Italy vs. Slovakia at Ellis Park Stadium in Joburg
Right after Italy's first goal, the Slovakian goalie decided to
sit with the ball in the corner of the net, setting off a minor
fist fight as the Italian goal scorer attempted to recover the
ball.
In our final days in South Africa, we explored all that Johannesburg had to offer. A lot of history has been made here in Johannesburg, the most recent- losses of Italy and France in the first round, thus making it the first time in history where both finalists from the previous World Cup were unable to progress further in the tournament. A more significant history, occurred at the Cradle of Human Kind, a rural area outside of Johannesburg, which has produced an incredible number of fossils critical to the evolutionary history of mankind. At the Cradle, we visited the Sterkfontein Caves, a massive, 20-million-year-old cave that is the excavation site of the world's largest collection of hominid fossils. The small openings of this underground crave proved quite dangerous to small ancestors of modern humans, as they frequently fell into the cave unknowingly and died there. A combination of limestone, mud, and other mineral deposits formed the perfect preserving material for these fossils for millions of years. The two most noted fossils are that of Mrs. Ples and Little Foot. Both are of the species Australopithecus africanus, a distant cousin and precursor to the modern human which date between 2 and 3 million years old. Little Foot, a near-complete skeleton, was discovered most recently in the late 90s and other fossils are still being discovered to this day, making the cave one of the longest standing archaeological digs ever.
Sterkfontein Caves
Statue of the professor who discover "Mrs. Ples" - legend
has it if you rub the professor's nose, you'll get luck, and if
you rub the fossil's head, then you'll get wisdom.
has it if you rub the professor's nose, you'll get luck, and if
you rub the fossil's head, then you'll get wisdom.
As we returned to Johannesburg in the afternoon, we ended our history lesson for the day on a more somber note by visiting the Apartheid Museum. At the entrance, Joe and I were randomly assigned a color; Joe was "white" and I was a "non-white". Jokingly we tried to change our fates by re-selecting cards, only to end up with the same outcome, three chances later. The Apartheid Museum is an excellent place to learn in-depth about the history, progression, and the violent struggle against apartheid in South Africa and its impact on world human history. We highly recommend a visit to this extensive exhibit.
An exhibit at the Apartheid Museum
featuring generations of certain families
that played a critical role in the history
of apartheid
featuring generations of certain families
that played a critical role in the history
of apartheid
The following day we completed our history lesson by visiting the township of Soweto (short for Southwestern Township). Traditionally reputed for housing the largest number of impoverished, discriminated against, and disenfranchised black South Africans, Soweto was the battleground for South Africa's anti-apartheid movements in the late 1970's. Home to the first uprisings in 1976, where black South African schoolchildren and youth protested against the integration of Afrikaan as the primary medium of education, Soweto fell victim to the devastating massacre of innocent children and youth that lasted over six months. More than 500 children were murdered during this period. Today, Soweto is world-renowned as the home of anti-apartheid activists, political leaders, and Nobel Laureates, Nelson Mandela and Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu. One cannot visit South Africa, specifically the Johannesburg area, without learning the incredible history that was made here, which even today continues to play a crucial role in the development of global race relations.
A mixture of poor and middle class homes in Soweto
Residents washing clothes in the poorer settlements of Soweto
Children from the poor settlements came to sing for our tour
group
Sunday mass at the Regina Mundi church in Soweto - a
historical place where the first services for the dead children
of the 1976 uprisings took place