Nearly four years after my move from America to South Africa, I’m still disturbed by holiday season-inversion. Celebrating Christmas in summer is surreal, and I will never adjust to my July birthday – which used to be a summer rite of passage – now falling in the middle of winter.
A Slice of Istanbul in Midrand
Seventh in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Browse all of the Sandton Snapshot posts.
Just off the M1 highway in Midrand, four minarets stretch into the sky behind the Dis-Chem warehouse. If you’ve traveled that stretch of road you have undoubtedly seen these minarets and wondered what the deal is. Perhaps you did some research and discovered that the minarets belong to a huge Turkish mosque, called the Nizamiye Mosque, and made a mental note to check it out.
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Vegan Food That Every South African Will Love
Sixth in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Browse all of the Sandton Snapshot posts.
South Africans like meat. In my experience this stereotype generally applies across races, genders, colors and creeds. Hence, quality vegetarian cuisine is scarce in South Africa and the vegetarian restaurants that do exist tend to remain best-kept secrets. I myself am not a vegetarian. I don’t eat tons of meat but I’m not willing to give up the occasional burger, chicken leg, or chorizo-laced pizza. But I do enjoy vegetarian food and I’m dismayed that it took me nearly four years to discover the best vegetarian restaurant in South Africa. It’s more than vegetarian, in fact – it’s vegan. That means no meat, no eggs, no dairy. It’s also mostly “raw”, meaning the majority of the food is uncooked or minimally cooked. The restaurant I speak of is the Leafy Greens Café.
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Walking in the Sky With Vodacom
Yesterday I flew over Joburg in a helicopter.
This experience was so crazy and unexpected – I hardly know how to explain it. But here’s how it went, briefly:
Last week I was invited to participate in a mysterious “Instawalk” hosted by Vodacom. (If you don’t know what an Instawalk is, read here.) The invitation was shrouded in secrecy. I signed on right away, sensing something extraordinary.
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Jozi's Sunday Market Shuffle
Fifth in my series of Sandton Snapshot posts, leading up to the publication of SandtonPlaces. Read posts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
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Melville Snapshot: Yada Yada Gifts and Clothing
UPDATE (2018): Yada Yada is now closed. But Cobi, the owner, has opened a cute pet supply shop – Ziggy’s Pet Pamporium – in its place.
I dropped the ball on my Melville Snapshot series. I wrote the first post in the series six weeks ago, promising to publish a new Melville Snapshot every week or so. I’m just now getting around to post #2. Oh well. Better late than never.