Sea of flame – Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg 2006
Johannesburg is the city of the upmarket shopping mall. Take your pick: Eastgate, Rosebank, Killarney, Sandton City, Hyde Park Corner… There is a mall for everyone. I’d go so far as to say that the mall has replaced the street as the primary place of public interaction for pedestrians. As such, a mall has to have more than just shops: there also has to be some sort of leisure or dining area, and if this can be outdoors, more’s the better.
The mall where I most often end up when I visit Johannesburg is Nelson Mandela Square (formerly Sandton Square, and technically an extension of Sandton City) because it is next door to the office where my dear friend Alison works. It takes its name from the giant 6-metre bronze statue of Nelson Mandela that was erected there in 2004 and it centres on a lovely paved courtyard surrounded by restaurant terraces where open-air functions are often held. There is also a fountain in the middle which provides an endless source of delight to small children – and endless photographic opportunities as the light changes throughout the day. It’s the perfect place to order a cold Castle Lager and watch the world go by.
Saturday Snapshots is a series of non-food photographs published every Saturday on CookSister. Previously featured photographs can be viewed on the Saturday Snapshots archive pages. Many photos featured in Saturday Snapshots are available to buy as high-quality greeting cards or prints in my RedBubble store.