Back to towns in South Africa
Durban - Ethekwini
Durban
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Durban is a vibrant cosmopolitian city in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. It is also
known by Zulu-speakers as eThekwini, the meaning of which is unclear (guesses range from
'lagoon' to 'the one-testicled one'). Since 2000, a number of towns, including Durban, have
been part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
Durban is being marketed as "South Africa's Playground". It has a population of about 3.1
million people with diverse cultures including a large Indian community making Durban the
second largest city in South Africa.
While Johannesburg has embraced its new Afro-centric nature, and Cape Town has held on to
its Euro-centric culture, Durban has emerged as an Ethno-centric city - a polyglot of
Eastern, Western and African cultures, each of which give Durban a distinctly unique
flavour.
Durban is primarily a 'holiday city'/beach resort, but at the same time is South Africa's
busiest container port and has a substantial industrial sector. The port is one of the
world's largest natural deep water ports.
The long continuous stretch of hotels that line the city's beachfront is known as Durban's
Golden Mile.
Durban International Airport provides air transportation for the city. There are plans to
move the location of the airport to La Mercy, a site north of the metro area not too far
from Gateway, one of the largest shopping centres in the Southern Hemisphere. Durban
International Airport is served by all major South African Airlines. Links within the
country and to Swaziland, Mozambique and Mauritius exist.
|
