#Travel

Three months ago, I flew to the United States via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. It was the best deal I could find and I decided it would be fun to visit Istanbul during my layover, even if it was just for eight hours.

A few days ago I found myself in a place called Lawley, a township 40 kilometers south of Johannesburg.

When one thinks of Joburg townships, Soweto is the first place that comes to mind. But while Soweto is the biggest and the most well known, Joburg is ringed by dozens more townships extending far out into Gauteng Province. These townships, where a majority of residents still live in poverty with inadequate public services, are the legacy of apartheid.

UPDATE (OCTOBER 2017): I’m sad to report that Melville’s Turkish restaurant has closed. I believe the Mayfair location is still open.

A few months ago, the corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue in Melville was a depressing place. One side housed a tired-looking sushi restaurant that no one seemed to go to and the other side housed the boarded-up remains of a bar called the Dollar Table.

AFKTravel, an online travel publication focused exclusively on Africa, recently launched a series called #InLoveWithAfrica. The series includes “love letters” to various African places, written by travel writers who love those places.