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Robertson Dutch Reformed Church

 Most small towns around South Africa's histories are very closely woven into that of the church and often these towns got started because of a church.  In this case the town of Robertson in the Western Cape is no different.  In 1728 a large piece of land which fell within the very large boundaries of Swellendam district, was let to a Mr. P Joubert.  Soon farmers requiring grazing for their sheep started moving into the area, many purchasing land from…

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26/07/2013
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The new kid on the Jozi skyline

The Nizamiye Turish Masjid - or Midrand Mosque -  has made a big impact on the Johannesburg, and in particular Midrand, skyline.  The mosque with its 55 meter high minarets is the brainchild of retired Turkish property developer Ali Katircioglu (known as “Uncle Ali”) and was modelled on the Selimiye Camisi mosque in Edirne, Turkey.

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02/07/2013
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Angel weather vane

Usually you would see a chicken, and in particular one who doesn't lay eggs, on top of a church spire.  Every now and then you do encounter a different one and that was the case with this angel weather vane on top of the Dutch Reformed Church in Robertson in the Western Cape. Visit Skywatch for some more neck cranking pictures of the sky from all over the world

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16/05/2013
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The Midrand Mosque

Close to the N1 highway in Midrand between Johannesburg and Pretoria, with views of Sandton and Johannesburg in the distance, stands the magnificent Nizamiye Turish Masjid.  And magnificent it truly is.  The mosque is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and was built as an Ottoman structure and modelled on the Selimiye Camisi mosque in Edirne, Turkey (completed in 1574 and today a Unesco World Heritage Site).  The project was the brainchild of Ali Katircioglu (known as “Uncle Ali”), a 74-year old,…

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19/04/2013
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Clock towers

I haven't done a Random ... post for ages and these two church towers have cropped up, ideal for a Random Church Towers post. Roberston Dutch Reformed Church tower Montagu Dutch Reformed Church tower

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10/04/2013
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Montagu Museum

Montagu op Route 62 in the Klein Karoo het twee fantastiese museum wat besoekers aan die dorp by kan gaan inloer.  Die Montagu Museum is geleë in die ou Sendingkerk wat in 1907 gebou is en konsentreer op die dorp se kultuur-historiese skatte.  Die museum het verskeie uitstallings met die kerk se preekstoel and ander kerk items wat sentraal hieraan is.  'n Belangrike deel van die museum is die medisinale plantnavorsing wat hier plaasvind en ook uitgestal word.  Agter die museum…

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22/01/2013
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Montagu Church

The Dutch Reformed Church in Montagu is one of the towns most prominent buildings and was built in 1862.  A very interesting fact that few people in the town probably know is that the church was originally painted white but after various complaints that the sun reflecting off it was blinding people too much it was painted creamy yellow.  I wanted to try something else with the picture and applied a HDR effect to it.  What do you think?

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15/01/2013
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Montagu Church roses

Whenever I find a beautiful historic building I like to take at least two kinds of photos.  One straight on to show the building itself and a second one with something in the foreground so that the building forms the background of the picture.  I would have preferred the white roses in front of the Montagu Dutch Reformed Church in the Western Cape to have been red as was the case with the Old Mission Church in Montagu, but I'm not complaining.

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11/01/2013
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St Peter’s Ruin windows

South End in Port Elizabeth is similar to District 6 in Cape Town where the original inhabitants where removed because of the Group Area's Act of the 1960's.  St Peter's Anglican Church was built in 1877 and the school next to it was the first church school in South End to produce pupils to  standard six (grade 8), the highest standard for coloured people at the time.  The church was deconsecrated in 1972 and most of it demolished to stop the congregation from returning…

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10/09/2012