I saw a lot of churches in Troyeville.
The first Dutch Reformed Church in Johannesburg.
The first Spiritualist Church in South Africa. I love the architecture. If you’d like to learn about the Spiritualist Church, read here. A different congregation meets here now though.
My favorite church in Troyeville, in what looks like an abandoned motel. The Christ Embassy: Giving your life meaning.
Troyeville, a run-down inner-city suburb just up the road from Hillbrow, has more churches per square kilometer than any other place in South Africa. This is one of many fascinating things I learned on a Troyeville walking tour last weekend with Ishvara, one of my favorite Jozi tour guides. (Read about Ishvara’s tours of Little Addis and Diagonal Street.)
This tour was classic Jozi. It was just so…random. Who knew Troyeville, which looks rather bland and sketchy on the surface, was so interesting? By the end of the tour I was ready to move there. The photos speak for themselves.
Our first stop was the Spaza Gallery. I won’t say too much about the Spaza Gallery yet because this place deserves its own post. I often say I’m going to post about things in the future and then never do. This time I really will, I swear. The Spaza Gallery is too cool not to go back to. (The pink-haired lady in the background is my friend Gail.)
The home of anti-apartheid activist David Webster, who was murdered by the apartheid government, right on this step, in 1989. There are many beautiful mosaic murals in Troyeville but this one is the prettiest, I think. Side note: That ANC placard is funny. A “selfless” political party? Come on.
A house where Gandhi lived, in 1904. You might remember that I visited another Gandhi house in Norwood last year, which is now a museum and guest house. The Troyeville house is actually much more historically well known. The house is privately owned and Ishvara isn’t sure who lives there.
Haha.
Smack-dab in the middle of Troyeville, surrounded by crumbling apartment blocks and graffiti, is a perfectly restored Victorian mansion. It was built by a millionaire who made his fortune in dynamite. The house was later purchased by the Salvation Army and turned into a soup kitchen of sorts. Now it’s owned by an insurance company and not being used for much of anything. The image above is the view from the shower. I want to live there.
First kid I’ve seen on one of Ishvara’s tours. Cool.
Gang of Troyeville kids.
I have two words: Love Jozi.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.