Johannesburg- South Africa's Largest City Where Legacy and Hope Meet

In the centennial year of Nelson Mandelas birth, South Africa's largest city is where legacy and expectations meet.

- Dan Booth

The history Johannesburg, both in the ancient past and in recent times, outlines a story of human survival, struggle and triumph. The high plains in the northeastern region of this country at the tip of Africa have been home to hunter-gatherer tribes for a thousand years or more. But it was the discovery of some of the world’s richest deposits of gold here in 1884 that unleashed a tide of expansion and drew newcomers from Africa, Europe and across the world.

For a century and more, the wealth from that gold, as well as diamonds and other treasures from the earth, made Johannesburg – or Joburg, Jozi, Egoli, among its other names – the epicenter of business and commerce in South Africa, and hence, the African continent. Today, however, that status is being challenged by riches of a different color – black gold – as countries elsewhere in Africa transform themselves into leading producers of oil.

With that in mind, South Africa has turned its attention to cultivating other major industries to bolster its economy. One of the big beneficiaries of these efforts has been the travel and tourism sector which has drawn an increasing number of guests from across the rest of the continent and throughout the world; in fact, travel and tourism now outranks mining as a driver of GDP, contributing nearly 7 percent to the nation’s economy, according to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council.

The country enjoys a rich variety of places to visit, from the expansive beaches of Durban on the Indian Ocean to what is consistently voted one of the world’s best cities, Cape Town, on the Atlantic coast. There’s plenty in between as well, like the Stellenbosch wine country, cultural and archeological finds and of course, Big Five safari adventures.