Located in Orange West, a neighborhood that also houses another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Mandela Family Museum presents an assorted collection of photographs and memorabilia related to the life of Nelson Mandela.  The museum is just around the corner from the Hector Pieterson Memorial, and the neighborhood is stepped in history.  The house itself suffers due to lack of maintenance, but busloads of tourists faithfully stop by for the sheer historical significance of the structure.