Cape Town Data

Cape Town Explained

Short facts about Cape Town's language, food, music, traditions and places, including its stranger details.

Matching facts

Did you know?Transport

In the 2013 national travel survey, minibus taxis were the main way to work for 25 percent of South Africans.

In the 2013 National Household Travel Survey, minibus taxis were the main way to work for 25 percent of South African workers, against 7 percent for buses and 4 percent for trains. The sector gets no operating subsidy like rail and bus.

South Africa · 2013 Read the story

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Did you know?Music

The tune was nearly called "Mrs. Williams from Mannenberg", after a real woman in the township.

John Edwin Mason reports that the title came from Morris Goldberg mentioning a visit to Gladys Williams, his family's former housekeeper in Manenberg. Rashid Vally chose a more marketable album title, but Williams's photograph went on the cover.

Manenberg · 1974 Read the story
Did you know?Food

In Cape Town, Sunday morning is koesister morning.

Buying koesisters on a Sunday morning, from a neighbour's kitchen or a corner deli, is a long standing Cape Muslim routine. Writing in the Daily Maverick, Ishay Govender calls koe'sisters a Sunday tradition created by Cape Malays or Cape Muslims.

Bo-Kaap Read the story
Did you know?Language & Slang

The Western Cape has three official languages, and none of them is spoken by a majority.

Section 5 of the Constitution of the Western Cape, 1997 gives Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa equal official status for provincial government. Census 2022 records 41.2 per cent of the province speaking Afrikaans most often at home, 31.4 per cent isiXhosa and 22.0 per cent English.

Western Cape · 1997 Read the story
Did you know?Food

Pickled fish was a way to keep fish before fridges. Now it is how Cape Town knows it is Easter.

Cape pickled fish, fried and steeped in a spiced vinegar and onion sauce, is an Easter fixture in both Muslim and Christian households. How it became an Easter dish is disputed.

Cape Town Read the story
Did you know?History

On 11 February 1966 District Six was declared white, and more than 60,000 people lost their homes.

District Six was declared a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act on 11 February 1966. Over 60,000 people were removed to the Cape Flats and the buildings were bulldozed.

District Six · 1966 Read the story
Did you know?History

In 1807 the Slave Lodge held 283 people: 187 men, 73 women and 23 children.

Built in 1679, the Slave Lodge is the second oldest surviving colonial building in Cape Town. A count in 1807 recorded 283 enslaved people living in it. It is now an Iziko museum.

Slave Lodge · 1679 Read the story
Did you know?Traditions

Tweede Nuwe Jaar, 2 January, is remembered as the one day off enslaved people at the Cape were given.

Cape Town's Second New Year falls on 2 January. The tradition ties it to the one day off enslaved people at the Cape were given, once New Year's Day, which belonged to their owners, was over.

Cape Town Read the story
Did you know?Places

The Bo-Kaap was white by rule before it was bright by choice, or so the story goes.

The usual explanation for the Bo-Kaap's colours is that rented houses had to be white, and owners painted them when they could finally buy. It is widely repeated but thinly evidenced.

Bo-Kaap · 1760 Read the story
Did you know?Food

Rashaad Pandy says the gatsby began as a meal for four workers in Athlone in 1976.

By his own account, in 1976 Rashaad Pandy of Super Fisheries in Athlone filled a round Portuguese loaf with chips, polony and atchar for four workers, and one of them called it a Gatsby smash.

Super Fisheries · 1976 Read the story

Matching facts

In the 2013 national travel survey, minibus taxis were the main way to work for 25 percent of South Africans.

The tune was nearly called "Mrs. Williams from Mannenberg", after a real woman in the township.

In Cape Town, Sunday morning is koesister morning.

The Western Cape has three official languages, and none of them is spoken by a majority.

Pickled fish was a way to keep fish before fridges. Now it is how Cape Town knows it is Easter.

On 11 February 1966 District Six was declared white, and more than 60,000 people lost their homes.

In 1807 the Slave Lodge held 283 people: 187 men, 73 women and 23 children.

Tweede Nuwe Jaar, 2 January, is remembered as the one day off enslaved people at the Cape were given.

The Bo-Kaap was white by rule before it was bright by choice, or so the story goes.

Rashaad Pandy says the gatsby began as a meal for four workers in Athlone in 1976.